New global outfit will be led by two women
International law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) and US outfit Bryan Cave have agreed to join forces to create a new transatlantic titan within the legal market.
The new firm, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP), will have roughly 1,600 lawyers across 32 offices in 11 different countries. The tie-up will officially go live in April. Commenting on the deal, BLP’s managing partner, Lisa Mayhew, said: “Our combination is rooted in a shared determination to do something fresh and different for clients.” She continued:
“Clients will benefit from our combined legal expertise; our shared values and culture and our approach to innovation in their interests. Different to most other international firms, ours will be fully financially integrated from day one. This will enable us to work in teams whose only focus will be to provide a first-class service to clients.”
As an interesting aside, the new outfit will have two women at its helm: BLP’s Mayhew will be teaming up with Bryan Cave’s Washington-based chair, Therese Pritchard.
BLP, which offers around 40 training contracts annually, performed well in Legal Cheek’s Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey, scoring As for training, quality of work, peer support, tech and social life. On the other side of the Atlantic, Missouri-headquartered Bryan Cave was founded in 1873 and specialises in a range of practice areas including tax, retail, private wealth and technology.