Newcastle law firm Watson Burton has been acquired by national law firm Weightmans, giving the larger legal practice its first footing in the city.
The two firms have been in discussions since July, but only began firming up the talks in August.
The deal sees Watson Burton become Weightman’s eighth 海角视频 office.
Along with its head office in Liverpool Weightmans has offices in Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, London and Manchester.
Weightmans’ managing partner John Schorah said that Watson Burton was a great fit for the business, adding that he hoped to grow the Newcastle office and add a new personal injury team to the practice.
Mr Schorah said: “We are always on the look out and I think there will be more consolidation in the legal industry. There is more to be said about economies of scale for investing in tech which is becoming more and more important and making sure we have as full a set of skill and capabilities to offer our clients as possible.
“The full Watson Burton team fits very well within the organisations that we work with. They have a great personal indemnity practice, they are very strong with owner managed businesses. They have some good education clients and in energy they have soom good energy clietns.
“So the business fits very well with the clients and sectors here.
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“They don’t have a personal injury side of things that we do, but that is something we will look to grow.”
Weightmans will now carry out a 100-day plan to manage the combination smoothly.
The firm’s first Newcastle office opens today, 28 October 2019, and will incorporate the existing Watson Burton LLP business, clients and staff operating from St James’ Gate in the city centre, with plans to develop all core sectors across the region including insurance and public sector. Watson Burton’s Leeds office also forms part of the deal and staff based there will move to Weightmans’ Westgate Point premises.
After that the firm will be looking to create a new personal injury business in Newcastle.
Mr Schorah said the firm would be open to both acquiring a full team or building up the practice from scratch.
Following the merger Watson Burton’s managing partner Christopher Graham will continue to run the office, in his new role as head of Weightmans’ Newcastle office.
Watson Burton’s remaining partners will also take up partner positions at Weightmans.
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To help align the Newcastle office to the rest of Weightmans, Mr Schorah said that partners from the firm would move to the region to assist the existing team.
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Mr Schorah added that he did not expect there to be any redundancies made at Watson Burton’s following the move but said there was some cross over with the two firms’ administration teams.
He added: “They have about 64 or 65 people, I would hope to see that number grow.”
Weightmans previously tried to enter the North East market back in 2017 when the company entered merger talks with Newcastle law firm Ward Hadaway. The merger would have created a top 40 海角视频 law firm and boosted its revenues to £130.9m.
The deal was called off later that year, with the two firms citing strategic differences.
Watson Burton managing partner Chris Graham said: “We are immensely proud of our history and achievements in the North East. Joining forces with Weightmans we will be better placed to compete both locally and nationally, offering a broader range of core and more specialised services. We have much in common with Weightmans and are confident of making even more of an impact in the region.”
Watson Burton will operate under the Weightmans brand.