Conveyancing firms O’Neill Patient and Cavendish Legal Group are to merge, creating a firm that will challenge for the UK top 70. Stockport-headquartered O’Neill Patient is the larger of the two parties, posting revenue of £31m in the year ending 31 December 2018. Its main area of practice is conveyancing but it also handles commercial […]
Two Polish firms are merging into a single entity, a rare fusion at a time when the coronavirus is ravaging the global legal market. The combination of mid-size local firms Zieba & Partners and JS Legal will be called B2R Law Jankowski Stroiński Zięba, and will number 14 partners, as well as 70 lawyers. The […]
East Anglian firm Birketts is to take its first steps into the London market via a merger with an insurance boutique. EC3 Legal has been in business for eight years and is led by David Coupe, a former partner at both Clyde & Co and Ince & Co. It has around 18 lawyers, including five […]
Listed law firm Knights has continued its rapid expansion with the acquisition of two firms in the UK 100-200 bracket. Shulmans of Leeds and ASB Law of Crawley are the latest firms to be taken over, following a spate of acquisitions including North West firm Turner Parkinson; Leicester-based Spearing Waite and Cummins Solicitors, as well […]
Two firms in South East England are to merge in the spring. Southampton’s Moore Blatch and Guildford’s Barlow Robbins will tie the knot on 1 May 2020, creating a combined firm which will be named Moore Barlow. The firm will have offices in Southampton, Guildford, Woking and Lymington, as well as two London outposts in […]
DWF has absorbed an Australian law firm to expand its Asia-Pacific presence, yet another acquisition in a global expansion effort that has seen openings to bolster its international network. The publicly-listed firm has opened its doors to a 16-strong team that includes eight lawyers from McDonald Johnson Lawyers, a legal outfit based in Newcastle, a city […]
National firm Weightmans has acquired a regional player in the North of England, in a move that will enable it to set up shop in Newcastle for the first time. Weightmans has bought Watson Burton, which has offices in Newcastle, Leeds and London. The deal went live today and sees Weightmans take on 64 new […]
Norway’s Schjødt and Sweden’s Hamilton have merged to create a €108m firm, in what is one of the first Norwegian-Swedish tie-ups. Following a partnership vote this week, Schjødt will commence a full integration with Hamilton. The combined firm’s revenue will be around €108.4m; in 2018, Schjødt’s revenue was €87.4m while Hamilton’s was €21m. The firms […]
Kingsley Napley has acquired an employment boutique, as the criminal defence specialists seek to build out its employment practice in its first bolt-on deal since the mid-90s. Archon Solicitors will join Kingsley Napley’s offices and cease to operate as an independent firm at the end of September. This merger comes on the back of a […]
After over a year of discussions between the pair, Allen & Overy and O’Melveny & Myers have called off their proposed merger. In a joint statement, the firms said: “Allen & Overy and O’Melveny & Myers have held discussions about a possible combination and, despite agreeing that there were some compelling synergies between us and […]
As merger negotiations between Allen & Overy (A&O) and US firm O’Melveny & Myers drag on, tensions have arisen over the branding of the combined firm, The Lawyer understands. In particular, one of the options considered for the new name triggered a negative reaction from O’Melveny. A&O is understood to have pitched a tentative A&O’, […]
Penningtons Manches is to merge with London shipping specialist Thomas Cooper to create a £90m firm, the latest development in ongoing mid-tier consolidation. The merger is due to go live on 31 June and the combined firm will be known as Penningtons Manches Cooper. Thomas Cooper managing partner Tim Kelleher will join the management board […]