Tie-up creates UK’s largest listed legal outfit
London law firm Gordon Dadds and international player Ince & Co have agreed to join forces to create the UK’s largest listed legal outfit — but it’s still unclear whether Lord Hain will be part of the new venture.
The new firm, Ince Gordon Dadds, will have combined revenues of £110 million and 100 partners across nine offices. The deal, estimated to be worth £43 million, is scheduled to go live at the end of December.
Commenting on the tie-up, Adrian Biles, Gordon Dadds’ managing partner, said:
“Ince is a highly successful and well-respected business with an iconic brand and I will be delighted to welcome our new colleagues to the group. The merger will build upon the complementary strengths of the two firms in terms of industry expertise and range of services. Our management model will also allow Ince’s partners and fee earners to focus even more on providing market leading legal advice to a stellar client base.”
News of the deal comes just days after Legal Cheek revealed that Hain, the peer who named Sir Philip Green as the #MeToo scandal businessman, was listed as a “remunerated” adviser to Gordon Dadds, the firm that represented The Telegraph in the well-publicised injunction case. Gordon Dadds declined to comment on Hain’s future at the firm.
In response to our report, the Labour peer stressed he was acting in a “personal capacity” and was “completely unaware” Gordon Dadds represented the newspaper.
I took the decision to name Sir Philip Green in my personal capacity as an independent member of the House Of Lords. I categorically state that I was completely unaware Gordon Dadds were advising the Telegraph regarding this case. https://t.co/FWEWRfIbga
— Peter Hain (@PeterHain) October 26, 2018
Hain’s statement triggered a flurry of tweets from lawyers pointing out that Gordon Dadds’ name appeared in bold on the front page of the High Court judgment.
