Further mergers between law firms have been announced, whilst a declining numbers of firms have also been revealed.
IBB Law LLP and Owen White Solicitors have announced a merger, as of the 1st of January. This will result in a combined amount of 36 partners, 100 lawyers, and £24m in annual turnover.
The firm will be known as IBB Law LLP and IBB Owen White and will operate from IBB Law’s Uxbridge and Reading office.
Joanna DeBiase, the managing partner of IBB Law, will act of managing partner of the newly merged firm, whilst Jane Masih, managing partner of Owen White, will join the board of IBB Law. DeBiase commented:
“I am absolutely delighted Jane and her partners have decided to join us on our journey to become a regional heavyweight firm. We are looking forward to working with Owen White’s team and clients from January 2023. We are going to work hard together to make sure we can offer all our clients a wider range of services.”
Masih commented:
“The decision to join forces with IBB Law is a natural response to the growing needs of our commercial client base and provides exciting opportunities to enhance the services we will be able to offer both existing and new clients. We are confident that the values and culture of IBB Law are a perfect fit for our firm and we are delighted to announce the merger and our future plans.”
The announcement follows a string of mergers within the sector with Womble Bond Dickinson and BDB Pitmans also announcing they are in early merger discussions. This merger would create a law firm with revenues in excess of £440 million.
This adds to last weeks news that Grey-Smith Legal announced its acquisition of Cochrane’s law firm.
The amount of acquisitions is having a profound impact on the amount of firms in the country as the number of firms in England and Wales has declined in the last year by 200, 20% of which were as a result of mergers.
