UK law firms Bishop & Sewell has joined forces with Fisher Meredith. The combined practice will operate as Bishop & Sewell and Bishop & Sewell will continue to be led by its current management team comprising  founder and managing partner Stephen Bishop, senior partner Michael Gillman  and partner Mark Chick. Following the merger, key partners from Fisher Meredith including Eileen Pembridge and Louise Barretto will join the Bishop & Sewell team.The move will see Bishop & Sewell’s team of fee earners increase to over 50, with a full service remit across five core areas of property, commercial, private client, litigation and family, with an international reach via its membership of international network Pragma.

Expansion strategy

Bishop & Sewell was established in 1979 by Stephen Bishop and Jill Sewell and was originally known for property and commercial work. Since then the firm has steadily expanded into a full service firm.  Fisher Meredith was founded in 1975 by Eileen Pembridge, current senior partner and head of family, and also offers a wide range of legal services.The merger is part of Bishop & Sewell’s continued planned expansion strategy and will strengthen its family and dispute resolution practices, as well as creating a new immigration department for the firm.  The combined firms will operate from Bishop & Sewell’s Russell Square offices in London.

Complementary

Michael Gillman, senior partner of Bishop & Sewell commented: 'With Fisher Meredith, we have found a firm which complements and strengthens our existing offering and will enhance our commitment and ability to serve our clients in Central London, nationally and abroad. There are great synergies between our two firms which will enable us to continue to serve our new combined client base with a wide range of legal services and generate further growth.' 

Deep resources

Eileen Pembridge, senior partner of Fisher Meredith said:'We can now build on our success of the last 42 years by merging with a larger law firm and look forward to supporting and expanding our footprint with the deeper resources of Bishop & Sewell. This merger allows us to provide more comprehensive legal services to our clients, together with the same high quality, competitive and caring service our clients expect.'