Dykema to combine with Texas law firm

The Detroit-based law firm Dykema announced Monday it will combine with Texas-based Cox Smith. The combination will give Dykema a significantly expanded presence in Texas, where Cox Smith is a leading firm with deep history. The additional depth in key practices, coupled with the combined firm's broader geographic reach, will enhance the range of services available to both firms' clients. The addition of Cox Smith's 118 lawyers will give the combined firm more than 450 attorneys in 15 offices. In Texas, the firm will initially operate under the name Dykema Cox Smith. The combination, which takes effect May 1, will double the size of each firm's Dallas presence, and San Antonio will become one of Dykema's largest offices. "Cox Smith's deep roots in Texas and Dykema's robust national platform will significantly strengthen the depth of experience and service that the combined firm can offer our clients," said Peter Kellett, Chairman and CEO of Dykema. "Cox Smith shares our excitement about opportunities in Texas and beyond, and also shares a culture and work ethic similar to Dykema's. This combination is a superb fit for our firms, our teams and our clients." For more than a century, Dykema has served business entities worldwide, from startups to Fortune 100 companies, as well as public bodies and nonprofit organizations, on a broad range of complex legal issues. Before the combination, Dykema had more than 330 professionals with offices in California, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas and Washington, D.C. "We believe the combination with Dykema will allow us to better serve our clients by tapping into Dykema's broad range of practices and national reach," said Deborah Williamson, Managing Director of Cox Smith. "The more we learned about Dykema and its people, the more obvious it became that our firms were a compelling fit culturally and from a business standpoint. We have practice strengths that complement one another and allow us to better serve clients as a combined entity. And both of our firms emphasize and prioritize client service as a key differentiator." "This is the next step for Cox Smith and it's the right move for us to make," said Jamie Smith, Chairman of Cox Smith. "Many of our clients are expanding well outside of Texas and have told us our size and our geography limit our ability to expand with them. With this combination, our lawyers can compete for work over a wider geography and offer a broader range of services to existing firm clients. And the Dykema lawyers will fit well with our clients and markets - great lawyers, wonderful people, all very focused on achieving the client's goals. This cultural fit will greatly benefit our clients as well as our attorneys." Deborah Williamson will serve on the firm's executive board and Jamie Smith will serve as Dykema's vice chair - Texas. For Dykema, the combination also represents a natural next step. As a number of the firm's clients had an increasing presence in Texas, Dykema opened its Dallas office in 2007 with four attorneys-and now has 27 attorneys in the state. The Texas economy has grown rapidly, attracting a number of corporate headquarters and increasing the demand for legal services. Although Dykema has expanded quickly to meet this demand, the combination with Cox Smith enhances the ability to service both existing and new clients in the region with increased visibility in Texas and the Southwest. The combined firm will offer sophisticated regional and national practices, including commonly shared strategic initiatives in middle market M&A transactions; energy; infrastructure; automotive; government policy; financial services litigation; health care; and data privacy and cybersecurity. It also gives Dykema clients access to Cox Smith's attorneys in important industries including financial services; oil, gas and energy; and construction/manufacturing. Cox Smith's clients gain access to important financial centers and industries beyond Texas borders. Both firms believe that the strong Texas economy demands greater depth to meet client expectations. Published: Tue, Mar 31, 2015