Law firm Clyde & Co becomes ‘largest’ player in UK casualty with BLM merger

Insurance-focused global law firm  Clyde & Co’s merger with UK and Ireland law firm BLM has gone live with the combined firm now known as  Clyde & Co. The deal has created the “largest” casualty practice in the UK market.

The firm has global revenues of over £700 million per annum, a headcount of over 5,000, with offices in over 60 cities worldwide including 14 in the UK.

BLM’s teams have become part of  Clyde & Co’s global insurance practice, with the majority joining its casualty insurance practice. Other sizable groups have joined  Clyde & Co’s professional liability, healthcare and business advisory teams.

The newly expanded casualty practice, which has over 800 legal professionals working across casualty business lines, has relaunched and rebranded its online casualty innovation platform as  Clyde & Co Newton.

Originally launched in November last year,  Clyde & Co Newton is one of the first outputs from the merged firm and promises to offer casualty clients innovative, technology-based solutions.

As one of the largest legal provider to the UK casualty market following the merger, with a vast data set,  Clyde & Co Newton combines the firm’s casualty insurance legal expertise with claims automation and artificial intelligence. The platform has the ability to ‘read’ 99% of all documents required for claims evaluation and can automatically produce valuations for 89% of employers’ liability and public liability claims.

Chris Murray (pictured left), partner at  Clyde & Co, said: “The merger is our response to insurers’ changing needs. By combining our businesses, we have created a new foundation for casualty claims built on scale, expertise and an innovative vision for the use of technology.

“Becoming the largest player in UK casualty gives us the largest data set in the sector and the ability to invest in the technology that fully unlocks its potential and  Clyde & Co Newton is our banner for this technology and innovation.”

Matthew Harrington (pictured right), a partner at  Clyde & Co and BLM’s former senior partner, said: “The merger has created the biggest casualty practice in the UK and will allow clients to benefit from our expert teams across the UK and Ireland, while benefitting from  Clyde & Co's unparalleled international presence too. Size matters as clients are increasingly looking for end-to-end support from trusted suppliers across business lines and geographies as they seek partners to support their growth and drive to improve margins in what is an ever-competitive sector. We are delighted that our clients will now be able to benefit from all the merged firm as to offer.”

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