MWB join Ampa Group

We started this year with some exciting news. We joined Ampa - the UK’s leading group of legal and professional services companies. As a result of this merger, our clients now have access to more than 900 experts across the group. These include new service areas such as planning, cyber security, data protection and risk management, to name a few.

It has always been important to us that we continue to innovate and find ways to better serve our growing client base. Over the last decade, this has included mergers with other firms and developing technological solutions like our LawEasier service.

The move to join Ampa supports our shared plans for growth and increases our service offering for clients across the South East. Ampa is a group of distinct and respected brands with complementary specialist areas, talented experts, and a united goal to fulfil our clients’ needs and their growth ambitions.

Together, we can now provide you with market-leading support on a vast range of varied and complex issues—all in one place. Wherever, whenever you need us.

While we will retain our distinctive brand and continue to operate as a separate LLP, joining Ampa means that we can also speed up our expansion plans. We are now looking to recruit talented people and teams across Sussex, Surrey, and Kent as Ampa’s regional anchor brand in the South East.

Ampa shares our values of collaboration, integrity and providing exceptional service. We’re delighted to join the likes of Shakespeare Martineau, Marrons Planning, Lime Solicitors, Corclaim, and CSS Assure, in the group.

“We’re excited to be taking this next step in our firm’s evolution and look forward to building on our services for our clients and communities. Joining forces is a very positive move for each of us.” Dean Orgill, Chief Executive Partner at MWB.

Our identity as Mayo Wynne Baxter will remain. We are proud of our established reputation, and it is one of the things that made us attractive to Ampa. A crucial part of our identity is our people and, as we are looking to expand the firm not to reduce it, there are no plans for any redundancies.

Ampa’s origins are in the Midlands through Shakespeare Martineau – a well-respected and substantial law firm with ten offices including London, Birmingham and Glasgow.

Sarah Walker-Smith, Group CEO at Ampa, said: “A key benefit of our group is shared access to greater support for the benefit of our clients, whether that be from other legal professionals across different brands or our combined business operations capabilities. Alongside bigger buying power and significant opportunities to collaborate on projects, we will deliver enhanced benefits for our people and clients in life and business.

“Each brand in our group is empowered to deliver on its growth ambitions and retaining autonomy whilst collaborating with each other when it makes sense to do so for the greater good.

“Mayo Wynne Baxter has a unique geography, local market affinity, excellent client relationships, strong employer brand and a great reputation – which is why it is so important that it maintains its brand and market positions. It has been great to meet and now go into partnership with a similarly progressive business and like-minded people to help us drive the Ampa vision.”

The transition to the group is expected to be completed by 1st May 2022 and the merger will take Ampa to a turnover above £100m for 2022/23 and a group of more than 1,100 people immediately.

This is good news for MWB, but more importantly it is good news for our clients.

Dean Orgill and Sarah Walker-Smith — Dean Orgill & Sarah Walker-Smith