Global law firm Baker & McKenzie has opened an office in Johannesburg with all partners, lawyers and professional staff from Dewey & LeBoeuf  South Africa, continuing an effort to expand and strengthen its capabilities to serve client needs in the region.

According to chairman of Baker & McKenzie’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Koen Vanhaerents, Africa’s vast resources and potential can drive both inbound and outbound client investment.

South Africa has the largest economy in Africa and is a major force in the world’s mining industry. The country is also the world’s largest producer of platinum and a significant source of coal, gold and other metals and minerals.  Unlike other African countries, the country has established roads, telecommunications, infrastructure and social amenities, which  has led to it being used as a stable base for companies in a variety of industries to expand through Africa while tapping the continents human and material resources.

Johannesburg is a city often viewed as the gateway for foreign companies into the rest of the continent. The global Law firm’s office is its second in Africa, after one was opened in Cairo 1985, and will focus primarily on mining and infrastructure, project finance, banking and capital markets, securitization, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity.

Reports indicate that Baker & McKenzie’s Johannesburg office, which will open immediately with partners, lawyers and staff from Dewey & LeBoeuf South Africa, would have a team led by banking and finance lawyer Wildu du Plessis, energy and projects lawyer Scott Brodsky and Chris Moriatis, who represents clients on a range of regulatory and financing transactions, and Morne van der Merwe, who advises the mining and other sectors.

“We were approached by many impressive leading firms,” du Plessis said. “Baker & McKenzie stood out.”

Baker & McKenzie is an international law firm, founded in Chicago in 1949 by Russell Baker and John McKenzie, with over 3800 lawyers and 70 offices in 43 countries across the globe.

In 2011, the firm recorded $2.27 billion  in revenue.