International firm DWF has said it has agreed an ‘exclusive association’ with Los Angeles-headquartered firm Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman (WSHB) – its fifth international move this year.

WSHB has 22 offices across the US and reported revenue of $81m (£62m) in the last financial year. It has 56 partners and 250 lawyers. By contrast, DWF reported revenue of $300m (£236m).

The development follows a period of expansion for DWF. In the year ending 30 April 2018, DWF opened its first offices in Singapore, Italy and Qatar, as well as adding new offices in Australia and forming a ‘strategic alliance’ in Turkey.

In June, the Gazette reported that DWF was considering floating on the London Stock Exchange. A share sale, which could raise up to £1bn, would make it the largest listed law firm.

Andrew Leaitherland, managing partner at DWF, said: ‘This is a significant move for us which greatly expands our reach in the US. Our international strategy is client-led. We have opened offices or sought association partners where it makes sense strategically and where our clients operate and tell us they need our support. We have been considering our US growth strategy for some time, working to ensure that we found a partner that shares our values.’

Daniel Berman, chairman and co-founder of WSHB, said partnering with DWF will ‘allow us to provide our clients with multidisciplinary teams across different professional and business services in an integrated way’.