PwC ups the ante in legal services with new Fragomen US alliance

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PwC ups the ante in legal services with new Fragomen US alliance

Building on the Big Four’s sustained attempts to disrupt the legal services market, PwC has extended its presence in the US through a partnership with immigration specialist Fragomen.

The agreement, announced today (24 September), will see the two entities jointly market their respective immigration services in the US.  The alliance gives PwC access to Fragomen’s considerable stateside firepower, with the firm boasting 16 offices across the country. Continue reading “PwC ups the ante in legal services with new Fragomen US alliance”

Bircham Dyson and Pitmans seek reversal of revenue fortunes with £52m merger bid

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Bircham Dyson and Pitmans seek reversal of revenue fortunes with £52m merger bid

The partnerships at City law firm Bircham Dyson Bell (BDB) and Reading headquartered Pitmans will this month vote on a proposed merger to create a £50m-plus firm.

A merger would be good for a partner headcount of 80, while overall staff numbers would be 404. A combined revenue of about £52m would put the merged firm close to the UK’s top 60 by revenue. A vote is set for 27 September. Continue reading “Bircham Dyson and Pitmans seek reversal of revenue fortunes with £52m merger bid”

Moving on up: BCLP heading for new post-merger London digs

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Moving on up: BCLP heading for new post-merger London digs

Newly merged Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has signed a lease on a new City office in what it calls a ‘significant commitment’ to a modern working space.

The announcement today (26 April) will see the combined firm move a stone’s throw from legacy Berwin Leighton Paisner’s (BLP) London HQ at Adelaide House to the 125,000 sq ft Governor’s House office building at 5 Laurence Pountney Hill. Continue reading “Moving on up: BCLP heading for new post-merger London digs”

Comment: Allen & O’Melveny – a research-free, hot take

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Hats off to my old shop, Legal Week for a quality scoop on Allen & Overy (A&O) and O’Melveny & Myers doing the come-hither shuffle. As usual, various outfits have lifted it without credit or attempted to imply that they forecast it. I didn’t forecast it and haven’t given it more than a cursory kick-of-the-tyres because – deadlines – so I am just riffing off anorak industry knowledge rather than proper research. But it’s still enough to make a few observations about what it says about the global market and London elite in general and A&O specifically.

For A&O, a tie-up with O’Melveny would clearly be highly significant – only the second US merger for a Magic Circle firm and just about the largest of its kind nearly 20 years on from Clifford Chance’s disaster-strewn takeover of Rogers & Wells. Continue reading “Comment: Allen & O’Melveny – a research-free, hot take”

Real estate, real estate, real estate: Bryan Cave? Questions surround BLP’s transatlantic union

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Real estate, real estate, real estate: Bryan Cave? Questions surround BLP’s transatlantic union

Hamish McNicol and Thomas Alan canvass the market on the latest UK/US tie-up

‘Next year all our troubles will be out of sight,’ sang Judy Garland in the 1944 film Meet Me In St Louis. You wonder whether the leadership of Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) was singing those words from ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ in December before the firm’s quest for a US merger ended with St Louis-bred Bryan Cave. Because apart from a press release lauding the aspirations of the transatlantic tie-up, first floated publicly last October, there has not been much singing since. Continue reading “Real estate, real estate, real estate: Bryan Cave? Questions surround BLP’s transatlantic union”

BLP and Bryan Cave back deal to forge top 50 global player but will combined firm have potency?

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BLP and Bryan Cave back deal to forge top 50 global player but will combined firm have potency?

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP)’s quest for a US merger is over after its proposed transatlantic tie-up with Bryan Cave was given the green light by partners.

The new firm will be called Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) and will officially launch in April this year after the partnerships of each firm announced the result of their merger vote today (26 February), a few weeks after the proposal was formally announced. This after BLP less than two years ago failed to strike a deal with Greenberg Traurig. Continue reading “BLP and Bryan Cave back deal to forge top 50 global player but will combined firm have potency?”

‘Greater than the sum of its parts’: Hunton & Williams and Andrews Kurth agree merger

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‘Greater than the sum of its parts’: Hunton & Williams and Andrews Kurth agree merger

US players Hunton & Williams and Andrews Kurth Kenyon have given the green light to a merger that will create a 1,000 lawyer firm with 15 American offices.

Announced yesterday (21 Feb) the partnerships of both firms have approved the combination, with the merged entity Hunton Andrews Kurth coming into operation on 2 April. Continue reading “‘Greater than the sum of its parts’: Hunton & Williams and Andrews Kurth agree merger”

Firepower: £100m revenue a ‘natural target’ for acquisitive Gordon Dadds

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Firepower: £100m revenue a ‘natural target’ for acquisitive Gordon Dadds

West End firm Gordon Dadds has its sights set on becoming a ‘nine-figure’ business after making its fourth acquisition since its public float in August last year .

Gordon Dadds announced yesterday (19 February) it had acquired Cardiff-based Thomas Simon for £1.875m, paying £187,500 up front with 20 quarterly instalments to come thereafter, plus a further amount related to net assets. The vendors of Thomas Simon, which had a fee income of just over £2m for the year to 31 July 2016, have warranted fee income will be not less than £12.5m over the next five years as part of the deal. Continue reading “Firepower: £100m revenue a ‘natural target’ for acquisitive Gordon Dadds”

Transatlantic crossing – BLP and Bryan Cave to complete merger vote in February

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Transatlantic crossing – BLP and Bryan Cave to complete merger vote in February

The partnerships of Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) and US law firm Bryan Cave are to vote on their transatlantic tie-up, with the outcome set to be unveiled at the end of February.

If successful, the union would bring to an end the City firm’s quest for a US suitor, with BLP having less than two years ago failed to strike a deal with Greenberg Traurig. Continue reading “Transatlantic crossing – BLP and Bryan Cave to complete merger vote in February”

Comment: BLP’s US merger bid – a certain loss of confidence

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Comment: BLP’s US merger bid – a certain loss of confidence

If nothing else, it is safe to say Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP)’s not-very-convincing claim that management was not dead set on a US merger was stretching it. Because recent news that the firm is debating a union with Bryan Cave screams: ‘We really want a US merger!’

The talks come after last year having gone through a bruising but short courtship with the far larger Greenberg Traurig, the thrusting Miami shop which had a culture clash with BLP that could not have been more obvious if it had been heralded by fireworks. Continue reading “Comment: BLP’s US merger bid – a certain loss of confidence”