BLG's aviation team defects to Holman Fenwick
Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG) is losing its entire eight-strong aviation team to rival insurance firm Holman Fenwick & Willan (HFW).
David Jabbari
The loss of the eight partners continues a recent flood of departures from BLG after a strategic restructure last year that was designed to refocus the firm on its core insurance and contentious practices.
Chief executive David Jabbari said the departure of the aviation partners did “not in any way detract from that focus”.
“We’re already reaping the benefits of this strategy. Our focus remains on the implementation of the next phase of our strategic plans, growth, and further enhanced profitability for the forthcoming financial year,” added Jabbari in a statement.
He said BLG was also committed to exploring opportunities overseas.
HFW already has an aviation team, which advises on insurance and corporate matters for airline companies and insurers. Managing partner Greg Gray told The Lawyer the firm wanted to increase its capability in this area. “If we’re going to do it we want to take on a leading team and this is one of the leading teams,” Gray said.
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Readers' comments (13)
Disgusted of EC3 | 28-Mar-2011 12:00 pm
To Anonymous 25/3 @ 5.58.
The Legal press rankings are always a couple of years behind the curve. If you look at the Insurance and Reinsurance entry for BLG in Legal 500, it refers to Jason Bright as practice head (he left last year for RPC) and under Prof Neg, it sings the praises of Julian Randall (also left last year, for Taylor Wessing). I'm not being harsh at all.
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Amy O'Graves | 29-Mar-2011 2:49 pm
Disgusted of EC3 is spot on. The top talent at BLG has either left, announced their intention to leave or have CVs lodged in all the right places. There are now a handful of first class partners left after the peculiar series of management decisions taken in the past 12 months. To defend this position as the start of something strategically valuable and potentially profitable is brave or misguided. How long will this management team last?
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Sam Davison | 29-Mar-2011 3:03 pm
This has to mark the turning point towards decline for BLG - and it's probably terminal. The inside view is one of anger at how the firm's senior talent could all walk so quickly - just 12 months - under Konsta and Jabbari. My count makes it 13 of the top 20 sharpest minds having left or about to leave with five of the remaining seven looking in the market. This is not only about strategy but the clearest protest against a management approach that fiddles whilst Rome burns. Time for a management change.
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