In an uncontested election, risk and insurance-focused law firm BLM has unanimously re-elected its senior partner, Mike Brown, for a further three-year appointment.
His term will take effect this month with Brown, a healthcare litigation specialist, having first been appointed in 2012 to handle the leadership, promotion and development of the firm. He further chairs the firm’s executive and partnership boards.
Speaking to Legal Business, Brown said: ‘We have a longstanding ambition to be one of the global leading risk and insurance firms by 2020. As a consequence of the combinations we’ve achieved through the UK and Northern Ireland, we are getting approached by overseas firms to do business with us. One always has to be alive to opportunity. We’re not in talks at the minute, but we’ve had approaches.’
Brown added: ‘We’re on a journey we haven’t completed yet. We’ve managed to reposition, rebrand and develop the business through combinations with other firms. But we still have ambition to move the business forward. I’m just fulfilling the brief.’
Having joined legacy AW Mawer & Co in 1987, Brown has been instrumental in leading the firm through two combinations, most notably the sizeable union of Berrymans Lace Mawer with HBM Sayers on 1 May 2014 to become BLM, creating a £100m risk and insurance-focused firm with 170 partners. The new offering brought together 630 lawyers and technical specialists with operations across 12 offices in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. HBM has offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh and London. Further expansion included its December combination with Northern Ireland-based Campbell Fitzpatrick Solicitors in December 2014, gifting the firm with eight partners and an additional 21 legal staff.
The firm’s agenda this year will see it relocate from its London office at Salisbury House, London Wall, to Plantation Place in Central London, the City’s primary financial district. Brown said: ‘The primary objective is to ensure the business is growing and financially sound, and continue to support our customers while gaining traction with them.
‘We’ve undertaken significant hires in the last twelve months. We’ve got further lateral hires in the pipeline, we’re opening our new office next month and we’ve had people approach us about what else they can do.’
sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk
