Dumped: BDB Pitmans and Womble Bond Dickinson call off merger

womble date

^{Sometimes you feel like giving up on mergers altogether.}

Womble Bond Dickinson is wombling free once more – but not by choice, RollOnFriday understands.

WBD and BDB Pitmans announced on Wednesday that after “extensive discussions” they had decided to can the proposed merger the pair have been edging towards since October, when ROF broke the news.

"Both firms have decided that the best path forward is to remain independent of each other”, they said, after due diligence by one of them revealed the other ate with their mouth open and had a lot of time for flat earth theories.

“Excellent relationships have been established and the firms will continue to work closely together in the future”, they added, in the law firm equivalent of a promise to stay good friends after dumping someone three dates in.

Multiple sources told ROF that BDBP was the party which backed away. One insider claimed that Pitmans pulled out “due to a poor cultural fit”. Another source affiliated with BDPP told ROF it was “absolutely from our side. It was not in the best interests of the firm”.

Wombles declined to comment, but it had its defenders, too. Like a celebrity conscious uncoupling, behind the blissful public split there has been some positioning.

In 2017 Bond Dickinson merged with US firm Womble Carlyle, which gave it the unusual calling card of offices in Plymouth and Silicon Valley. BDB Pitmans is less than half the size of WBD’s UK operations, with around 220 fee earners and 175 support staff.

The Womble could have done with some good news after a couple of PR clusterfooks. It is facing a potentially sticky situation in relation to its involvement in the Post Office Horizon scandal, and made a fool of itself by threatening to sue the government for dropping it from a panel.

Of course, the collapse of merger talks could also be down to the result of RollOnFriday’s readers poll to decide the combined firms’ new name. Legally enforceable, the winning proposal was the questionable ‘WBDBDBP’.

Have a mini-merger: get LawyerUp at the App Store or Google Play and collect offers by doing nothing.

Comments

💩 + 💩 = 💩 💩

BDB had a look at what is coming for Wombles this year and want none of it. The stink of the Dickie Dees turd lingers. When it breaks you will see why BDB decided to go Wombling free.

It’s 2am in a dreary disco, ‘Come on Eileen’ is playing and the lights are about to come on.

Pitmans looks at Wombles, looks down and then mutters to themselves “you‘ll have to do…”

… but then Pitmans notices the stench of sick covering Wombles, so veers off for a kebab instead, laughing at how close they came to shaming themselves the next morning.

the Horizon scandal will be a big issue for Wombles when the report comes out. Not surprised BDB Pitts not feel they are a culture fit. Wombles are toxic . You are well out of it.

BDB Pitmans: ending merger talks with Womble Bond Dickinson was “absolutely from our side”.

WBD put in their place by the 67th law firm in the UK.

I would wait for the fall out here - lots of problems at BDB ........

be interesting to see the ROF scores on culture from both firms

Southampton partner trousering big fat bonuses, MP boasting to troops about cash cow Post Office whilst Court of Appeal calling out Wombles for using every legal trick to deny the sub postmasters justice and 33 of them died before their names were cleared. Many bankrupt and jailed and lives unjustly destroyed. BDB Pitmans what not to like about that culture?

@Legal Eagle 03 February 23 09:44

Agreed!

if Wombles behaved in the merger like they do when clients drop them and Court of Appeal Judge brings them up on their morals over Post Office scandal then no wonder BDBP sent them packing

Wombles dropped a clanger and BDBP gave them the finger mouse.

takes embarrassing to a new level even for these northern golden turd veterens

@Razza 03 February 23 10:15

Can you elaborate?

I'm just disappointed that we won't be able to move on from Womble jokes to using Twiki's lines from Buck Rogers with that potential set of initials ...

Womble Bond Dickinson History

1995 - invent the legal website*

2012 - Dickinson Dees win Golden 💩

2017 - Announce “Womble Bond Dickinson” which involves a US firm and a UK firm sharing a logo, but having separate accounts, which sounds a bit like two law firms.

2020 to 2021 - Post Office convictions quashed.

2021 - Government drops Wombles from its legal panel.

2023 - BDB Pitmans rejects merger.

2024 - ????

* according to the WBD website, only.

How much did Wombles trouser for convicting innocent Post Office managers?

2024 looks like it’ll involve Panorama focussing on the profits law firms made from the Post Office litigation.

BDB dodged a bullet with that one

Wombles have been very arrogant about the multi millions they have been making off cash cow Post Office over Horizon. But it has been described by many legal commentators as the biggest legal miscarriage of justice ever. A big claim. 33 postmasters died before having the chance to clear their names and the Court of Appeal made it very clear where the blame lies. Let's not prejudge the full investigation but it looks very likely Wombles will be in big trouble. There are many who want to see them held to account. At very least how about the partner who has been paid six figure bonuses and the massive profits for firm off the back of this are paid to charity or for the families of the 33 and others. After pressure Wombles paid back £2million Furlough, how about doing the right thing?

wbdbdbp to be or not to be. WBD unmanaging partner been going around the offices telling everyone what an amazing opportunity the merger is and must do it. Many not sure at all with BDBP. But they binned us off? WBD looks weak and desperate.

Will the staff at Wombles hear the canary singing?

1138 the GDL was aware of what was happening with WBD and Horizon. Who knows but maybe something to do with its decision to dump Wombles who then showed what great litigators they are by suing GDL and hastily withdrawing when counsel pointed out they were embarrassing themselves. The same litigators running the Post Office claims ?

Can we just, please, for the love of God, put this firm down humanely NOW so that we don't have to constantly see their stupid name in the ROF news every week?

The last thing the canary will see before is succumbs to the gas in the mine is a notice of intended prosecution for causing the gas to be in the mine.

Been said many times here before on ROF the answer is to close the Newcastle office and get rid of a few very nasty partners who care only about money and their own pockets

BDB Pitmans are well known in the market for wanting to merge with anyone. Lots of frogs have kissed them but moved on. It was therefore odd when Wombles THE transatlantic powerhouse not only started talking to them but announced it openly to the media and broke it here on ROF. Only now to be very openly humiliated by BDB Pitmans deciding that actually they will merge with anyone, just not Wombles.

Have it on good authority that WBD turned up to the latest round of meetings with a complete disregard for BDB - and had done no preparation or provided any answers on BDB’s order of business for the meeting. This is on top of increasing bully boy negotiations by WBD as the talks progressed on things like management, direction and clients.

The final straw was WBD’s growth forecasts and it makes you wonder who needed this merger more? Not BDB by the looks of it.

Shock news: BDB decides not to merge with firm run by very, very small psychopaths whose biggest claims to fame are (in no particular order): a fake merger (sorry Jonny, I mean “combination”), a ridiculous name, suing its own clients, contributing to the biggest miscarriage of justice in British legal history, treating its staff with utter contempt and having a reputation for greed, arrogance and incompetence.

If a partner gets so drunk they 💩 their pants, it leaves a stain on a law firm which is very hard to shift.

Donald Trump is the inspiration for WBD.

Yet the vain, cowardly, lying, vulgar, jabbering blowhard overselling his accomplishments appeals to a certain type of person, just as WBD, somehow, attracts clients and staff.

If Anon 15.12 is right then expect 💥 soon.

Another PR disaster for the Wombles. Worse to come.

‘Have it on good authority that..’ Anon 1512. Yes, accurate info.

@ Anon 15.12, I heard that the bully boy tactics were true - why change the tactic that worked so well with the post masters and the Government Legal Department, but the real reason BDB called off the deal is that Wombles wouldn’t discuss BDB’s agenda until BDB guaranteed parking spaces for all Dickie Dees partners at the BDB London office. When Wombles wouldn’t accept that London offices don’t have parking spaces BDBP knew they couldn’t work together.

Given Wombles were desperate to get BDB into bed and still treated them with bullyboy arrogance imagine how they treat clients and people? We don't need to imagine. Just look at GLD who dared to sack them and got sued and postmasters who dared to suggest they just might be innocent and got bankrupted and jailed.

The very questionable huge profits Wombles have earned from Post Office runs into many millions a year as the Court of Appeal made a big issue out of. They have made even more from the inquiry. All they are focused on is how much more profit they can rinse out of this before it all dries up. When a firm is so beholden to a client the lines can be blurred. On the Horizon blunder what did Wombles know and when?

BDBP - A high street dog turd rolled in glitter. WBD have swerved a clanger here.

👏 to ROF for the picture

Buster 0936 aka Wombles PR if so why you so desperate to merge? Perhaps less arrogance less aggressive less abuse and your dream to be taken over by ROF bottom quartile would have come true. Don't worry Knights may come to your rescue if you get through the Post Office scandal

Elisabeth Beresford must be turning in her grave at the damage these losers are doing to the word ‘Womble’.

I thought the Wombles marketing team would have started spamming the comments section by now…

Leopold von Sacher-Masoch spent his life finding new and wonderful ways to humiliate himself, but was never in the same league as Womble Bond Dickinson!

What’s in it for the Lawyer podcast talking up the chance of BDB Pitmans going under?

Pals of WBD?

@arosebyanyothername 03 February 23 14:24

I remember Newcastle from the late 80s. I now guess where the townies ended up; dreary law firms.

If I was their landlord, I’d be asking for upfront payment.

If I was their electricity provider I’d install a coin operated meter.

If I was their employee I’d be desperately saving up a nest egg, just in case one morning you got an email saying not to come in as they had gone under.