DWS ponders LLP as BLP takes the plunge

Berwin Leighton Paisner has agreed to convert to limited-liability partnership (LLP) status following a partnership vote on 31 October. The firm's conversion to LLP status was effective from 1 December. Meanwhile, Denton Wilde Sapte (DWS) has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as its adviser as it too considers converting to LLP status, deferring its vote by almost a year. The law firm has asked PwC to identify the steps it has to take to convert into an LLP and, at the end of the process, the firm will make a recommendation to partners. DWS expects that the decision will be put to vote in the second half of the 2006 calendar year. The firm originally said it was going to vote on LLP conversion this winter in response to a survey by The Lawyer (10 October).

First revealed on www. thelawyer.com 1 December/25 November