Barlow Lyde & Gilbert is to be no more. The firm announced yesterday that it will be taken over by Clyde & Co in November. It doesn't even get a place on the letterhead - the new firm is to be called, err, Clyde & Co.

A joint statement released by the two firms extolled the virtue of the takeover: 270 partners, 1,250 fee earners, 2,250 staff, 27 offices, all that jazz. And it's great news for Clydes, which picks up some stellar lawyers and clients, knocks out a competitor and doesn't even dent its brand. But it's less of a bargain for many at BLG, except of course for some of the senior partners.

Three BLG senior partners, including David Jabbari (BLG's CEO) and Simon Konsta (Senior Partner) get places on the board, which should eventually lead to significantly increased remuneration - profit per equity partner at Clydes is double that of BLG. But that extra pay will be in pieces of silver, at least in the eyes of 15% of their partners who are to be kicked out immediately. Although the firms don't know how many other fee earners and support staff will lose their jobs, Insiders suggest that plenty more will follow in the near future.

Still, despite the difficulties, more than 75% of BLG's partners voted for the takeover. BLG has been in the doldrums for the last decade - its turnover essentially flatlined while Clydes' increased threefold. If it wanted to stop its top performing partners from jumping ship it probably had no choice but to roll over and take whatever terms Clydes insisted.

 

 

  BLG yesterday 


But after 170 years it's a shame about the name. Clydes claims that it was agreed from the start of negotiations that it was never going to be anything else. Hmm. Which must be why the url www.blgclyde.com had already been registered when RollOnFriday did its usual spot of mischief making and attempted to cyber-squat it earlier this week...
 

 

 

Tip Off ROF