Luke McLeod-Roberts
HBJ Gatelely Wareing is set to merge with niche shipping and transport firm Holmes Hardingham.
HBJ Gatelely Wareing is poised to merge with niche shipping and transport firm Holmes Hardingham, in a bid to expand its contentious shipping and road transport offering.
The new shipping and transport practice will account for around 10 per cent of HBJ’s total turnover.
Under a memorandum of understanding inked between the two firms, six Holmes Hardingham partners and five other fee-earners will join forces with the 15-strong HBJ team from 2 June.
Holmes Hardingham chairman Adrian Hardingham will continue to manage his partners and will oversee the contentious side of the business, while HBJ partner Richard Coles will manage the non-contentious divison, which includes superyacht and shipping finance.
HBJ national chairman Bijan Sedghi told The Lawyer that the Holmes Hardingham brand would be retained for a limited period until clients are aware of the merger: “How long is a moot point, normally you don’t need to do it for more than a year,” he said.
HBJ came onto the London scene just a year ago, through a merger with shipping firm Shaw and Croft, giving it three partners and one associate in the shipping practice.
The firm also plans to hire a lawyer to its Dubai office in order to launch an aviation practice.