BDB Pitmans has completed its rebrand as Broadfield, joining as the founding member of a planned global network of mid-market firms established by US turnaround firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M).
Broadfield officially launched this week (2 December) after signing up BDBP as its first earlier member this summer.
BDBP, which has four offices in London, Reading, Cambridge and Southampton, was formed by the 2018 combination of Bircham Dyson Bell and Pitmans. It is known to have been considering expansion options for some time, including holding merger talks with Womble Bond Dickinson.
Broadfield UK managing partner John Hutchinson – who became managing partner at BDBP last October after 30 years at the UK firm – told Legal Business that Broadfield is now expecting to announce a second member firm in the first quarter of 2025, and that it ‘may well be’ a US firm.
Earlier this year, he told LB that discussions with a New York firm were underway, and it is understood that those talks are still ongoing.
Hutchinson estimated that there would be a period of around six months between a firm agreeing to join Broadfield and becoming an official member, although this could vary depending on the firms involved.
The Broadfield venture was unveiled this July. An A&M subsidiary, SHP Legal Services (SHPLS), has been set up to support the Broadfield network. In a statement announcing the launch, Broadfield said that SHPLS will provide ‘management services to law firms joining Broadfield in the areas of technology, operations and talent acquisition.’
Member firms will have access to a technology stack maintained by SHPLS, although Hutchinson confirmed that while some tech improvements would be immediate, full access to the stack would not be available until a period within the next financial year.
In a statement, Broadfield said that SHPLS will provide management services to law firms joining the network “in the areas of technology, operations and talent acquisition.”
SHPLS is led by former McDermott Will & Emery chair Peter Sacripanti as CEO, alongside US lead John Hendrickson, also a former McDermott partner, with former EY financial services UK managing partner Christopher Price leading UK and EMEA operations.
In an interview earlier this year, Price told LB that Broadfield is hoping to add three other firms to the network – including at least one in the US and another UK firm – in the first twelve months.
With the exception of the US, there will be only one Broadfield firm per jurisdiction; as such, any UK firms that join would merge into Broadfield UK.
Firms signing up to the network will retain their own governance, although there will be planning boards that determine the overall direction of Broadfield.
For more on the deal, see Broadfield of dreams: BDB Pitmans signs up for new Alvarez & Marsal legal venture