US law firm McGuireWoods has said it is to merge with London-based cross-border specialist Grundberg Mocatta Rakison in a deal which will come into effect on 1 May 2009.

Through the merger, McGuireWoods, which has 900 lawyers, aims to improve its international capabilities in areas such as wealth management, including international taxation, along with corporate and financial transaction work. The agreement is also intended to give GMR’s existing international client base access to US-based services.

“We already work with lawyers at the firm [McGuireWoods] on a number of matters, and with its excellent reputation for corporate, banking, litigation and private client work we feel that this is the ideal time to be joining forces, not only to capitalise on existing opportunities in London and internationally, but also to prepare the groundwork for when the financial markets return to strength,” said Anders Grundberg, GMR founder and senior partner.

Once the merger is complete, Mr Grundberg will become managing partner of McGuireWoods London; at the same time, McGuireWoods will expand its board of partners to include GMR partner Robert Rakison.

Former McGuireWoods managing partner Bill Strickland will be dividing his time between the firm’s London and Brussels offices, while Peter Covington, vice chairman of McGuireWoods, will relocate to London. In addition, Walter White of GMR will head the emerging markets practice and maintain offices in both London and Washington DC.

Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, McGuireWoods has offices in 15 US cities, including New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles and Chicago. The firm also has existing international offices in Brussels and Almaty, Kazahkstan.

GMR, which has 36 lawyers, is associated with firms in 50 countries. Some 80 per cent of GMR’s practice has a cross-border element, and the firm has strong links to the Nordic region, Europe, Russia and the CIS, the US, China and the Middle East.