Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP is an international

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 clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to ...

with 25 offices worldwide. Bryan Cave was headquartered in St Louis, Missouri. Berwin Leighton Paisner was headquartered in London. In 2018, Bryan Cave and

Berwin Leighton Paisner Berwin Leighton Paisner (''BLP'') was an international law firm with 14 offices across 10 countries globally, specializing in real estate, finance, litigation and corporate risk, private wealth and tax. In 2018, Bryan Cave merged with Berwin L ...

merged to create Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP. The new firm is led by co-chairs Lisa Mayhew and Steve Baumer.

History

King, Phillips & Stewart was founded in 1873 in St. Louis, Mo. A merger resulted in Stewart, Bryan, Christie & Williams in 1911. After six years, P. Taylor Bryan's name became the first in the firm title, where it remains to this day. Rhodes Cave joined the firm in 1917, and it was then named Bryan, Williams & Cave. In 1932, UK-based firm Paisner & Co, provided general legal advice, including conveyancing. Almost a decade later, the firm developed a reputation for corporate work. Its clients included Great Universal Stores, Forte Holdings, and Penguin Books. In 1939 the firm took over an American company called McDonnell Aircraft Company, now The Boeing Company. Leighton & Co in 1947 provided litigation and property advice to property developers in the West End of London. Berwin Leighton was formed from a merger of Leighton & Co and Berwin & Co. Their clients included

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues an ...

British Land The British Land Company plc is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. The firm became a real estate investment trust when REITs were introduced in the UK in January 2007. It is headquartered in ...

, Ove Arup, and Lex. Bryan Cave became a strong regional law firm with 52 lawyers in St. Louis in 1973.

Growth and expansion

The firm's first office opened in 1978 in Washington, D.C., and later in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. A decade later, they expanded to the west and southwest and opened offices in Phoenix and

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

. After a period of two years, Berwin Leighton Paisner was formed. The firm has more than 900 staff, including 122 partners. The firm became a top 15 City practice in London with 122 partners, 430 fee earners, and a turnover of £88m. The merger enhanced the firm's profile as a leader in the U.K. property market. In the U.S., the Chicago office opens. Shortly after, Bryan Cave and New York-based Robinson Silverman Pearce Aronsohn & Berman merged, substantially enhancing the firm's presence in New York. After a few years, Bryan Cave opened offices in San Francisco and Paris. In 2009, Berwin Leighton Paisner was joined by a team of 70 lawyers in Moscow under the leadership of Andrey Goltsblat to form a full-service, multi-award-winning office under the name Goltsblat BLP. Bryan Cave and Atlanta-based Powell Goldstein merge, creating new offices in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Dallas. In 2005 Bryan Cave lost its

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the ...

and

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

offices to the Houston-based mega-firm

Fulbright & Jaworski Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. (now Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP), was founded in Houston, TX in 1919 by R.C. Fulbright. On June 3, 2013, the firm became part of the global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, a Swiss verein. Norton Rose Fulbright US ...

, but retained its office in Kuwait. The Kuwait office however soon closed as well. In 2007 offices were opened in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, followed by

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

in 2008. In 2009, Bryan Cave and Atlanta-based Powell Goldstein merged, creating an expanded firm with new offices in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Dallas. At the beginning of 2012, Bryan Cave merged with Holme Roberts & Owen (HRO), a law firm based in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

with over 210 attorneys. Bryan Cave also established an office in

Frankfurt, Germany Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

in 2012, to be integrated with the firm's already established

office. In 2018, Bryan Cave merged with the London firm of Berwin Leighton Paisner.

Notable transactions

*Represented

Ralcorp Ralcorp Holdings is a manufacturer of various food products, including breakfast cereal, cookies, crackers, chocolate, snack foods, mayonnaise, pasta, and peanut butter. The company is based in St. Louis, Missouri. The majority of the items Ralc ...

in the $2.6 billion merger between Ralcorp and

Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arran ...

' portfolio of cereals under the Post Cereal label. *Advised

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in ...

in its $290 million purchase of Aly Participacoes, a division of Brazilian global conglomerate Votorantim. Aly Participacoes operated two companies, CanaVialis S.A. and Alellyx S.A. which focus on sugarcane breeding and related applied genomics and biotech in the sugarcane industry. *Counseled

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 ...

, the bookseller, on its $596 million purchase of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers Inc., a division that had been spun off from Barnes & Noble in the mid-1980s. The acquisition closed on October 1, 2009.

References

External links

* {{authority control Law firms established in 1873 Law firms based in St. Louis Foreign law firms with offices in Hong Kong 1873 establishments in Missouri