Back in 2017, U.S.-based Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice combined with U.K.-based Bond Dickinson, a transatlantic merger that would create Womble Bond Dickinson, an Am Law 100 firm with more than 1,000 lawyers. Since that time, the stateside branch of the firm has been under the leadership of Betty Temple. Under her guidance, the firm not only saw large increases in gross revenue and revenue per lawyer, but also opened six new offices, further solidifying its U.S. footprint.
Earlier this week, the firm elected its first new U.S. chair in seven years.
Global finance partner Merrick Benn will officially take the reins on January 1. He joined Womble Carlyle in 2009, and following the firms’ tie-up, sat for three terms on the management committee after being elected in 2017. He’s held several leadership roles in the interim, including serving as U.S. vice chair, leader of the firm’s capital markets practice group, co-chair of the firm’s diversity committee, and member of the firm’s executive committee. Bloomberg Law has additional details on Benn’s new duties and what he hopes to achieve in his new role:
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Benn will lead the Womble Bond’s management committee, which oversees the firm’s domestic strategy, operations, profitability, and structural organization. He will also co-chair the firm’s global board alongside UK managing partner Paul Stewart. …
Focusing on strategic growth and adding depth where the firm can serve its most important clients will be a priorities, Benn said. Womble Bond particularly wants to focus on areas where it can differentiate itself from others in financial services, IP, complex litigation and technology, he said.
Benn said his election as U.S. chair was “quite an honor.” He went on, noting, “I’m very proud of it and really looking forward to this next chapter for the firm and continuing us on the path that Betty put us on to begin with.”
Congratulations to Merrick Benn, and a job well done to Betty Temple!
Womble Bond Dickinson Elects Merrick Benn as New US Chair (1) [Bloomberg Law]
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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.