Jones Walker to Wed Miller Hamilton, Forming 270-Lawyer Southern Shop

A New Orleans-based law firm is acquiring a Mobile, Ala., counterpart, forming a 270-lawyer combination effective Sept. 1.

The merged firm will retain the Jones Walker Waechter Poitevent Carrère & Denègre name, and William Hines as managing partner, according to a press release.

Mobile-based Miller Hamilton Snider & Odom, which has 32 lawyers and is known for its banking practice, will provide Jones Walker with new offices in Birmingham, Mobile and Montgomery, Ala., and Atlanta.

“This combination made sense on many levels," says Ronald Snider, Miller Hamilton's managing partner in the release. "We expand the practices that we are able to offer to our clients, and the culture between the two firms is a great fit. Together, our firm will become one of the largest regional firms in the southern U.S., offering a full range of legal services. The combination of the two firms fits well with both firms’ strategic business objectives and allows us to take advantage of a number of opportunities throughout the South.”

A major Jones Walker client, International Shipholding Corporation, recently relocated to Mobile, the release notes.