Finance and Economic

Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, a law firm based in Chicago, will combine with London-based Denton Wilde Sapte LLP if partners vote to approve.

The combined firm will be known as SNR Denton and will have more than 1,400 lawyers in 18 countries. The heads of each firm will serve as co-chief executive officers, according to the joint statement.

If approved, it will be the second major combination of a U.S. and U.K. firm in the past year. On May 1, Washington-based Hogan & Hartson and London-based Lovells LLP joined to create Hogan Lovells, a 2,500-lawyer firm with about 40 offices, according to its website.

"Looking back in history, it is relatively rare to see transcontinental mergers," said Kent Zimmermann, a consultant with Zeughauser Group. "It’s been telling that there have been two recently. Globalization is the number one thing affecting the economy, and the number one thing affecting law firms."

Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal has had a St. Louis area office since 1990. It opened with one lawyer but now has nearly 50 lawyers on staff, said Jennifer A. Marler, the local office’s managing partner.

The firm’s partnership with Denton would have no immediate effect on the St. Louis office, she said.

Marler said she was pleased that the agreement would give the firm an international base of lawyers from whom to seek advice and counsel, and could help create future growth options for the firm as a whole.

Denton handles work for clients in energy, transport and infrastructure, financial institutions, real estate and retail and technology, media and telecommunications sectors, according to the firm’s website. It has offices in the Middle East, Europe and southeast Asia.

Robert Kelly of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

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