CMS Cameron McKenna has revealed a 26% rise in group turnover to £259.2m from £206.1m, boosted by the acquisition of Scottish firm Dundas & Wilson in 2014 which posted turnover of £47m.
Dundas & Wilson reveals 4.5% revenue dip alongside 8% PEP increase in its final year
Once a storied institution in the Scottish legal market, Dundas & Wilson has unveiled its last ever financials and has recorded mixed results, with unaudited figures for the 2013/14 financial year showing a revenue decrease of 4.5% to £47m from £49.2m, while profit per equity partner (PEP) increased 8% to £181,006 from £167,625. The fall in revenue constitutes a 29% drop over the last five years.
Squire Patton Boggs brings in former Dundas partner to head UK real estate litigation team
Squire Patton Boggs has made its first UK partner hire since the May announcement that Squire Sanders would unite with Patton Boggs, recruiting former Dundas & Wilson partner Andrew Walker to head its burgeoning UK real estate litigation team. Continue reading “Squire Patton Boggs brings in former Dundas partner to head UK real estate litigation team”
Camerons launches cost-saving venture through Dundas offices as the firm prepares for move to Cannon Place
CMS Cameron McKenna plans to utilise the Scottish offices and personnel of new merger partner Dundas & Wilson as a form of northshoring as the top-ten firm unveiled its real estate ‘deal of the century’ with its move into its new Cannon Place offices next year.
The Dundas cost-saving initiative, spearheaded by Camerons energy partner Stephen Millar, who alongside managing partner Duncan Weston and senior partner Penelope Warne led the merger negotiations between the two firms, will see Camerons split the pricing of City-generated deals into work done in London and that which is hived off to Scottish lawyers under the supervision of a partner.
The Programme – how Dundas & Wilson fits into the CMS masterplan
With a takeover of Dundas & Wilson under its belt and a barrage of post-Lehman re-engineering in place, CMS Cameron McKenna hopes it can secure its breakthrough globally and at home. LB investigates a complex beast that some of its own partners don’t understand.
On 10 December the London partners of Dundas & Wilson were called home. Given the dramatic nose-dive that had afflicted Scotland’s proudest legal institution in the previous five years, expectations were that this would herald drastic action to revive its fortunes.
Continue reading “The Programme – how Dundas & Wilson fits into the CMS masterplan”
Redundancy watch: CMS and Dundas cut 60 support staff roles
CMS and Dundas & Wilson confirmed today (30 April) that they have made 60 staff redundant ahead of their £300m merger, set to go live tomorrow. Continue reading “Redundancy watch: CMS and Dundas cut 60 support staff roles”
CMS and Dundas to cut up to 60 jobs ahead of May merger
CMS Cameron McKenna and Dundas & Wilson have placed 60 support staff roles at risk following the duo’s recently announced union. Continue reading “CMS and Dundas to cut up to 60 jobs ahead of May merger”
Fallout begins as Dundas & Wilson suffers spate of partner exits post-CMS merger deal
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 – The runners, riders and fallers at the last hurdle
‘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”
Buy-side story: how CMS and Dundas & Wilson finalised their surprise merger
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”