Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and a member of the 'Silver Circle' of leading UK law firms. It has nine offices in eight countries around the world, predominantly providing services in corporate, finance

Finance

"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...

, dispute resolution

Dispute resolution

Dispute resolution is the process of resolving disputes between parties.-Methods:Methods of dispute resolution include:* lawsuits * arbitration* collaborative law* mediation* conciliation* many types of negotiation* facilitation...

, real estate

Real estate

In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

 and tax

Tax

To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...

. Neville Eisenberg is the firm's current Managing Partner.

BLP is ranked 13th largest in UK law firms by turnover in 2010-11 at £229m, with profit per equity partner at £712k/year, a 56% increase over the year.

History

BLP's roots lie in the early twentieth century, when the three original law firms were founded. Paisner & Co was established in 1932 by Leslie Paisner and provided general legal advice. Lionel Leighton established Leighton & Co in 1942, a firm that advised on litigation and property development. Berwin & Co was founded in 1963 by Stanley Berwin, specialising in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and tax. Leighton & Co and Berwin & Co merged in 1970 to form Berwin Leighton and moved into Adelaide House, the office that houses BLP's current London headquarters.

Berwin Leighton Paisner was formed on 1 May 2001 when the two firms merged, comprising a total of nearly 1000 staff, with 122 partners. The agreement to merge was heralded by a steel band and balloons in the office foyer, following 8 months of negotiations. Neville Eisenberg was elected managing partner

Chief executive officer

A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

 of Berwin Leighton in 1999, and has held the same position in BLP since the merger, while Harold Paisner is senior partner.

Offices

BLP is headquartered in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, with eight other offices across Asia and Europe.

The Moscow office was opened in 2009 in the formation of Goltsblat BLP, a 70-strong team that is the only joint venture between an international and local firm in Russia. It contributes roughly a tenth of BLP's overall revenue, reporting a 60% rise in the first half of 2010.

External links

• Berwin Leighton Paisner official website