Beachcroft LLP and Davies Arnold Cooper LLP have merged today to form DAC Beachcroft LLP.
The new firm, DAC Beachcroft, is a leading international legal business with more than 2,000 people across the UK, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. It provides a full service claims, transactional, commercial, risk and advisory capability.
DAC Beachcroft works with clients in a select range of industry sectors and are market leaders in health, insurance and real estate.
Firm facts
* Number of partners: 230
* Total number of people: 2,000
* Expected annual turnover: £190 million
* UK locations: Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Newport and Winchester
* International locations: Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and Spain
* International associations: member of Harmonie Group of law firms providing coverage across North America and Europe; working in association with JBO Advocacia (Brazil) and SegurosLex (Chile); joint venture with KS Partners (India)
DAC Beachcroft's leadership will comprise a Board and an Executive Committee led by Senior Partner Simon Hodson and Managing Partner Paul Murray respectively. The new firm will also have Practice Group and Sector Heads leading teams of legal experts that deliver the right response to the needs of its clients and managing those relationships across key industry sectors.
Practice Heads
* Claims Solutions: Duncan Rutter
* Corporate & Commercial: Martin Cannon
* Dispute Resolution: Trevor Chamberlain
* Employment & Pensions: Sue Jenkins
* Global: Paulino Fajardo
* Real Estate: Robert Lee
Sector Heads
* Health: Nigel Montgomery
* Financial Institutions (insurance) David Pollitt
* Real Estate: Michael Bothamley
* Public Sector: Stephen Hocking
* Retail & Leisure: Sue Jenkins
* Industrials & Manufacturing: Tony Cherry
* Technology & Telecoms: Tim Sewart
Simon Hodson, Senior Partner of DAC Beachcroft, commented: "Today is a significant landmark in the history of both firms as we join forces to create DAC Beachcroft. The abundant synergies between the firms are illustrated not only by the sectors in which we operate but also by the full range of services we can now offer clients. Covering both bespoke high-value instructions through to high volume low-cost work, we are ideally positioned to cater for the changing legal needs of our clients. Insurance and Healthcare are both industries where the new firm will continue to lead however an added bonus of the merger is the significant increase in our real estate capability across the UK and in Madrid."
Danny Gowan, International Senior Partner at DAC Beachcroft, added: "The merger now give us the platform to continue developing relationships with insurers and reinsurers internationally and particularly in Latin America. We have an outstanding team of lawyers in London, Madrid, Mexico who work in conjunction with JBO Advocacia in Brazil and SegurosLex in Chile. DAC Beachcroft is currently the only UK-based law firm operating in Mexico."
Paul Murray, Managing Partner of DAC Beachcroft, said: "I am very pleased with how the integration has gone so far. This is an on-going process that will be fully completed over the next 12 months. Nevertheless, our management teams have been very professional in their approach and the Practice Group Heads have all started mapping clients from both firms and setting the strategy for their respective groups. Overall, I am most pleased with the cultural fit of the two firms - we actually get on together very well. Personally, it has been an absolute pleasure getting to know my new colleagues in London, Manchester, Madrid and Mexico."