Penningtons ramps up with Dawsons deal

The Lawyer first revealed in March that the two firms were in talks, highlighting the pressure Dawsons was under to halt the exit of a string of partners into rival firms (14 March).

At the 2009-10 year end the firm was home to 19 partners. Successive raids by rivals means that a slimmed-down selection of equity partners will join Penningtons, along with more than 40 staff.

The announcement comes as Penningtons revealed a 7.6 per cent rise in turnover from £22.9m at the 2009-10 year end to £24m. The newly combined firm now has 62 partners, up from 48 a year earlier.

Penningtons’ chief executive David Raine said the ongoing development of his firm’s London presence was “a key part” of its overall strategic plan.

“We’ve used the dramatic downturn in the legal services market over the past two and a half years as an opportunity to enhance Penningtons’ position across all the key areas of our business so that we are well placed to benefit from the upturn when it comes,” Raine added.

The Dawsons brand, which has been a part of Lincoln’s Inn for more than 200 years, has been scrapped in favour of the Penningtons brand. Penningtons, which already has a base in Lincoln’s Inn, said it continue to look for mergers.

Raine added: “It has always been our intention to supplement our growth through lateral hires with a more ambitious merger strategy and we will continue to look for opportunties to increase the strength of our client offering.”