Dykema to Combine with Texas-Based Cox Smith
30 March 2015 - 11:30PM
Business Wire
Dykema, a leading national law firm, today announced 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.
About Dykema
Dykema serves business entities worldwide on a wide range of
complex legal issues. Dykema lawyers and other professionals in 12
U.S. offices work in close partnership with clients — from startups
to Fortune 100 companies — to deliver outstanding results,
unparalleled service and exceptional value in every engagement. To
learn more, visit http://www.dykema.com and follow Dykema on
Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Dykema.
About Cox Smith
With a 75-year history in Texas, Cox Smith Matthews Incorporated
is the largest San Antonio-based business law and litigation firm.
From its dominant position in San Antonio, and with a growing
presence in key markets including Austin, Dallas, El Paso and
McAllen, Cox Smith helps regional, national and international
businesses with a wide variety of matters involving business law
and litigation. For more information,
visit http://www.coxsmith.com.
DykemaTimothy Trunzo,
313-568-5333ttrunzo@dykema.comorCox SmithAmy
Miller, 210-554-5204amiller@coxsmith.com