Berrymans Lace Mawer
No of UK Partners: 100
No of UK Assistant Solicitors: 179
Other Fee Earners: 144
www.blm-law.com
Dispute resolution is the lifeblood of Berrymans Lace Mawer, whether it be through the firm’s insurance practice, its marine division, employment tribunals, on behalf of its impressive range of public sector clients or through its niche defamation practice.
The result of the 1997 merger between London’s Berrymans and the north-west’s Lace Mawer, BLM is best known for its leading defendant insurance practice, which acts for major insurance companies such as Norwich Union, Zurich and AXA, and reinsurance practice serving Lloyds of London syndicates. 2004 also saw a major development for the firm when it opened its first claimant personal injury practice, following a successful application to join the Automobile Association’s claimant panel, potentially worth £5m a year in fees.
Insurance, however, has been a difficult market to practice in for the past decade as the major insurers have squeezed their advisers’ fees and the Woolf Reforms have reduced the number of cases reaching court. The firm has sought to diversify its practice by offering more corporate and commercial advice, but with only limited success. It has developed an advisory employment practice, but is now sticking primarily to contentious work, including commercial litigation.
This profile is reflected in its main regional centres Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. Although Lace Mawer was originally a Liverpool firm, the Manchester office is now the largest in the north-west, with 27 partners and a total staff of 207, compared with the 15 partners and a total staff of 78 in Liverpool. Within the firm, Manchester has developed an expertise in occupational disease claims and risk management, while Liverpool has a particular reputation for its clinical negligence, housing and police claims disciplines. Birmingham, meanwhile, has developed a specialism in fast and multi-track employers’ liability and motor claims. As well as its London office, the firm also has presences in Leeds, Southampton, Stockton-on-Tees and Dubai, with associated offices in Paris, other European locations and South East Asia.
Qualities to emphasise in applications include independence of thought, the ability to relate well to clients and colleagues, self-motivation and enthusiasm. Marketing skills are also valued and the firm expects staff to actively seek self-development in terms of professional qualifications and continuing professional development.
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