Womble Bond Dickinson set for new US merger 

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By Legal Cheek on

10

Combines with Lewis Roca next year

two people shaking hands
Womble Bond Dickinson is merging with the US outfit Lewis Roca, giving the new combined firm over 1,200 lawyers across 37 offices.

The merger is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2025, creating a new outfit with combined revenues exceeding £565 million. It will retain the name Womble Bond Dickinson.

Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Arizona, Lewis Roca is a smaller firm compared to WBD, with approximately 300 lawyers spread across eight offices in the US. In comparison, the 2025 Legal Cheek Firms Most List shows that WBD has 32 offices and around 950 lawyers

NEW: The 2025 Legal Cheek Firms Most List

On the deal, Paul Stewart, managing partner of WBD, said:

“We are excited for our clients and our people as our overall reach and footprint continues to grow. Our transatlantic partnership thrives on the deep-rooted cultural alignment between our UK and US teams and we are united by a mutual dedication to providing outstanding client service and value and a shared emphasis on key sectors and industries.”

He added: “We look forward to further helping UK clients reach their international objectives thanks to Lewis Roca’s sector-leading expertise and credentials.”

WBD is itself the product of 2017 transatlantic merger between national law firm Bond Dickinson and US outfit Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice.

10 Comments

Orinoco

Great Uncle Bulgaria would be so proud… sniff!

Anonymous

… what… does Bulgaria have to do with a law firm merger…?

Tomsk

Remember…?

Remember…?

Noddy

REMEMBER YOU’RE A WOMBLE!!!!

Anonymous

Did you really just group Blackrock and KKR in 1 sentence…?

Anon

Does that mean Womble will be paying Cravath scale???

Bob

It doesn’t…

I am the lord of the bus said he

When Eversheds merged with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, the US outfit only had 400 lawyers.

Now Eversheds Sutherland is in the top 20 law firms in the world by headcount.

Any national UK firm that wants to grow beyond a “national” firm and compete with international city firms will do so via mergers like this.

Shoosmiths will be next

Sss

Does that mean Womble will be increasing NQ salaries?

Anonymous

How easily people forget the key role WBD played in the perpetuation of the Post Office scandal. Anyone watching the evidence of their employees given at the Inquiry would have many word to describe them.

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