Continuing to strengthen its presence in central and eastern Europe, Austria-based Schoenherr said Wednesday it has finalized a merger with its Turkish ally, Türkolğu & Celepçi.

The two firms have been operating through a formal cooperation agreement since 2010, but moved to integrate fully after a proposal to do so received the unanimous backing of Schoenherr’s 25 equity partners at a recent shareholder meeting. The merger formally took effect with the start of the Austrian firm’s fiscal year on February 1.