Thelen Reid & Priest Launches Joint Venture with Top UK Firm Creating World’s Largest Construction Law Practice

May 14, 2003 -- US-based Thelen Reid & Priest LLP and UK-based Masons today announced the formation of Masons Thelen Reid LLP, a joint venture of the two law firms that will create the world's largest construction, engineering and infrastructure practice.

Masons Thelen Reid will focus on international infrastructure and building projects from inception through financing, contract negotiation, construction, and dispute resolution. The joint venture will provide seamless service to companies operating in global markets, including Europe, China, India, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas.

Clients will have access to the skills and resources of more than 800 lawyers operating from 18 offices across the US, Europe and Asia Pacific, of whom 400 are dedicated specialists in construction, engineering and infrastructure law. Masons Thelen Reid will render sophisticated financing advice under both US and UK law, and provide legal, business and cultural fluency in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Chinese.

The unique joint venture, organized as an English limited liability partnership, combines the capabilities of the two acknowledged world leaders in construction, engineering and infrastructure law. Thelen Reid’s construction practice was ranked number one in the United States in the just-published Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Business Lawyers. Masons is rated the UK’s leading construction law firm in the Legal 500 and in Chambers Guide to the UK Legal Profession.

Both Thelen Reid and Masons have significant experience on landmark international projects, including the Channel Tunnel, Chernobyl and Petronas Towers. The firms have worked on a wide range of assets including power plants, refineries, chemical and process plants, bridges, factories, high technology facilities, pipelines, power lines, dams, highways, military bases, apartment buildings, hotels, and theme parks. Thelen Reid and Masons also have represented all categories of participants in every aspect of major infrastructure projects, including developers, contractors, designers, institutional lenders and investors, operators, consultants, insurers, governments, quasi-governmental bodies and guarantors.

The new joint venture will be led by Steve O’Neal from Thelen Reid and Vince Rowan of Masons, who will act as joint managing partners.

"The creation of Masons Thelen Reid will drive our international expansion and provide truly integrated global service for construction, engineering, infrastructure and energy clients," said O’Neal, chair of Thelen Reid’s Construction and Government Contracts Department.

"We believe Masons Thelen Reid will offer global participants in infrastructure projects a single point of access to an unbeatable combination of resources, expertise and experience. Clients will benefit from effective world-wide collaboration and the best balance of skill and expertise, avoiding duplication across the life of the project," O’Neal added.

Chris Dering, head of Masons’ International and Energy Division, said: "We are absolutely committed to the development of our international practice, and we see Masons Thelen Reid as a key driver. We are combining the expertise and experience of the two pre-eminent law firms in their field. This should significantly enhance our ability to serve our clients.

"In particular, clients will benefit from direct access to sophisticated corporate and project finance advice in the key London and New York markets," he said.

Earlier this year, Dering noted, Masons formed a Spanish venture, Masons Buxeda Menchen, with expertise in Spain and Latin America, and Masons’ office in Shanghai office was licensed by the Chinese government.