Berwin Leighton Paisner

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Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP
Headquarters Adelaide House
London, United Kingdom
No. of offices 9 offices globally
No. of lawyers 850+
Major practice areas Full service – Real estate, Finance, Litigation and Dispute Resolution (LDR), Tax and Corporate
Key people Robert MacGregor
(Chairman)
Neville Eisenberg
(Managing Partner)
Revenue Increase £246 million
Date founded 2001 (merger)
Company type LLP
Website
blplaw.com

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) is an international law firm with over 850 lawyers, including more than 200 partners based across nine offices. The offices are in eight countries around the world, predominantly providing services in corporate, finance, litigation and dispute resolution, real estate and tax. The firm opened three new offices in 2011 and continues to grow both in UK and internationally; in 2011–2012 it recorded an 8% increase in revenue growth to £246million and an increase in net profit to £93million.[1]

BLP's current managing partner is Neville Eisenberg who was re-elected for a fifth three-year term beginning in May 2012,[2] with Real Estate head Robert MacGregor taking over as Chairman at the same time.[3]

BLP is ranked 13th largest in UK law firms by turnover in 2010–11 at £229m, with profit per equity partner at £712k/year, a 56% increase over the year.[4]

History

BLP's roots lie in the early twentieth century, when the three original law firms were founded.[5] Paisner & Co was established in 1932 by Leslie Paisner and provided general legal advice. Lionel Leighton established Leighton & Co in 1942, a firm that advised on litigation and property development. Berwin & Co was founded in 1963 by Stanley Berwin, specialising in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and tax. Leighton & Co and Berwin & Co merged in 1970 to form Berwin Leighton and moved into Adelaide House, the office that houses BLP's current London headquarters.

Berwin Leighton Paisner was formed on 1 May 2001 when the two firms merged, comprising a total of nearly 1000 staff, with 122 partners.[6] The agreement to merge was heralded by a steel band and balloons in the office foyer, following 8 months of negotiations.[7] Neville Eisenberg was elected managing partner of Berwin Leighton in 1999, and has held the same position in BLP since the merger,[8] while Harold Paisner is senior partner.[9]

Offices

BLP is headquartered in London, with eight other offices across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.[10][11][12] The Moscow office was opened in 2009 in the formation of Goltsblat BLP, a 70-strong team[13] that is the only joint venture between an international and local firm in Russia.[14] It contributes roughly a tenth of BLP's overall revenue, reporting a 60% rise in the first half of 2010.[15] The firm opened a Singapore office in 1997, a Hong Kong office in 2012, and has announced plans to open an office in Beijing subject to license approval.[16] BLP also opened offices in Berlin and Frankfurt in 2011.[17]

Through its network of ‘preferred firms’ – representing more than 100 leading firms in over 65 countries – and through its own office network, BLP has worked in over 130 countries in the past two years. The firm has seen 45 percent international revenue growth in the 2011–2012 financial year.[18][19]

Principal areas of work

BLP lawyers are ranked in over 60 areas of legal expertise and have experience across 20 industry sectors. These include: commercial contracts; corporate finance; defence and aerospace; dispute resolution; energy and natural resources; EU, competition & Trade; finance; healthcare and education; hotels, leisure and gaming; human resources; insurance; intellectual property; outsourcing; public sector; real estate; retail; regulatory and compliance; restructuring and insolvency; tax; technology, media and telecoms; and transport and infrastructure.[20]

Innovation

BLP was ranked fifth in Europe in terms of innovation at the FT Innovative Lawyer Awards 2011.[21] To meet changing needs of clients, the firm created award winning, innovative legal resourcing services, such as Lawyers on Demand (LOD) and Managed Legal Service (MLS). LOD provides its clients with a pool of flexible, freelance lawyers when they need them at low cost. The business separated from BLP on 1 June 2012, however remains headquartered at BLP’s offices – BLP retains an 80 per cent stake in LOD.[22][23] MLS enables clients to use BLP to manage their legal needs under a long term, fixed-price deal with guaranteed levels of service. MLS has been retained by a major utilities supplier and a well known UK high street bank.[24]

References

  1. ↑ "BLP unveils 8 per cent revenue rise for 2011–12". The Lawyer. Retrieved 13 June 2012. 
  2. ↑ "Neville Eisenberg". Berwin Leighton Paisner. Retrieved 17 December 2010. 
  3. ↑ "BLP elects Robert MacGregor as its new Chairman". Berwin Leighton Paisner. Retrieved 28 April 2012. 
  4. ↑ "Berwin Leighton Paisner Firm Profile". The Lawyer. Retrieved 3 October 2011. 
  5. ↑ "Heritage". Berwin Leighton Paisner. Retrieved 18 December 2010. 
  6. ↑ "Berwin Leighton and Paisners merge". The Lawyer. 5 March 2001. Retrieved 17 December 2010. 
  7. ↑ "Berwin Leighton And Paisner Vote To Wed". Law Careers.net. 19 March 2001. Retrieved 18 December 2010. 
  8. ↑ "Berwin Leighton elects new managing partner". The Lawyer. 11 April 1999. Retrieved 17 December 2010. 
  9. ↑ "Harold Paisner". Berwin Leighton Paisner. Retrieved 18 December 2010. 
  10. ↑ "BLP relocates City partner duo to Hong Kong ahead of new local launch". Legalweek. Retrieved 30 November 2011. 
  11. ↑ "BLP signs up Linklaters partners for double Germany office launch". Legalweek. Retrieved 30 November 2011. 
  12. ↑ "BLP begins Middle East push with Abu Dhabi". The Lawyer. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 
  13. ↑ "BLP opens in Moscow with hire of 70-lawyer team". Legal Week. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2010. 
  14. ↑ "One of a kind". The Lawyer. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010. 
  15. ↑ "BLP's former finance head relocates to Moscow". The Lawyer. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010. 
  16. ↑ "Former BLP chair seconded to Tesco China ahead of Beijing launch". The Lawyer. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 
  17. ↑ "BLP International Offices". Berwin Leighton Paisner. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 
  18. ↑ "BLP announces 8% revenue growth as firm nears £250m mark". Legal Week. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 
  19. ↑ "Where we operate". Berwin Leighton Paisner. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 
  20. ↑ "About BLP". Berwin Leighton Paisner. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 
  21. ↑ "About BLP". Berwin Leighton Paisner. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 
  22. ↑ "Who we are". Laywers on Demand. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 
  23. ↑ "BLP to spin off Lawyers on Demand business". The Lawyer. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 
  24. ↑ "BLP Managed Legal Service". Berwin Leighton Paisner. Retrieved 6 July 2012. 

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