Dickson Minto and Willkie Farr sign alliance

Dickson Minto and Willkie Farr sign alliance" />Private equity firms Dickson Minto and Willkie Farr & Gallagher have entered into a strategic alliance aimed at upping both their profiles either side of the Atlantic.

Last month Dickson Minto’s senior partner Alastair Dickson (pictured) said the firm was “exploring ways in which we might work more closely with them [Willkie Farr] and handle some of their requirements for legal advice in the UK” (26 May).

At that point he ruled out alliance as a precursor to merger stressing that he would not countenance anything that led to the firm’s "complete autonomy and independence being compromised in any way".

Today (June 30) Dickson said he was “delighted” that the firms have entered an alliance.

Willkie Farr chairman Jack Nusbaum said: “We are especially pleased to have found in Dickson Minto a partner that represents the very best of what we wish to offer our clients in our mutual areas of expertise.”

The intention is that the alliance will lead to a strengthening of Willkie Farr’s European presence, allowing the firm to tap into Dickson Minto’s UK law practice.