Top 45 UK firm Weightmans has unveiled plans to merge with London outfit RadclisffesLeBrasseur by the end of March. 

The new firm, which will operate as Weightmans, will house more than 225 partners with a total headcount of more than 1,400 professionals across nine regional offices with a combined annual revenue of around £120m, which would put it between top 40 UK firms Mills & Reeve and Slate and Gordon in terms of revenue. 

John Schorah, managing partner of Weightmans, said the merger "will add to both firms’ national practises with outstanding expertise and the resources to ensure that we continue to meet the ever-increasing needs and expectations of all clients, whether public bodies, public or private businesses, not for profit enterprises or individuals.”

Founded in 1872, Weightmans specialises in insurance and has particular experience acting for public sector bodies including police and fire authorities as well as NHS trusts. The Liverpudlian firm also advises on a range of commercial services and operates a full family and client service including wills, tax, probate and residential conveyancing. 

RadcliffesLeBrasseur, meanwhile, was founded more than 170 years ago in Westminster and has 42 partners across three offices in London, Leeds and Cardiff. Like Weightmans, the firm frequently acts for healthcare providers and insurers as well as regulatory and public sector bodies. 

“The combined firm will create a leading UK practice in healthcare in particular and increase the market presence of both firms in London,” Schorah said, adding that the two firms “share a number of synergies” in respect of clients and sectors and above all share a “commitment to achieving the highest standards” in delivering legal services. 

Weightmans joined forces with Manchester practice Ford & Warren in 2015 in a move that brought the combined firm’s headcount above the 1,400 mark. It was in talks to merge with Newcastle-based Ward Hadaway before the firms mutually withdrew from talks in 2017. 

Last November, UK top 50 law firms Clyde & Co and BLM were revealed to be in talks over a potential merger that would combine Clyde’s 2,440 legal professionals with BLM’s 790-lawyer strong UK network to create a combined firm with revenues of around £735m. 

And in October, UK firm Royds Withy King confirmed it was in advanced merger talks with commercial law firm Goodman Derrick, in a move that would create a firm with a combined annual turnover of more than £50m.