Merger of law firms could see increased opportunities between Yorkshire and US

Law firm Bond Dickinson LLP and US-based Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP have today formally combined to form Womble Bond Dickinson.

Announced earlier this year, the merger builds on a strategic alliance announced by the two firms in June 2016, creating a Global Top 100 firm by annual revenue of £340m.

Bond Dickinson has several UK offices, including a large Leeds presence. TheBusinessDesk.com spoke with Leeds partners Simon Pilling and Paula Dillon ahead of the formal merger today.

Pilling, corporate partner in Leeds, said: “US corporates could be looking at the UK and Yorkshire for potential investment opportunities, which is helped by currency at the moment, and firms here will also be looking for opportunities in the US. This is something we are very excited about as firms look to grow globally, not just locally.”

Specifically, he said there were synergies around sectors including fintech, manufacturing, retail, health and consumer goods in areas where their counterparts are based in the US. He said Private Equity clients from Yorkshire had also already expressed an interest in investing in US businesses.

Real Estate partner Dillon, also president of the Leeds Chamber of Commerce, said it would be business as usual for the practice but that their new colleagues based in many regional offices in the US would allow the firms to link up clients with ambitions to grow.

“As lawyers, we are always talking to businesses on their journey. We can make small introductions. Some firms have come forward already from the Leeds City Region because they know about our alliance; before this was announced we didn’t even know they had the ambition to grow into the US. We would look to, for example, introduce them to an expert in manufacturing to show them the ropes in the US. Being able to do that for a client is a new departure for us.”

Dillon, who has also been appointed to the board of the new entity, said it was also a focus to put Leeds City Region on the map and that there were similarities between Leeds, in terms of its growth strategy, to places including Maryland and Baltimore. Already the firm has received visitors from the US and will use such opportunities to highlight the benefits of investing in the region.

Pilling added: “I am committed to this business community and it is critical that we are in a place that we can make a significant contribution to the region.”

The new transatlantic platform offers clients access to 24 offices across the US and UK and more than 1,000 lawyers serving more than 250 publicly traded companies.

The new entity is a company limited by guarantee in which Womble Bond Dickinson UK LLP and Womble Bond Dickinson US LLP operate as separate non-profit-sharing partnerships with their own independent Boards.

Four members from each partnership have been appointed to the board of the new entity, including Dillon.