fivehundred magazine > Leadership > Making a merger – the hard yards behind the first year of BCLP

Making a merger – the hard yards behind the first year of BCLP

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner co-chair Lisa Mayhew speaks to UK Solicitors editor Georgina Stanley on 2018’s transatlantic merger and the strategy for future growth

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‘What have I learned?’ quips Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) co-chair Lisa Mayhew, speaking to The Legal 500 last month on the first anniversary of the firm’s merger, ‘I’ve learned that mergers are hard work and you don’t sleep much.’

The combined firm launched at the start of April last year, when top 20 UK firm Berwin Leighton Paisner teamed up with Missouri’s Bryan Cave. After more than a year of discussions the union created a transatlantic firm with combined revenues of some $900m, generated by more than 1,500 lawyers working across 31 countries around the world.

Twelve months on, while it may be only weeks since the firm handed out celebratory decorated biscuits to mark its first birthday, Mayhew says it feels like the pair have been together for far longer. ‘It’s flown by, in many respects, but it’s also hard to imagine a time when we weren’t BCLP – we spent 14 months discussing it before the merger went live, so it feels like two years.’

Integration efforts are well underway, with BCLP about to launch a new global IT platform intended to integrate people and clients, while other combined projects in the pipeline cover everything from key global clients, to industry sectors, to diversity.

All of these are intended to help both legacy arms work better together as a single entity. To date, teams from both sides of the Atlantic have worked on more than 800 so-called ‘mirror matters’, involving blended teams from both legacy firms. Combined, these have generated more than $80m in revenue.

‘At least one third of that revenue we wouldn’t have otherwise got, so it is an encouraging and positive symbol of the quality of the combination,’ says Mayhew. ‘It isn’t just London and the US involved here – we don’t have a single one of our offices that hasn’t in some way touched one of these matters.’

Mayhew argues that a key factor behind the union’s success so far has been the combined profit pool she and her US co-chair Therese Pritchard pushed for: ‘Because we structured it as one profit pool from day one, everyone has been in the same boat from day one; jointly incentivised to be successful together – this has encouraged people to work together.

‘Our remuneration structure isn’t lockstep or eat what you kill; there are financial criteria that encourage partners to collaborate – a lot of information is gathered about how partners have supported each other.’

BCLP has certainly persuaded a significant number of new recruits to share its joint vision.

In the year since the deal, the combined firm has brought in no fewer than 17 lateral hires globally. Mayhew insists that some of these, such as recent M&A recruit Simon Beddow, who joined from Ashurst earlier this year, wouldn’t have joined had it not been for the presence across the Atlantic that Bryan Cave brought to the union.

And while the firm is not planning to do a Dentons and tag on additional firms around the world, its growth plans will not be restricted to the additions to date.

‘As part of our aspiration of becoming the most connected global law firm, we plan to strengthen the markets we’re in rather than build new offices. We have a big lateral programme,’ says Mayhew. ‘We see growth in key US cities, Europe, and our Asian business. Simon is a needle-moving hire for us and we want to build corporate. Simon wouldn’t have joined us if we were still just BLP.’

However, as with any merger, the combined hasn’t entirely avoided any fallout. A 10-lawyer team is leaving the firm in Hamburg to join Addleshaw Goddard, while London has seen a trickle of departures in recent months, including well-regarded private client litigation head Rupert Ticehurst to boutique Maurice Turnor Gardner. In Asia, the Hong Kong arm of the legacy US firm split away, with Shanghai going the same way more recently.

Mayhew insists the new hires outweigh exits and that most partners are positive about the impact of the union.

‘We’ve hired far more new partners than we’ve lost. [The departures are] a shame, but there are always going to be partners who feel that they’ll be more successful elsewhere. The key is to never be complacent – you always have to work hard to keep the glue of a partnership intact, but I would genuinely say that people are enjoying being part of BCLP.’

Mayhew is also adamant that the firm is happy with its combined turnover of $905m for 2018, a figure which BCLP claims represents growth of 1% over a period which only included nine months of revenue from the legacy UK firm.

She adds: ‘To finish with revenue growth was really pleasing. Going into 2019 we are feeling optimistic and have a good foundation for the year ahead – we’ve got good energy and clarity around the strategic focus.’

Innovation will feature heavily in BCLP’s plans for the coming year – building on both legacy firms’ focus in this area. But one thing that Mayhew wants the firm to avoid is biting off more than it can chew. Reflecting on lessons learned, she says: ‘I’ve learned that you need to prioritise a few projects rather than take on too much and get project fatigue – learning to channel without curbing enthusiasm is very important.

‘Mergers are hard work. But I’ve learnt that the promise we thought was there was real, that clients really care about the strategies being pursued by their law firms, and that it’s important to bring their voice into the conversations we’re having.’