New 24-Office, 1,000-Lawyer Firm Created by Combination of Bond Dickinson and Womble Carlyleto Serve Clients in UK and US

Effective today, UK-based Bond Dickinson LLP and US-based Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP have combined to create Womble Bond Dickinson.

The combined platform includes:

• 24 offices in key commercial and financial markets across the US and UK, including the firm’s newest offices in Boston and Edinburgh as well as access to Europe through existing relationships;
• The bench strength of 1,000 lawyers. By size, the combined firm is a Top 20 firm in the UK, Top 80 firm in the US, as well as a Global Top 100 firm by annual revenue ($410 million/£340million);
• A client base that includes more than 250 publicly traded companies.

The combined firm will have eleven key sectors: Energy & Natural Resources, Financial Institutions, Healthcare, Insurance, Manufacturing, Real Estate, Retail & Consumer, Transport & Infrastructure, Pharmaceuticals Biotechnology & Life Sciences, Communications & Technology and Private Wealth. Womble Bond Dickinson will use its global strengths in these areas to advance and protect clients’ interests; provide hands-on, switched-on legal advice; give outstanding personal service; and offer exceptional value.

“Baltimore and the UK have enjoyed strong ties going all the way back to our city’s founding. The Womble Bond Dickinson combination will help us serve clients engaged in cross-border commerce, which is so vital to our region’s economy,” said David Hamilton, Managing Partner of Womble Bond Dickinson’s Baltimore Office.

In June, Hamilton hosted an event at the Womble Bond Dickinson London office for Gov. Hogan, also attended by Commerce Secretary Mike Gill. The event was part of the Governor’s trade mission to promote Maryland generally and to focus specifically on Maryland as the go-to venue for cybersecurity. The State recently opened a trade office in London to showcase Maryland’s advantages in growing industry sectors like cybersecurity and FinTech.

“This is a combination of two firms with a common culture and a shared commitment to client service,” said Womble Bond Dickinson Co-Chair Jonathan Blair. “A growing percentage of our clients have operations on both sides of the Atlantic, and Womble Bond Dickinson will provide those clients with the consistent support they value highly.”

Womble Bond Dickinson Co-Chair Betty Temple commented “This isn’t just the combination of a big US firm and a big UK firm. It’s the combination of a law office in Newcastle with one in Charlotte, an office in Baltimore with an office in Bristol and so on. This entire development was borne out of a desire to better serve the business communities in which Womble Bond Dickinson is rooted.”

The Womble Bond Dickinson combination was announced on June 1 2017 and builds on the successful strategic alliance announced by the two firms in June 2016. Integration is well underway, and both firms are immersing themselves in the additional capability that the combination provides and working through the opportunities that this new proposition brings.

The new entity is a company limited by guarantee in which Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP and Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP operate as separate non-profit-sharing partnerships with their own independent Boards. Four members of each Board have been appointed to the board of the new entity. That Board is co-chaired by Jonathan Blair and Betty Temple.

For more information, please go to http://www.womblebonddickinson.com.

“Womble Bond Dickinson,” the “law firm” or the “firm” refers to the network of member firms of Womble Bond Dickinson (International) Limited, consisting of Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP and Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP. Each of Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP and Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP is a separate legal entity operating as an independent law firm. Womble Bond Dickinson (International) Limited does not practice law. Please see www.womblebonddickinson.com/us/legal-notice for further details.