Womble Carlyle Votes To Merge With Charleston’s Buist Moore
April 14, 2011
WINSTON SALEM, N.C.—Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLCannounced that its lawyers have voted to merge with the 44-lawyerCharleston, S.C., law firm Buist Moore Smythe McGee, P.A., creating thelargest law firm in both North and South Carolina.
The addition of Buist Moore’s attorneys will expand Womble Carlyle to a550-attorney firm. The merger will be effective April 30th.
“We are in the business of helping our clients succeed,” said KeithVaughan, Chairman of Womble Carlyle’s Firm Management Committee. “Whenour clients succeed, we succeed. The combining of Buist Moore andWomble Carlyle will provide Womble Carlyle clients access to a widernetwork of strategically important relationships. Charleston has emergedas a high-growth area within the pro-business state of South Carolina. Our clients will benefit greatly from the key relationships and accesswithin Charleston’s market that Buist Moore’s experienced, highlyregarded lawyers bring.”
The merger with Buist Moore gives Womble Carlyle attorneys and clients alist of varied benefits, including access to the specialty experiencein Buist Moore’s Admiralty and Maritime practice area, a strong positionto serve the currently underway expansion of the Panama Canal, andadditional critical mass in South Carolina. Specifically, with theaddition of a Charleston office, Womble Carlyle’s Greenville, S.C.,office is poised to expand its in-state geographic network and footprintin which it can directly assist clients.
“BuistMoore has been a bedrock business law firm within the Charleston marketfor years, and now the merger with Womble Carlyle gives our talentedattorneys a much broader platform to serve our clients,” said HenrySmythe, Buist Moore Managing Partner (pictured left). ”Theexisting synergies between our core practice areas and those of WombleCarlyle provide opportunities to expand client relationships within theSoutheast region and beyond. Womble Carlyle currently has offices fromAtlanta to Delaware and is a prominent law firm within that region. Theopportunities for Buist Moore attorneys to serve clients regionally,nationally and globally will increase significantly.”
Current Buist Moore attorneys will continue to practice from theirCharleston location at 5 Exchange Street once the merger goes intoeffect.
Charleston has emerged as a high-growth area within the Southeast withthe pending servicing of Southwest Airlines from its airport, thearrival of Boeing’s manufacturing hub, and an expansion of Panama Canalthat will double its capacity. Womble Carlyle clients who import/exportor have other transnational aspirations will have access to themultinational activity that results from Charleston’s enhanced standingas a critical transportation hub.
