Cobbetts team moves as DWF pre-pack nears

LAW firm Walker Morris has acquired Cobbetts’s 27-strong Leeds-based banking litigation team.

The acquisition includes partners Andrew Bennett and Ciaran Corry and brings the Walker Morris banking litigation team to five partners and 47 fee earners.

The deal comes as rival firm DWF seals its acquisition of Cobbetts via a pre-pack deal.

KPMG was yesterday appointed administrator to Cobbetts, which has a Leeds office.

It is understood that an agreement has been reached which will see DWF take on the bulk of the Cobbetts business, with 419 of the firm’s employees and partners from its four offices in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and London understood to be transferring to DWF.

Mark Firmin, Brian Green and Howard Smith of KPMG’s restructuring practice in Manchester have been appointed as joint administrators.

Cobbetts revealed last week that it had announced a notice of intention to appoint administrators amid tough trading in the professional services sector.