Cost cutting and near-shoring – Field Fisher Waterhouse ties up with Manchester’s Heatons

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Following last year’s announcement from Field Fisher Waterhouse that it was looking to move a number of its London support functions to Manchester in a bid to cut costs, the top 40 LB100 has merged with local boutique Heatons.

Field Fisher’s partnership voted last week to merge with Heatons, which specialises in real estate, corporate and intellectual property. In 2006 the now single-site Manchester firm lost its Birmingham office to Clarke Willmott, leaving it with just 12 fee earners at the time including three partners, which has subsequently dropped to eight fee earners, led by managing partner Matthew Fleetwood. Continue reading “Cost cutting and near-shoring – Field Fisher Waterhouse ties up with Manchester’s Heatons”

Fallout begins as Dundas & Wilson suffers spate of partner exits post-CMS merger deal

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The fallout from Dundas & Wilson‘s recently announced takeover by CMS Cameron McKenna has begun in earnest, with the Scottish firm confirming that a number of partners are to leave.

Construction partner Siobhan McCloskey-Oudahar; head of real estate disputes Andrew Walker; employment partner David Walker; head of environment Mark Brumwell; employment partner Mandy Laurie; IP/IT partner Allan Wardhaugh; and corporate partner and former chairman David Hardie have either left or will leave the ailing Scottish giant ahead of the merger this summer. Continue reading “Fallout begins as Dundas & Wilson suffers spate of partner exits post-CMS merger deal”

Merger watch – 2013 a record year for legal mergers as 2014 promises more of the same

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The long-awaited consolidation of the legal market accelerated in 2013, which was a record year for large UK law firm mergers, with 28 deals announced involving at least one top 100 UK firm or firms that when merged will be likely to join the top 100 in 2014.

This follows a similarly record year in 2012, when there were 26 announced mergers involving at least one top 100 UK law firm.

Recent research by Jomati Consulting, which claims that 2014 promises further high levels of consolidation, points to a number of strategic patterns in evidence over the past year, including the emergence of a group of major national players in the personal injury and insurance sectors, with highly acquisitive Slater & Gordon and DWF the most closely watched. Continue reading “Merger watch – 2013 a record year for legal mergers as 2014 promises more of the same”

Merger Watch 2013 – The runners, riders and fallers at the last hurdle

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‘I believe the market lends itself to opportunities for growth and successful law firms will take advantage of these opportunities. It is good for the market and clients. Let’s hope there are more [mergers] in the future.’ So says CMS Cameron McKenna’s managing partner Duncan Weston, who oversaw his firm’s successful tie-up with Scotland’s Dundas & Wilson during an autumn/winter period that has also seen the merger of Wragge & Co and Lawrence Graham, Slater & Gordon’s acquisition of the personal injury business of Pannone, and Pennington’s takeover of beleaguered Manches, to say nothing of the talks announced and not yet concluded or that fell at the final hurdle. Continue reading “Merger Watch 2013 – The runners, riders and fallers at the last hurdle”

Consolidation watch: serial acquirer Shakespeares targets City practice through Davenport Lyons merger

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It may not have attracted as much attention as DWF this year but Midlands challenger firm Shakespeares shows no sign of easing up on an acquisitive streak that has seen it pick-up a handful of firms since 2007. This time it is looking to establish a credible London presence through a merger with 80-lawyer West End firm Davenport Lyons.

As reported on RollonFriday today (16 December), the two firms are currently in discussions with a view to a tie-up. Continue reading “Consolidation watch: serial acquirer Shakespeares targets City practice through Davenport Lyons merger”

Buy-side story: how CMS and Dundas & Wilson finalised their surprise merger

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Talk to any partner at Dundas & Wilson in the early 1990s – when Cameron McKenna launched its fledgling oil and gas outpost in Aberdeen – and any suggestion that the City firm could challenge the Scots leader on its own turf would elicit snorts of derision. The notion that the two most prestigious law firm brands in Scotland – Dundas and McGrigors – would be consumed by Cameron McKenna and Pinsent Masons in 20 years’ time would have been seen as laughable.

But the recent confirmation of a tie-up between CMS Cameron McKenna and beleaguered Dundas still came as a surprise to many in the profession. Continue reading “Buy-side story: how CMS and Dundas & Wilson finalised their surprise merger”

Updated merger watch – CMS completes successful tie-up with Dundas & Wilson

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CMS Cameron McKenna and beleaguered Scottish firm Dundas & Wilson have merged, the firms announced this evening (12 December), creating a firm of 830 partners and 5,600 employees operating in 57 offices in 31 countries across the world with revenues of around €900m.

The tie-up – led for CMS by managing partner Duncan Weston, senior partner elect Penelope Warne and energy partner Stephen Millar, and for Dundas by chairman Lawrence Ward and managing partners Caryn Penley and Allan Wernham – will give the CMS group additional strength in the UK, particularly in Scotland, where for many years Dundas was considered to have the premier corporate practice.

Continue reading “Updated merger watch – CMS completes successful tie-up with Dundas & Wilson”

Not everyone is getting hitched – Kennedys and Simpson & Marwick call off agreed merger

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Getting a legal merger over the line is notoriously difficult but once the tie-up is agreed it usually goes through, happily or not. One rare exception to that rule has emerged today (11 December) with the announcement that the 153-partner Kennedys has abandoned its agreed takeover of Scots practice Simpson & Marwick.

The deal comes after 18 months of negotiations and a formal announcement of the union in the summer. Continue reading “Not everyone is getting hitched – Kennedys and Simpson & Marwick call off agreed merger”

Sealed at last – Wragges secures major City merger as vote backs LG tie-up to forge £171m practice

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After years of rejecting the need for a City presence – and subsequent years hunting for a major London deal – Midlands giant Wragge & Co has finalised its tie-up with Lawrence Graham.

The proposed deal, which was confirmed last month, was backed in a partner vote earlier this week, with the combined firm set to unify as Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co from 1 May 2014.

With a majority of more than 75% required from both partnerships, the combination will create a £171m business with 1,300 staff, including 770 lawyers, operating from ten offices worldwide. Continue reading “Sealed at last – Wragges secures major City merger as vote backs LG tie-up to forge £171m practice”

Comment: ‘Mishcon’ no more but a City player at last? Wragges needs a big deal and the old magic

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‘Wragge & Co was the Mishcon of its day.’ That statement from a former veteran of the Midlands giant sums it up in many ways.

In the late 1990s Wragges wasn’t just the best law firm the English regions had bred, it was a firm that broke the rules. The mix of flair, quality lawyering and an ability to astutely break away from the herd had few if any direct comparisons at the time. Wragges had a recognition and respect in the City absent from most national and regional competitors. More than that, Wragges stood out from rivals and could quicken the professional pulse in a way that Mishcon de Reya does today. Continue reading “Comment: ‘Mishcon’ no more but a City player at last? Wragges needs a big deal and the old magic”