Effective today, UK-based Bond Dickinson LLP and US-based Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP have combined to create Womble Bond Dickinson. Announced in June 2017, the combination builds on the successful strategic alliance announced by the two firms in 2016, creating a Global Top 100 firm by annual revenue ($410 million/£340million).

The new transatlantic platform offers clients access to:

• 24 offices in key commercial and financial locations across the US and the UK, including the firm's newest offices in Boston and Edinburgh
• European market coverage through existing relationships in Germany and France
• More than 1,000 lawyers serving more than 250 publicly traded companies. 

The combined firm will adopt a sector-focused strategy covering: Energy and Natural Resources, Financial Institutions, Healthcare, Insurance, Manufacturing, Real Estate, Retail and Consumer; Transport, Logistics and Infrastructure, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and Life Sciences, Technology and Private Wealth.

Womble Bond Dickinson will use its strength and experience in these sectors to create opportunities for its clients and build on the success achieved so far through the strategic alliance.

"This is a combination of two firms with a common culture and a shared commitment to client service.” said Womble Bond Dickinson Co-Chair, Jonathan Blair. “A growing percentage of our clients have operations on both sides of the Atlantic, and Womble Bond Dickinson will provide those clients with the consistent support they value highly.”

Womble Bond Dickinson Co-Chair, Betty Temple, commented “This isn’t just the combination of a big US firm and a big UK firm. It’s the alignment of an office in Newcastle with one in Charlotte, an office in Baltimore with an office in Bristol and so on. This combination was borne out of a desire to better serve the business communities in which Womble Bond Dickinson is rooted.”

Blair continues: "The combination increases our intellectual capital, allows us to innovate more readily and helps us to attract and retain the best talent in our local markets – this is good news not only for our clients who require a seamless transatlantic approach but those we work with closely with on purely domestic business."

The new entity is a company limited by guarantee in which Womble Bond Dickinson UK LLP and Womble Bond Dickinson US LLP operate as separate non-profit-sharing partnerships with their own independent Boards. Four members from each partnership have been appointed to the board of the new entity. That Board is co-chaired by Jonathan Blair and Betty Temple.