TORONTO Oct 22 (Reuters) – Canadian business law and
litigation firm Fasken Martineau said on Monday it is combining
forces with South Africa’s Bell Dewar, beefing up its business
in Africa and its expertise in mining and other key areas.
Johannesburg-based Bell Dewar has 76 lawyers on staff, and
Managing Partner Blaize Vance will become regional managing
partner for Africa for the combined firm, Fasken Martineau said
in a release.
Fasken Martineau, with about 700 lawyers worldwide, has had
five to 10 lawyers in Johannesburg since 2003.
“We went there because we thought it was important to the
mining business that we were doing,” said David Corbett, firm
managing partner.
The office started out representing Canadian miners
operating in Africa and then took on South African clients
raising capital internationally, he said.
The Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange are
together home to almost 60 percent of all publicly traded mining
companies.
“Most recently there’s a lot of Asian and Middle East money
that’s coming into Africa, so it’s a question of servicing
that,” said Corbett. “Clients, you know, were looking, and they
expect to have people on the ground to do the work.”
Corbett said Bell Dewar’s strengths in mining,
infrastructure, banking and finance, construction and life
science line up with Fasken Martineau’s main practice areas.
Fasken Martineau, formed by the merger of three regional
Canadian firms in 2000, has offices across Canada and in London
and Paris. With about one in five of its lawyers outside Canada,
it already has a bigger international presence than any other
Canadian-based firm, Corbett said.
The two firms should be integrated by Feb. 1, Fasken
Martineau said.
(Reporting by Allison Martell; Editing by Leslie Adler)
