UK merger will create leading risk firm

Established law firms Berrymans Lace Mawer and HBM Sayers will merge to create BLM, a UK risk and insurance law business.

BLM, which will complete on May 1, 2014, will be a £100 million business with 170 partners and 630 lawyers and technical experts. They will operate from 12 offices across the UK.

Mike Brown, senior partner at Berrymans Lace Mawer, said: "We're excited about helping our clients to save time and money reducing risk, resolving disputes and managing claims. As BLM we will be able to do that across more lines of business and in more locations for more clients. The combination will give us a competitive edge at a time when Scotland's legal market is changing, presenting our business with significant opportunities."

David Taylor, chairperson of the HBM Sayers management board, said: "BLM will be about more than just claims.  It will be a modern risk and insurance law business. Although we work with many of the top global insurers, our client base also includes large numbers of corporate insured businesses, and health and public sector bodies. We'll be unique in the way that we're embedded in the wider risk and insurance world.”