Chicago's McDermotts takes over Moscow-based US firm

Chicago-based firm McDermott Will & Emery has opened a branch in Moscow, taking over two-partner existing US practice Rothstein & Shaw, based in the Russian capital, in the process.

The new office, which is the firm's third branch in Eastern Europe, will be headed by partners Daniel Rothstein and Britt Shaw, whose four-lawyer firm, Rothstein & Shaw, will continue under the McDermott banner.

Chairman Larry Gerber said: "Moscow is the financial and commercial heart of the former Soviet Union, and the growth of our East European practice has made opening an office there a priority.

"We are delighted to welcome Rothstein and Shaw and the other members of their firm. They will augment our existing Russia group and will allow us to hit the ground running."

The Moscow office is the firm's second in Russia. It has already established a branch in Russia's second city and principal seaport, St Petersburg. The firm's other overseas office is in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Moscow-based partner Britt Shaw said: "The cutting edge for business here is complex transactions. Teaming up the firm's Russian law specialists with its transactional and planning practices allows us to offer clients the best of both these worlds."

McDermotts has seven offices in the US and deals primarily in the areas of securities, project finance, mergers and acquisitions, environmental health and safety, real estate, tax and intellectual property.