Fieldfisher has merged with Hill Hofstetter, a 19-partner UK firm with revenue of around £6m that spun off from Reed Smith in 2008.

The merger, which took effect today, gives Fieldfisher a presence in Birmingham for the first time.

Hill Hofstetter, which specialises in corporate, litigation, real estate and employment law, also has an office in London.

The deal means Fieldfisher now has offices in London, Manchester and Birmingham in the UK.

The combined firm intends to move to new premises in Birmingham in April 2017. Those currently based in Hill Hofstetter's London office will move into Fieldfisher's London headquarters.

Fieldfisher managing partner Michael Chissick said: "Hill Hofstetter's outstanding experience of high level corporate and commercial European work means the team will fit seamlessly into the Fieldfisher brand. It will also bring further strength and depth in areas such as corporate, litigation, real estate and employment law."

Hill Hofstetter founding partner Chris Hill added: "We wanted to increase our international capabilities and the firm's European focus made perfect sense for our European and global client base."

It is the second tie-up this year for Fieldfisher, which merged with Italy's Studio Associato Servizi Professionali Integrati (SASPI) in July.

That deal is structured as a Swiss verein, with SASPI adopting the Fieldfisher brand name and the two firms maintaining separate profit pools.

SASPI, which has 170 staff in total including 21 partners, has offices in Milan, Rome, Venice and Turin.