Pictured above: Philip White, Blusource Legal
highlights legal firms shaping up ahead of 2012
Blusource Legal, the legal division of recruitment and HR
specialist, The Blusource Group, has just revealed it was the
'third party' in the merger between Nottingham law firm Berryman
and West Midlands-based Shakespeare Putsman.
The merger, which was announced last week, will create a
£30m firm with 440 lawyers and staff across the East and West
Midlands. Blusource CEO Andrew Springhall said because of the
company's region-wide connections, they were aware that Berryman's
strategy for some time had been to look for expansion opportunities
and also knew that Shakespeare Putsman was keen to move into the
East Midlands following their recent merger with Stratford-based
Needham & James, making the firm one of the largest in the West
Midlands.
Springhall commented: "Recession aside mergers, takeovers and
general restructuring is a growing trend for law firms as changes
outlined in the Legal Services Act (2007) will come fully into
force in 2012. With some experts calling the Act 'the big
bang for the legal profession' the market is facing serious
upheaval and intense competition, with many traditional business
models in the sector being forced to change or dramatically lose
out."
Philip White, who heads up Blusource Legal reports that the
Berryman/Shakespeare Putsman scenario is just one of many of the
emerging deals in the region.
"We're acting as facilitator for a number of firms of varying
sizes all waking up to the fact that the legal landscape will look
very different post 2012. Merger is just one option with team
strengthening and consolidation emerging as priorities for
forward-thinking firms. Many are adding strategic headhunting from
partner level down to their brief, in what is an increasingly
competitive and complex marketplace."
Echoing this, Paul Wilson, CEO at Shakespeare Putsman confirmed
the firm had decided to undertake a second merger because of the
economic climate and ahead of the ramifications of the Legal
Services Act.
Berryman's chairman Richard Brackenbury confirmed that the firm
will remain committed to Nottingham with a Midlands-wide network of
regional offices and the combined teams reflecting an ambitious,
growing operation moving towards to establishing the practice as a
leading Midlands law firm.