Burr & Forman's tie-up with South Carolina's McNair Law Firm went live on Jan. 1, creating a new Southeastern giant.

The combination, first announced two months ago, expands Birmingham-based Burr's footprint into the Carolinas and gives McNair, one of South Carolina's largest firms, coverage across the Southeast.

“We are excited to officially welcome our new team members at McNair,” said Burr's CEO, Ed Christian, in a statement. “Our presence in the Carolinas solidifies Burr & Forman's ability to provide representation in markets where our clients regularly conduct business.”

The deal creates a 360-lawyer firm with 19 offices in eight states, including a large office in Atlanta. McNair lost its name in the acquisition but will still be known as Burr Forman McNair in South Carolina for the next two years.

The addition of Columbia-based McNair's 84 attorneys from six South Carolina locations plus a Charlotte, North Carolina, outpost expands Burr's capabilities in the manufacturing, transportation, banking, finance, public finance, food and beverage, hospitality, real estate and health care industries, Christian added.

“This acquisition serves to deepen the bench and accelerate growth opportunities for both our clients and our team in the Carolinas and throughout the Southeast,” said David Tigges, formerly McNair's CEO and now Carolinas managing partner for Burr. Tigges also has a seat on the firm's executive committee.

For instance, financial institutions and health care are two areas of strength for each firm. With the tie-up, Tigges told the Daily Report in November, McNair becomes approved counsel for two big lenders that Burr represents, Synovus Financial Corp. and Regions Bank, which it did not previously serve—a “significant opportunity,” he said.

In health care, Burr represents UAB, one of Alabama's largest health care providers, while McNair represents two of South Carolina's largest providers, Prisma Health and the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

With McNair's addition, Burr will have annual revenue of about $190 million, Christian told the Daily Report when the deal was first announced in November. That would place it at No. 149 on the current Am Law list of the highest-grossing U.S. law firms. Burr reported $147 in 2017 revenue, placing it at No. 167.