A new force in the fast-growing collective redress sector was announced today with the merger of no win, no fee specialist Keller Postman UK Limited with Lanier, Longstaff, Hedar & Roberts, the UK arm of US giant Lanier. The new specialist collective redress firm will practise as KP Law Limited. It will specialise in large scale consumer claims in  areas such as product liability, workers’ rights, data breach and privacy, investment fraud and financial products mis-selling and competition law.

The merged firm will also pursue in the UK and Europe cases being brought by The Lanier Law Firm in the US, headed by high profile trial lawyer Mark Lanier.

The announcement comes a day after the government’s promise of legislation to simplify access to third party funding of collective litigation.  

Portrait of Andrew Nugent-Smith

Nugent-Smith: 'incredibly excited by the opportunity to collaborate with The Lanier Law Firm'

Source: KP Law

Keller Postman UK’s track record includes diesel emissions claims against Volkswagen, workers’ rights claims against Uber, and data breach claims against British Airways, Ticketmaster and Equifax. Ongoing cases include further diesel emissions claims against Mercedes and Vauxhall, and equal pay cases against major supermarkets. KP Law will also continue to pursue claims against talcum powder manufacturers previously brought by Lanier, Longstaff, Hedar & Roberts.

Andrew Nugent Smith, formerly managing partner of Keller Postman UK, becomes managing partner of the new firm, with Tom Longstaff and Duncan Hedar becoming partners.

Lanier said: 'This merger represents an extremely important and significant collaboration for the Lanier Law Firm as we continue to be strategic in developing relationships with firms internationally. I’m thrilled and excited at what a positive development this is for our clients. It’s equally important to me that we are continuing our partnership with Tom Longstaff and Duncan Hedar who are, without a doubt, two of the finest lawyers in the UK.'

Nugent Smith said: 'This merger adds new product liability and competition law expertise to our existing workers’ rights, data breach and privacy, financial products and investment fraud and mis-selling practices. In Tom Longstaff and Duncan Hedar, we gain two stellar collective redress lawyers with the ability to develop and progress collective redress cases, and we are incredibly excited by the opportunity to collaborate with The Lanier Law Firm in the US.'

Longstaff added: 'We are delighted to join forces with Keller Postman UK which will allow us to benefit from their established position in the collective redress ecosystem and to increase the pace and scale at which we can bring a large number of opportunities we have developed in the short time that Lanier, Longstaff, Hedar & Roberts has been operating.'

 

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