UK-headquartered law firm DWF to acquire German BridgehouseLaw at start of 2016
UK-headquartered law firm DWF announced today that it is acquiring BridgehouseLaw, a German commercial law firm, on 1 January 2016.
The newly combined firm will boast a turnover of £194m and will employ 2,360 staff members across 16 locations.
Andrew Leaitherland, DWF's managing partner and chief executive, will continue to lead the overall business post-merger, while Michael Falter, one of BridgehouseLaw's equity partners, will head up the German operation as managing partner of DWF Germany.
"BridgehouseLaw is a strong strategic fit with DWF, giving us capability in key geographic regions where we've identified growth opportunities with existing clients in our chosen industry sectors particularly tech and energy," said Leaitherland.
"DWF has a large number of German clients, as well as clients who do business in Germany, the EU and the US, and this strategic acquisition provides a platform to access many of the sectors and markets which are important to our clients’ business objectives and which support DWF’s own strategic plans."
Falter added: "DWF is an ambitious, fast-growing business with a strong track record for its innovation and there’s clear strategic alignment in our vision and culture, in the geographic markets we’re targeting, and in the industry sectors upon which we focus, so, in combining our strengths there’s a real opportunity for us to enhance our international capability for the benefit of our clients."
Noteworthy clients of DWF include Aviva, RSA and Zurich, while BridgehouseLaw has worked with Deutsche Telecom and Univa.