Partners at Andrews Kurth Kenyon and Hunton & Williams have agreed to merge their firms and operate as Hunton Andrews Kurth, a 1,000-lawyer firm with offices in 15 U.S. cities, including Atlanta, and another five located outside the United States.

Hunton Andrews Kurth, which will officially launch on April 2, will have about 300 lawyers in Texas, divided among offices in Houston, Dallas, Austin and The Woodlands—a planned community about 30 miles north of Houston that is popular with many U.S. corporations—as well as more than 200 lawyers in Richmond, Virginia, and more than 150 lawyers each in New York City and in Washington, D.C.

In Atlanta, Hunton & Williams has 36 lawyers, according to its webite. The Atlanta office started in 1988 with a group of six lawyers who exited the now-defunct Hansell & Post firm. The office had as many as 90 lawyers in 2006, but it was down to the 62 by 2012, according to the Daily Report's articles from that time.

The combined firm's revenue is expected to exceed $750 million for the first year—a figure that could catapult the merged firm to the Am Law 50. The deal combines strength in both arms of the energy practice, linking Andrews Kurth's oil and gas practice with Hunton & Williams' power industry practice. Firm leaders said the combined firm will be one of a few firms that can provide high-caliber services to both arms of the energy sector.

The two firms have been talking merger for months and leaders of Houston-based Andrews Kurth and Richmond-based Hunton & Williams had signed off on the deal in early February.

Wally Martinez, managing partner of Hunton & Williams, said Hunton & Williams' partners voted unanimously on Feb. 16 in favor of the merger. Robert Jewell, managing partner of Andrews Kurth, said the vote, which was completed at his firm on Feb. 15, was “overwhelmingly favorable” and included more than 95 percent of the firm's partners.