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DLA builds up African presence with Tunisia and Senegal firm buyouts

DLA Piper has continued its expansion in Africa with the acquisitions of Tunisian firm El Ajeri Lawyers, based in Tunis and Senegalese firm GENI & KEBE, based in Dakar.

The move builds on its recent Nigerian tie-up and brings the firm’s presence in Africa to nineteen countries and provides the firm with ‘increased coverage in Francophone Africa, the Maghreb region and sub-Saharan Africa.’

El Ajeri is a full service law firm with ten lawyers working across eight sectors including banking and insurance, energy, transport and media and has experience assisting clients in dispute resolution and arbitration. GENI & KEBE is a commercial law firm with 27 members of staff providing advice in litigation and arbitration.

Michel Frieh co-managing partner of DLA Piper’s Paris office said this was an ‘important step’ for both its Paris and Casablanca offices, which have been ‘at the forefront of establishing these relationships with our peers’.

‘With their inclusion, DLA Piper Africa now has a presence across all of the regions on the continent from North to South and East to West, in all working languages.’

In May, DLA announced that it was breaking into Nigeria through an alliance with local firm Olajide Oyewole.

Over recent months, DLA has actively opened and closed several offices. The firm closed down its Berlin office in March as its sole partner there moved to launch DWF’s offering in the German capital. Earlier in March, and later in April, DLA also closed its Tbilisi and Canberra offices respectively. In Georgia, all fee earners, including two partners, departed for Dentons.

Also in March, DLA announced it would integrate widely regarded Portuguese firm ABBC into its global network, with 50 lawyers in the firm’s Lisbon headquarters.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk