英国诺顿•罗氏律师事务所为了赢得更多国企在北美和非洲地区的投资并购项目，近日宣布已与加拿大律所Ogilvy Renault和南非律所Deneys Reitz达成合并协议。合并将于明年6月完成。

Norton Rose Group recent mergers with Canadian firm Ogilvy Renault and South African firm Deneys Reitz were, according to the firm’s head of Asia, David Stannard, driven largely by the desire to seize China-Canada-South Africa market share. 

Norton Rose is seeing a considerable increase in the amount of business flowing between China and Canada and Africa. Indeed, for example, Chinese outbound acquisitions targeting Canada and the USA have increased 81% from the same period last year, reaching US$6.8bn collectively by the end of September 2010. The energy & resources sector alone accounts for 70% of this increase.

"Canada and South Africa are becoming more important economies for our Chinese clients. With lawyers from Canada and South Africa located in our offices on the ground, we will be able to more directly serve the needs of our Chinese clients doing business or investing in these markets,” said Stannard. “China is a major player in the global economy and set to continue to strengthen its presence. The country is South Africa's largest export and import partner, and also has a strong business flow with Canada,” he added.

As part of Norton Rose’s focus on Asia, the Hong Kong office has doubled in size over the past few months, bringing headcount up to 90 lawyers. The firm has also established a new IP practice that is regionally headquartered in Hong Kong. “Our growth has been driven by the needs of our clients for legal services and this has principally come from our clients in China,” said Stannard. 

While he admits that seizing China market share always poses significant challenges, the plan is to continue increasing the firm’s strengths, depth of resources and expertise across key sectors like energy & resources and IT.

The enlarged Norton Rose Group will now have more than 2,500 lawyers located in 38 offices worldwide. ALB  

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