Insurance law firm DWF will merge with C & H Jefferson, one of the largest legal businesses in Northern Ireland, it has been announced.
The merger will take effect on December 1 and will see DWF retain its brand. The deal allows the legal firm to develop its insurance offering and enhance its services to national and international clients.
Following the merger, C & H Jefferson executives Scott McCarroll, Gareth Jones, Ken Rutherford, Mark Tinman and Ian Stanfield will join DWF as partners while David Lennon will become a consultant.
“We are always looking at strategic opportunities for growth that will enhance our legal capability in key practice areas, particularly our insurance practice,” said DWF managing partner and CEO Andrew Leaitherland.
“The merger will allow us to offer our clients advantages in terms of resource, reach and multi-jurisdiction expertise,” he added. “The legal market in Northern Ireland is vibrant, and rapidly changing, and this merger makes us well-equipped to take advantage of the growing number of opportunities it presents for our clients in target sectors.”
For more than 100 years, C & H Jefferson has been delivering specialist legal services to a diverse range of clients across Northern Ireland. The firm has specific expertise in litigation, professional indemnity, public liability and motor claims, complementing DWF’s existing national insurance practice.
The company advises several leading national and international insurers in defence litigation, including the Law Society of Northern Ireland’s Professional Indemnity Insurers. It also boasts strong expertise in industrial disease litigation.
“As our international client base has grown, we have continued to explore how we can adapt in order to meet their changing needs,” said Rutherford, the firm’s managing partner.
“DWF is a very strong fit for us in terms of its culture and approach to legal services,” he added.
“Through this merger, we will be able to create new opportunities for our clients with the benefit of DWF’s expansive national footprint, service efficiencies and growing international remit.”
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