Bond Pearce and Dickie Dees agree to combine as Bond Dickinson
Partners at Bond Pearce and Dickinson Dees have voted in favour of a merger, creating a £95m firm.
Jonathan Blair
The merger, which was voted through by partners at both firms today (7 December 2012) will go live on 1 May 2013. The new firm will be called Bond Dickinson, and will have eight offices across Aberdeen, Bristol, Leeds, London, Newcastle, Plymouth, Southampton and Tees Valley. As part of the deal, the firms will move into larger offices in London.
Dickinson Dees managing partner Jonathan Blair will become managing partner of the combined firm, while Bond Pearce chairman Nick Page will be its chairman. Bond Pearce managing partner Victor Tettmar and Dickinson Dees senior partner John Marshall will serve on the senior management team at Bond Dickinson.
In a statement, Blair said, “As we said when we announced our discussions, both firms had clearly articulated strategies. Our merger is a major step in the delivery of those plans and our new scale will give us the strength in depth and sector insight to support our clients’ growth plans. The merger will give us a strong base for further growth and lateral recruitment.”
News of the tie-up talks between Dickinson Dees and Bond Pearce first broke in September (12 September 2012). For more analysis on the merger, click here.
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Readers' comments (37)
Anonymous | 10-Dec-2012 2:26 am
Some of these comments are very funny, but I have to say, the general tone of bitterness/cynicism does not bode well for the new firm. Good luck, anyway!
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Anonymous | 10-Dec-2012 10:44 am
Any truth that the logo of the new firm will be the stock photo of a smiley Jonathan Blair?
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Anonymous | 10-Dec-2012 1:17 pm
Clearly a quiet day for the headhunters
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Anonymous | 11-Dec-2012 1:16 pm
Hill Dickinson? Bond Dickinson. Passing off action anyone?
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Anonymous | 11-Dec-2012 2:56 pm
Interesting that 90% of these comments focus on the Dickie Dees angle. I wonder why that is...?
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Anonymous | 12-Dec-2012 2:46 pm
...spending time in Middlesbrough? Is this ironical?
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Anonymous | 12-Dec-2012 6:38 pm
Anon 2:56,
It's because Dickinson Dees has become a little bit of a joke in legal circles. It's not a terrible law firm, indeed it's an average lower tier provincial law firm. However the firm's Communications Team try to publicise that Dickinson Dees is one of the UK's best firms. This strategy is making Dickinson Dees the subject of ridicule, despite the good job done by 90% of staff.
Good luck to the new firm. I dare say another firm will be the subject of mirth soon.
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Anonymous | 12-Dec-2012 10:46 pm
The merged firm will have fewer solicitors than DD alone had in 2005? Total nonsense! in 2005, DD had a factory conveyancing arm, staffed by spotty teenagers fresh out of college. They sold that business when the wheels fell off the property market, meaning fee earner (not solicitor) numbers fell, obviously. If people want too ore points, then at least try toget your facts right! Personally, I think the merger is a good move by both firms - talk of foreign offices may be a bit far fetched however!
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Anonymous | 13-Dec-2012 11:23 am
Anon 10:46 I suggest you do your research.
Contemporaneous statistics published in The Lawyer show that betwen 2005-2012, in percentage terms the number of partners at Dickinson Dees dropped by 17% and the number of solicitors fell by over 69%!
In 2005, Dickie Dees had 699 solicitors and 64 partners (as set out in http://www.thelawyer.com/firm-profile-dickinson-dees/115309.article) By 2012, Dickinson Dees has 215 lawyers and 53 partners (from this years UK 200 rankings).
It surprised me too! The only other explanation would have been that in 2005 the PR team were exagerating the number of fee earners they had. However that's surely unlikely.
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Anonymous | 13-Dec-2012 12:37 pm
Dickie Dees under Blair / Marshall is just a few tweaks away from being a really good law firm.
That's why I'm optimistic about Bond Dickinson. I'll be even more optimistic if they tone down the marketing speil and work on building greater goodwill.
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