Blake Morgan LLP is a large full-service commercial law firm with offices in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, London,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

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 contacts *Construction and engineering *Corporate *Dispute resolution *Driver defence *Employment, pensions and benefits *Family law *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 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 Che ...

in 1966 and the firm of Francis Wickins & Hill in

Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold is a market town and 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 origin. The town was founde ...

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 major village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, between the River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal, north of Oxford and 7 miles (12 km) south-west of Bicester. It remains officially a village despite its size. The 20 ...

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 local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

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 informally-defined sub-region of South East England, centred on the River Thames west of London, with Oxford as a major centre. Its boundaries vary with context. The area is a major tourist destination and economic hub, ...

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 Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

, Amey plc, 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 Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ...

, The Police Federation, Equal Opportunities Commission and

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (ha ...

to name but a few. Cole & Cole had obtained a Legal Aid franchise and accreditation with

ISO9001 The ISO 9000 family is a set of five quality management systems (QMS) standards that help organizations ensure they meet customer and other stakeholder needs within statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service. ISO 9 ...

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 () ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest (). ...

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 assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

, Under-Sheriff 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 Local ...

. 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 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 ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

following the depression of the thirties. Sir Gerald was Lord Lieutenant of the County of Glamorgan 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 successful 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 elements of partnerships and corporations. In an LLP, each partner is not ...

( LLP). January 2009 saw the merger with CIP Solicitors of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

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 and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

-based firm Tayntons. Morgan Cole Solicitors

The firm was awarded the Lexcel quality standard by the

in December 2008. A

office opened in 2007. In 2003, the firm moved into its new offices in Swansea – the first private sector investment in the development at

SA1 Swansea Waterfront SA1 Swansea Waterfront (''colloquially'': SA1) is the marketing name given to the brownfield development area located in northern part of Swansea Docks. The area is located directly to the southeast of Swansea city centre. It is bordered by ...

. 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 provided legal solutions to individuals, businesses, not-for-profit and government clients. Founded in 1869 by Alfred Starling Blake, the firm originated in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, and expanded with offices in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

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, 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

Blake Morgan LLP

The Lawyer profile of Morgan Cole
{{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