Profits rise at Womble Bond Dickinson following year of sustained growth

The region’s biggest law firm has highlighted sustained growth and client successes following a jump in profits in a shorter trading year.

Newcastle based Womble Bond Dickinson UK LLP, formed when Bond Dickinson merged seven years ago with US firm Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice to create a trans-Atlantic practice, moved its accounting reference date, leading to the the firm posting strong results for an 11-month period.

Published accounts for the period ending March 2024, show a drop in turnover from £116.9m in the 12 months to April 2024, to £114.6m, in the 11 months to the March 31 2024. Operating profit, however, rose from £24.2m to £26.7m, while pre-tax profit jumped from £24.1m to £28.7m. Total members interest also increased, from £37.4m for the group to £37.8m

The accounts detail how profits are shared among the members in accordance with agreed profit sharing arrangements and that members are required to make their own provision for pensions from their profit shares. During the year there were 99 members, two more than in 2023.

With its head office in Newcastle, the wider Womble Bond Dickinson group has bases across the US and UK, with offices in London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Newcastle, Plymouth, Southampton and Teesside. The company made significant investments in the North East two years ago, moving more than 400 employees from its former offices on Newcastle Quayside to new sustainable offices within The Spark at Newcastle Helix quarter. It also refurbished its Leeds office and expanded its presence on Teesside.

Following on from the investments the company said its 2023/24 year had seen it roll out its new strategy “giving clarity to our vision, our position in the market, the types of work we will target for growth and where we need to focus in order to achieve our ambitions”.

A report within the accounts highlights how it made a number of key hires during the year, extended its work with US bases and also secured a number of legal panel appointments.

The report says: “Sustained growth and client success continues to headline our day-to-day work. We were appointed to the legal panels for clients including Atom Bank, Bellway Homes, HydraB Group, Natwest and Shell International, and acted as lead advisor on landmark work with clients across the UK, including Centrica, The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, Lloyds Bank, LV and RES.

“Collaboration with our US colleagues increased significantly, led by our brand refresh and first global awareness marketing campaign. We worked together on more international tenders and cooperated on various joint thought leadership projects.

“Our expertise continues to be recognised by the wider market. We won Planning Law Firm of the Year at the 2023 Planning Awards and our IP dispute management team won Impact Case of the Year at the EMEA Managing IP Awards. We were also named in key publications such as The Times Best Law Firms report and in legal directories including The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners, being particularly commended for our experience in energy, renewables and planning.”