The widening of the Panama Canal is scheduled for completion in 2014, and ports along the east coast of the U.S., including those in South Carolina, stand to see more business.

That’s just one of the reasons why 500-lawyer Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice has been looking to expand its presence in the Palmetto State. The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Am Law 200 firm announced on Thursday that it had acquired 44-lawyer Buist Moore Smythe McGee, one of the oldest and largest firms in Charleston, S.C.