Bolt from the blue eases the Burdon of commercial and PI

North London firm Bolt Burdon has split into two separate operations to streamline finances and send a clear message about its commercial, private client and personal injury services.

Bolt Burdon Claims will deal with claimant personal injury, clinical negligence and solicitors' negligence cases; Bolt Burdon will focus on commercial and private client work.

Some 100 staff will continue to work from the same building in Islington.

Managing partner Lynne Burdon said it had taken the decision because the gap between personal injury and other types of work had widened so much.

'When you are seeking compensation for clients in personal injury cases, litigation is run on conditional fee agreements, which need a high level of capital funding,' she said.

'This is very different to the other work Bolt Burdon deals with, so there were different levels of capital accounts and the two weren't mixing.'

Ms Burdon added that the move would help Bolt Burdon project its expertise.

'We were perceived as a personal injury firm and this didn't sit well with our commercial clients,' she said.

Paula Rohan