Staff report

Published Arpil 14, 2011

A North Carolina-based law firm is merging with Charleston’s Buist Moore Smythe McGee P.A. to create the largest firm in the Carolinas.

Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC will have 550 attorneys after adding the Charleston firm’s 44 lawyers, according to a news release from Womble Carlyle. The merger will be effective April 30.

Buist Moore attorneys will continue practicing from their Exchange Street office after the merger, which will give Womble Carlyle access to Buist Moore’s experience with maritime law and will add another South Carolina office to the firm’s locations.

The company said that the firm’s new office in Charleston can give better access to clients who need transnational services.

“We are in the business of helping our clients succeed,” said Keith Vaughan, chairman of Womble Carlyle’s Firm Management Committee, in the news release. “The combining of Buist Moore and Womble Carlyle will provide Womble Carlyle clients access to a wider network of strategically important relationships. Charleston has emerged as a high-growth area within the pro-business state of South Carolina.”