Clyde & Co, BLM decide on UK-focused union

Clyde & Co, BLM decide on UK-focused union

Clydes, a global insurance law firm, says that it will be able to offer a wide range of services to UK clients as part of the deal

As a result of a merger agreement between Clyde & Co and BLM, Clydes' top line is expected to increase by almost £100m.

It is anticipated that Clyde & Co will be launched in July and will see BLM's 790 lawyers combining with Clyde's 2,440 legal professionals to create a firm with revenues of around £735 million.

CMS absorbed Olswang and Nabarro in 2016 and this is the largest merger for Clydes in terms of revenues and headcount since it merged with Barlow Lyde & Gilbert in 2011. In addition, it is the latest in a line of mergers of UK law firms that span 30 years and are primarily driven by the demands of large insurance companies for bulk work to be handled efficiently but also consistently and to a high level of quality.

BLM specializes in insurance risk and commercial law and has three locations in Ireland as well as ten in the United Kingdom. After the merger, it will become part of Clydes' global insurance practice, which provides advisory and dispute resolution services to insurers and their clients, including nearly every top 20 insurer in the UK.

Clyde & Co partner James Cooper and chair of its global insurance practice group said that the firm was seeking to increase the scale of its UK casualty insurance practice through a merger to give clients in this market the full range of services, technology, analytics and innovation they seek.

BLM and we share the same approach to client service, have complementary client lists, and similar ambitions in this field," he said. "This partnership will also strengthen our regional UK presence as well as our healthcare and professional liability products."

Majority of the BLM attorneys will join Clyde's casualty insurance practice, while other significant numbers will join Clyde's professional liability, healthcare and business advisory practices.

Clyde & Co's CEO, Matthew Kelsall, said that the merger positions Clyde & Co as a leading law firm serving the insurance sector across the UK and strengthens its ability to provide insurers with the depth and breadth of support across business lines and regions.

The Clydes Group has steadily expanded its global presence and currently operates more than 50 offices worldwide, including 13 in the Americas and Asia Pacific, eight in the Middle East and Africa and 16 in the UK and continental Europe. The acquisition of BLM follows the merger with Vancouver firm SHK Law Corporation in May 2021 and the absorption of aviation boutique REN Legal in October 2021 to enhance the firm's transactional and commercial litigation capabilities in its global aviation practice area.

A team of insurance attorneys from Foran Glennon Palandech Ponzi & Rudloff joined the firm in Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas last year, which Kelsall described as "a significant step in our goal to establish a leading national insurance practice in the US."

Clydes has announced in July 2018 that its revenue had increased by 2percent to £639.6 million over the financial year to 30 April accompanied by an increase of 7.5percent in profit per equity partner (PEP) to £715 thousand. Meanwhile, BLM's financial growth has stagnated since 2015, with turnover hovering around the £100 million mark and profit per equity partner falling 37percent during the same period, according to Law.com.

Additionally, the firm has had to contend with competition from its larger UK insurance specialist competitors, like Kennedys, which hired seven lawyers and three partners from it on May 2021 to improve its catastrophic injury team.

BLM's senior partner Matthew Harrington described the merger with Clydes as "one of alignment of values and approaches, which provides huge benefits to our clients in the areas that matter most."

Together, the firms' expertise "will strengthen our market offering in the UK casualty, health and professional liability markets, with true operational excellence and the flexibility to respond quickly to changing market conditions."