NORTH-EAST LINK: merger will enhance BLM's UK presence

North-east firm Jacksons Insurance Law - the product of Jacksons' demerger earlier this year - is to merge with Berrymans Lace Mawer (BLM) and become its Stockton-on-Tees office.

The merger of the two insurance specialists will give BLM a total of 90 partners and 240 assistants, with five Jacksons' partners joining the firm from Stockton, and two Jacksons' partners in Leeds moving to BLM's Leeds office.

Richard Clarke, the senior partner of Jacksons Insurance Law - who will join BLM's senior partners' forum as head of the Stockton office - said: 'This move is important because we need to match the consolidation going on in the insurance industry at the moment.'

BLM's national senior partner, Paul Taylor, said: 'I know from many conversations with senior figures in the insurance industry that Jacksons have a matchless reputation, we could not have found a better firm to join us.'

Jacksons' 19 partners decided to demerge in April this year (see [2003] Gazette, 30 May, 6).

Jacksons Insurance Law took the firm's Leeds office, Jacksons Commercial and Private Law took the Gateshead office, and both firms continued to share the Stockton office.

The demerger completed last month.

Jacksons Commercial and Private Law managing partner, Nigel Kidwell, said it could now decide to revert back to being called Jacksons.

BLM will now have offices in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Southampton, Stockton and Dubai.

Jeremy Fleming