CMS DeBacker, the Belgian arm of the CMS network, has entered into an alliance with Luxembourg outfit Leclere & Walry in a move to grow its Benelux presence.

The tie-up will see the firm operate under the name CMS DeBacker Leclere Walry in Luxembourg from 1 January 2011.

Leclere & Walry was launched in 2008 by former Loyens & Loeff senior associates Julien Leclere and Vivian Walry.

The firm is made up of six lawyers including partners Leclere and Walry. The office focuses on corporate, M&A and banking and finance.

Walry said: "We were approached by the management of CMS DeBacker a few months ago and entered into discussions with them to see how we could cooperate together and benefit from the skills and locations of our respective firms.

"Having started from scratch almost three years ago we have developed our practice well, and this partnership will allow us to strengthen our activities with the international capability that the CMS network can provide us access to, while we can provide them an office in Luxembourg to grow their network further."

The firm is also set to add tax capability in January with the hire of a tax specialist, with exact details of the new recruit as yet unconfirmed.

CMS DeBacker is made up of 85 lawyers including 25 partners and is one of the nine member firms in the CMS network.