Dentons has announced it is is opening a South African office in cooperation with its local partner.

The firm will join up with associate firm KapdiTwala to establish an office in Cape Town. It will also open a second office in Johannesburg later in 2014 and has plans to establish a presence in Francophone Africa before the end of the year too.

The deal represents the first time a global law firm has joined with a Level 1 Black Economic Empowerment law firm.

“Africa is a priority region for Dentons,” said CEO Elliott Portnoy. “Formalising what has been a very successful association with KapdiTwala under the Dentons name and opening additional Dentons offices in Johannesburg and Francophone Africa later this year is yet another way we can serve clients in a seamless fashion across all of our regions.”

KapdiTwala, associated to Dentons since 2012, is 100% locally-owned and in its new guise will continue this policy under current managing partner Noor Kapdi. It is recognised as a leading name for oil and gas work in the country.