US law firm WSHB and international law firm and legal service provider DWF announced on October 1, 2018 that they have agreed to an exclusive association. Through this association, the firms seek to offer greater global reach and service for their respective clients while working closely to share best practices, innovative ideas and mutually beneficial opportunities.
Daniel Berman, Chairman and Co-Founder of WSHB, said: "Since our formation in 1997 with one office and nine lawyers, our firm has achieved consistently strong organic growth. Our national platform now provides legal services in almost every state and in the past several years we have recorded strong organic growth of both revenue and lawyers. Partnering with DWF will enable us to move into the next chapter of our development by not only tapping into an international network, but also by being able to access DWF's innovative Connected Services business."
"Most importantly, since our beginning, WSHB has been a firm created and built on a truly special culture of innovation, teamwork and diversity. DWF shares these core tenets making this association a terrific fit for us."
Andrew Leaitherland, Managing Partner and CEO of DWF, said: "This is a significant move for us which greatly expands our reach in the US. DWF and WSHB already have a number of mutual clients and many more we consider mutual prospects. In particular, we both have strong insurance practices and already support some of the world's largest insurers. Through this association we will be able to seamlessly serve those clients by bringing our model of Complex, Managed and Connected Services to the world's largest market for both legal and insurance services.
"Our international strategy is client-led. We have opened offices or sought association partners where it makes sense strategically and where our clients operate and tell us they need our support. We have been considering our US growth strategy for some time, working to ensure that we found a partner that shares our values. We were particularly impressed by WSHB's commitment to invest in technology and a willingness to embrace innovation. They share our desire to transform the delivery of legal services."
The announcement follows a period of international expansion for DWF. In its last financial year it opened its first offices in Singapore, Italy and Qatar, added new offices in Australia and formed a strategic alliance in Turkey.
WSHB
WSHB is a full service litigation firm with offices throughout the United States. Since the firm’s inception in 1997 by trial lawyers David Wood, Kevin Smith, Stephen Henning and Daniel Berman, WSHB has been known as the national "go to" firm for complex civil litigation in professional liability, employment, commercial, medical malpractice and healthcare, construction, environmental, real estate, transportation, subrogation, toxic tort and intellectual property litigation. The firm has been named one of the top four law firms in the nation for female lawyers, and one of the top five for diversity.
DWF
DWF is an international legal business, supplying services not only to the international legal market but also providing complementary connected services to its clients. It has 27 offices in 12 jurisdictions and employs over 2,800 people globally, which includes more than 250 partners and more than 600 associates and other lawyers. It generated revenue of £236m in its last financial year, ending 30 April 2018. DWF delivers a mixture of complex and managed legal services across its Commercial Services, Insurance and International divisions and provides a range of professional, business or consulting services through its Connected Services division. DWF has one office in the US, a claims office in Chicago.