Blake Morgan LLP is a large full-service commercial

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

with offices in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 2014 following a merger between the Cardiff-based Morgan Cole and the Portsmouth-based Blake Lapthorn. It employs approximately 415 lawyers and 145 other fee-earners. It has 130 partners. It is registered with the

Law Society of England and Wales The Law Society of England and Wales (officially The Law Society) is the professional association that represents solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as ...

Practice

A number of practice areas deliver advice to clients in the public, private and insurance sectors. The firm specialises in advice to clients in the health & social care, education, retail and energy sectors. Blake Morgan's main practice areas include: * Aviation and aircraft finance * Banking and Finance * Commercial contracts * Construction and engineering * Corporate * Litigation and dispute resolution * Driver defence * Employment, pensions and benefits * Family law * Private client matters * Financial services * Health and Social Care * Real estate * Insurance * IP/ IT Blake Cole was formed by the merger of Morgan Bruce and Cole & Cole in 1998.

History

Cole and Cole

Cole & Cole was formed in

in 1945 by two brothers, Raymond Buxton Cole and Maurice Buxton Cole and quickly spread throughout

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

partly by the opening of new offices and partly by merger. In particular the Abingdon practice of Morland & Son was acquired in 1951 which traced its history back to 1784. Benjamin Morland who started work as a clerk in 1784 was a member of the Morland brewing family. This acquisition was followed by the acquisition of Soanes & Co, in

Burford Burford () is a town on the River Windrush, in the Cotswold hills, in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is often referred to as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. Burford is located west of Oxford and southeast of Chelt ...

in 1966 and the firm of Francis Wickins & Hill in

Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, on top of an 800-foot (244 m) hill at the junction of main roads through the Cotswolds, including the Fosse Way (A429), which is of Roman ...

in 1982. Most of the expansion of the firm resulted from sustained growth within

which led to the opening of a dedicated commercial department in

Kidlington Kidlington is a village and civil parish in the Cherwell district of Oxfordshire, England. It is in-between the River Cherwell and Oxford Canal, north of Oxford and south-west of Bicester. It had a population of 13,600 at the 2021 Census. ...

in 1984, a specialist matrimonial, crown and magistrates court department in Cambridge Terrace,

and a commercial and litigation office in

in 1987. In addition, a

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

insurance litigation office opened in 1997. At the time of the merger with Morgan Bruce, Cole & Cole was the pre-eminent firm in the

Thames Valley The Thames Valley is an area in South East England that extends along the River Thames west of London towards Oxford. The area is a major tourist destination and economic hub on the M4 corridor, with a high concentration of technology companies ...

with 35 partners and a staff of over 200. In addition to its strong commercial and private client bases, Cole & Cole had significant insurance, education, employment, licensing and health practices. Clients included

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

Amey plc Amey plc, previously known as Amey Ltd and Amey Roadstone Construction, is a British engineering company that specializes in infrastructure support services. Amey was founded by William Charles Amey in 1921. The firm grew rapidly during the Se ...

, British Alcan,

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of fusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). T ...

, The Police Federation, Equal Opportunities Commission and

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduc ...

to name but a few.

Morgan Bruce

Morgan Bruce grew by a series of five mergers from its initial opening in 1836. The first merger was in May 1987 when Morgan Bruce & Nicholas joined forces with Hardwickes. Morgan Bruce & Nicholas The firm of Morgan Bruce & Nicholas originated with Walter H Morgan who became a solicitor in 1875, established a practice in

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

the following year and opened the premises which remained an office of the firm until 1995. Walter Morgan (1853–1901) was prominent in public life becoming an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

Under-Sheriff An undersheriff (or under-sheriff) is an office derived from ancient English custom that remains in, among other places, England and Wales and the United States, though performing different functions. United States In American law enforcement, ...

and a Vice-Chairman of

Glamorgan County Council Glamorgan County Council was established in 1889 together with the administrative county of Glamorganshire under the Local Government Act 1888. The first elections to the council were held in January 1889. The council was abolished under the Loca ...

. After a few years as Walter Morgan & Rhys the firm's name was changed to Walter Morgan, Bruce & Nicholas following the arrival of Gerald Bruce who qualified in 1893 and Walter Nicholas who qualified in 1894. Sir Gerald Bruce (as he became) was a well-known figure in

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

over decades and included in his many achievements chairmanship of Wales and Monmouthshire Industrial Estates Ltd, an organisation which contributed significantly to the economic recovery of

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

following the depression of the thirties. Sir Gerald was Lord Lieutenant of the County of

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

from 1943 to 1952. Sir Walter Nicholas also achieved eminence and was knighted for his services to local government administration. He was directly concerned with the promotion of local and private Acts of Parliament and served as a part-time Clerk of Rhondda Urban District Council. He made a significant contribution to the development of statute law relating to workmen's compensation. During its long history the firm acquired a tradition (which continues today) of its partners combining public service with a private practice covering diverse areas of the law, including industrial estate development, charities, workmen's compensation, litigation and company and commercial work, as well as more conventional areas assisting 'the man on the street'. After further brief periods as Morgan, Bruce, Nicholas and James and Morgan, Bruce, Nicholas and Porcher the name Morgan, Bruce & Nicholas finally emerged shortly after the First World War and remained unchanged until merger. During the first 87 years of its existence the firm was centred in Pontypridd, but in 1963 a decision was taken to establish an office in Cardiff. Hardwickes This firm started in

in 1910 and was a litigation firm acting for a number of insurance clients and the Solicitors Indemnity Fund. The merger created a firm with 23 partners.

Morgan Cole

In February 2010 the firm transferred from a partnership to a

Limited Liability Partnership A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a partnership in which some or all partners (depending on the jurisdiction) have limited liabilities. It therefore can exhibit aspects of both partnerships and corporations. In an LLP, each partner is n ...

(

LLP A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a partnership in which some or all partners (depending on the jurisdiction) have limited liabilities. It therefore can exhibit aspects of both partnerships and corporations. In an LLP, each partner is n ...

). January 2009 saw the merger with CIP Solicitors of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and later that year the acquisition of the majority of the insurance team from rival firm Leo Abse and Cohen. This followed the acquisition in 2008 of Bristol-based insurance specialist CIP Solicitors and the transfer of a 10-strong team of Insurance specialists from

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

-based firm Tayntons. Morgan Cole Solicitors

office opened in 2007. In 2003, the firm moved into its new offices in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

– the first private sector investment in the development at

SA1 Swansea Waterfront SA1 Swansea Waterfront (''colloquially'': SA1) is mixed commercial and residential development on brownfield in the northern part of Swansea Docks, Wales. The area lies directly to the southeast of Swansea city centre. It is bordered by the ...

. In the same year, Robin Havard became chairman of the firm and was re-elected for a third three-year term in 2009. Bruce Potter chaired the firm's board, which comprised Elizabeth Carr (Managing Partner), Catharine Bray (Finance Director), Michael Prior (Commercial Director), and Michael Stace and Philip Jardine, both partners at the firm.

Blake Lapthorn

Blake Lapthorn was a full-service law firm now operating under the name of Blake Morgan LLP. The firm worked for individuals, businesses, not-for-profit and government clients. Founded in 1869 by Alfred Starling Blake, the firm originated in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, and expanded with offices in

and

References

Source for Blake Lapthorn

* Private Notes: Hubert Glyn Williams, The History of Blake Lapthorn Solicitors
Portsmouth City Council
Lord Mayors of Portsmouth since 1927

Alfred Starling Blake *

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

, Blake, Sir Alfred (Lapthorn)
The Law Society Gazette
"Blake Lapthorn and Linnells create new 79-partner firm" (21 March 2003)
The Lawyer
"Blake Lapthorn partners vote to save City office" (16 October 2006)

External links

Official site
{{Law firms of the United Kingdom Law firms of the United Kingdom Law firms established in 2014 2014 establishments in the United Kingdom Companies based in Portsmouth Law firms of Wales Law firms based in Cardiff