UK law firm Bond Dickinson, which has its second-largest office in Bristol, this week officially completed its transatlantic tie-up with US-based Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice in a move that creates a global top 100 firm.
Newly rebranded as Womble Bond Dickinson, the combined firm has annual revenues of £340m ($410m) and 24 offices in key commercial and financial locations across the US and UK, including Bristol. 
It also now has a ranking among the UK’s top 20 law firms and becomes the largest transatlantic legal practice in the South West. This said this would enable it to advise the region’s businesses on domestic and global matters across its key sectors of expertise – energy & natural resources; financial institutions; healthcare; insurance; manufacturing; real estate; retail & consumer; transport, logistics & infrastructure; pharmaceuticals, biotechnology & life sciences; technology; and private wealth.
The merged firm now employs 1,000-plus lawyers – 250 of them in its Bristol office at Temple Quay – serving more than 250 publicly traded companies and has interested across through existing relationships in Germany and France.
Former Bond Dickinson managing partner Jonathan Blair, who has become co-chair of Womble Bond Dickinson, said: “This is a combination of two firms with a common culture and a shared commitment to client service.
“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.”
Fellow co-chair Betty Temple – formerly Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice CEO – added “This isn’t just the combination of a big US firm and a big UK firm. It’s the alignment of an office in Newcastle with one in Charlotte, an office in Baltimore with an office in Bristol and so on.
“This combination was born out of a desire to better serve the business communities in which Womble Bond Dickinson is rooted.”
Partner and Bristol office head Julian Kinsey said the move was not only good news for its clients who require a seamless transatlantic approach but those it works closely with on purely domestic business.
“The combination increases our intellectual capital, allows us to innovate more readily and helps us to attract and retain the best talent in our local markets,” he said.
“We are proud of our heritage in the South West and are confident that with our success and depth of expertise, we can support our clients to thrive and prosper in a rapidly changing world.
“Womble Bond Dickinson gives us a unique footprint, offering expanded capability, greater commercial opportunities and direct access to the best legal minds on both sides of the Atlantic. Becoming Womble Bond Dickinson ensures our continued commitment to our regions whilst bringing greater market insight and international experience.”
Bond Dickinson was itself the result of the 2013 merger between Bond Pearce, which opened its first office in Bristol in 1998, and Newcastle-based Dickinson Dees. Prior to the merger Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice was the 88th largest legal firm in the US by lawyer numbers.
Pictured: Womble Bond Dickinson co-chairs Jonathan Blair and Betty Temple
