Newcastle’s Womble Bond Dickinson has snapped up a California law firm less than two months after completing its own multi-million pound transatlantic merger.
The law firm has acquired Blakely Sokoloff Taylor Zafman, which specialises in intellectual property law, adding its 24 lawyers and patent agents to its headcount.
The deal also sees Womble take over the running of three offices in Los Angeles, Orange County and Sunnyvale. It was carried out to boost the firm’s IP offering in the tech sector .
Mike Gencarella, managing partner of Womble’s Palo Alto office, said: “This combination repositions Womble Bond Dickinson in the technology sector by adding a tremendous technical depth to the IP practice and providing the capability to service broadly the markets of northern and southern California.
“Also, as the firm continues to aggressively add practices in the state, the addition of the Blakely lawyers and their particular strengths makes the firm even more appealing to clients and talent.”
Commenting on the acquisition, named partner Roger Blakeley said: “We have been impressed with the steady strategic growth of Womble Bond Dickinson’s IP practice.
“We were also pleased to find that our firms share a vision for the future and commitment to clients.”
The merger comes less than two months after Newcastle law firm Bond Dickinson merged with US-based Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice to create one of the world’s biggest law firms.
The merger was orchestrated by Bond Dickinson managing partner Jonathan Blair and Womble Carlyle CEO Betty Temple, and created a £340m firm with more than 1,000 lawyers.
But the transatlantic deal was not the only one to be carried out by the firm during 2017, as the firm also acquired an IP team in Boston and another telecoms boutique in Washington DC.
Commenting on the growth, Ms Temple said: “The Blakely team is the perfect example of strategic growth.
“The addition of this team and our Boston office, combined with our long history in IP law, makes us one of the premiere IP practices in the country. We’re focused on growth that enables us to deliver more to our clients.”