Denton Hall has set up an office in Almaty, Kazakhstan, after acquiring the only foreign office of US firm Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley.

The firm has also applied for a licence to open up in Tashkent in Uzbekistan. US lawyer Marla Valdez, who set up Denver-based Welborn Sullivan's office in 1993, will be managing partner in Almaty.

The office has 13 lawyers practising local and US law and will specialise in oil, gas and mining. A major client in the natural resource-rich region is the Australian Western Mining Corporation. English-qualified lawyers will also be going out to the Almaty office to help with international law.

The office will cover work in Uzbekistan while Dentons registers for a licence to open in Tashkent.

Valdez said: "While we have been successful at building up a practice in this region from scratch, the backing and support of an international firm the size of Denton Hall provides us with opportunities for future growth and development."

Denton Hall international managing partner David Moroney said: "The move into Central Asia is a logical step in our internationalisation programme."

One specialist expressed surprise at the move, given the economic climate in Russia and former Soviet Union republics.