Australia's Slater & Gordon Snaps Up UK Personal Injury Firm, Russell Jones & Walker, for $84M
Slater & Gordon, the world’s first publicly traded law firm is poised to grow again after agreeing to pay 53.8 million pounds (about $84 million in U.S. dollars) for a United Kingdom law firm that also specializes in personal injury work.
The acquisition of Russell Jones & Walker is authorized under the Legal Services Act, but must be approved by the Solicitors Regulation Authority before it is final, the Financial Times (reg. req.) reports.
Under the LSA, the U.K. is the world’s second country, after Australia, to allow law firms to be purchased on the open market by another firm or a nonlegal entity, the newspaper notes.
If the Russell Jones deal and an earlier announced deal by Quindell Portfolio to buy another U.K. personal injury law firm are both completed, they apparently would be the first two purchases to occur under the LSA.
Partners of Russell Jones will get stock in Slater & Gordon under the terms of the purchase agreement, although they wouldn’t be able to sell it immediately.
The Australian and the Post also have stories.
A Russell Jones press release provides additional details.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “World’s 1st Public-Owned Law Firm Posts Another Big Profit”
ABAJournal.com: “Public Company to Buy UK Law Firm for $30M to Enhance Insurance Claims-Management Business”
