DLA Piper, the global law firm, has announced that it will join with leading Danish law firm, LETT, by the end of May 2017. As a result, the firm will have five offices in the Nordic region with more than 370 lawyers, making it the largest law firm in the region. The Finnish law firm Peltonen LMR Oy became part of DLA Piper in February 2016.
LETT, which will rebrand as DLA Piper, is a full-service law firm with particular strengths in corporate M&A, insolvency and restructuring, pensions and insurance, and real estate, as well as the Danish public sector. It has around 150 lawyers in its Copenhagen and Aarhus offices. Founded in 1869, it will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2019.
With 4,200 lawyers and representation in more than 40 countries, DLA Piper is one of the world's largest law firms and will be the first global law firm with representation in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. In total the firm will have more than 600 employees in the Nordic countries, more than 376 of whom are lawyers.
Johan Schmidt, Managing Director of DLA Piper Finland, said: ”Having joined DLA Piper over a year ago, we are highly attuned to the international needs of our clients. We have advised clients on all continents, on both cross-border arrangements and single country assignments. This integration with Denmark creates a true Nordic platform and means that we will be in an even better position to serve both our Nordic and international clients. As ever, our priority is to provide seamless, high-quality legal services through one local point of contact."
After the integration, DLA Piper will be the top ranked law firm for overall M&A deal volume in the Nordic region, as well as on a European and global level. LETT will officially be integrated into DLA Piper by the end of May 2017.
Henrik Puggaard, Managing Partner at LETT, said: "At LETT we share the same ambition and vision as DLA Piper, to be the leading business law firm. In an increasingly competitive legal business, having a strong global vision and a commitment to innovation are essential to provide the high level of quality expected by the market. We are therefore proud to become part of one of the world’s largest and best law firms."