Stewarts Law acquires Masseys LLP

Press Release
08 July 2010

Specialist litigation law firm Stewarts Law LLP today announced the acquisition of City-based litigation boutique Masseys LLP.

Masseys LLP was launched in 2004 by a group of Baker & McKenzie litigators and rapidly attracted referrals from, amongst others, City law firms. It was recognised by The Times as one of the "go to" law firms for banking disputes. Founding partners Jane Colston and Sean Upson along with their fellow partners Fiona Stewart (ex-Reed Smith) and Fiona Gillett (ex-Baker & McKenzie) and their team will move on 2nd August 2010 to Stewarts Law's London office at 5 New Street Square.

This acquisition represents another important strategic step for Stewarts Law, a firm that has expanded significantly in recent times, adding commercial litigation, antitrust and employment to its well regarded existing litigation practice areas. The firm has seen its number of partners almost double in the last two years with revenue increasing from £11 million to £20 million over the same period.

Stewarts Law and Masseys have a great deal in common. Both firms specialise in litigation only and are trusted by major City law firms to act for their clients when they are unable to act by reason of conflict.

In the last 12 months both firms have hit the headlines, particularly for their litigation against banks following the financial crisis. The combination of Stewarts Law and Masseys is a significant consolidation in the financial litigation sector as they are two of the leading conflict-free firms willing to take on major banks and other financial institutions in what is likely to be a rapidly developing area as investors look for remedies.

The combined commercial litigation team will specialise not only in banking litigation but also a wide range of general commercial litigation, including commercial disputes, fraud, professional negligence, corporate, partnership and property disputes, insolvency and international trade.

John Cahill, Managing Partner at Stewarts Law, commented:

"We are delighted that Masseys will be joining us, they have a fantastic reputation and will add further strength and depth to the services we are able to offer to our commercial litigation clients. During our discussions we were struck by the extent of our shared values and vision. We will work together to establish Stewarts Law as a leading litigation brand".

Sean Upson said: "We are proud of what we have achieved at Masseys in establishing a "go to" litigation practice and are now excited to be joining Stewarts Law to help them build their litigation only brand. Stewarts Law excels in litigation and shares our ability to take on City-quality work and financial disputes free from conflicts.

Jane Colston commented that her team had lately been handling a substantial amount of injunction work, including acting as supervising solicitor, arising from recently uncovered commercial fraud: "I believe that the new 10 partner commercial litigation department at Stewarts Law will have the depth of experience and resources to strengthen that capability".

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