DWF, Manchester law giant, buys Vancouver firm

By Mark McSherry

Manchester-headquartered international law firm DWF Group plc announced it agreed to acquire Whitelaw Twining Law Corporation of Vancouver, Canada, and TWK Management Limited, an intra-group services company, collectively known as Whitelaw Twining.

The acquisition is valued at up to £27.7 million, with total consideration of up to £16.9 million payable in shares and cash, and debt of £10.8 million to be repaid or assumed.

Whitelaw Twining is a full-service litigation law firm specialising in insurance, commercial litigation, personal injury and dispute resolution offering a strong strategic fit and clear business overlap with DWF, especially its focus on the London insurance market,” said DWF.

Founded in Vancouver in 1979 as a boutique three-partner law firm, Whitelaw Twining now has 16 partners and more than 200 people in total, with offices in Vancouver and Calgary …

“The transaction marks the next step in DWF’s North American strategy and will result in an integrated legal and business services offering in Canada which will also align to the group’s existing Mindcrest and claims operations in Chicago.”

DWF Group CEO Nigel Knowles said: “We are delighted to be enhancing our offering in the Canadian legal market.

“Whitelaw Twining is one of the country’s top legal businesses and represents a high quality opportunity for our clients.

“It also allows us to expand our claims and adjusting presence in Canada and wider Connected Services and Mindcrest capabilities in North America.

“We have worked hard to ensure DWF is in a strong position so we can confidently make these key international acquisitions, enabling us to make further progress against our strategy to be the preeminent global provider of integrated legal and business services.

“I look forward to working with our new colleagues.

“We identified a strong cultural fit with the Whitelaw Twining management team and the values and ways of working within their business.

“Their emphasis on internal collaboration over competition and on creating a progressive, innovative, and supportive working environment reflect our own ‘one team’ culture.”