Forbes Solicitors acquires prominent employment law firm

Forbes Solicitors (Forbes) has announced the acquisition of North West-based Legal 500 and Chambers tier 1 boutique employment firm, e3 employment law LLP (e3).

The acquisition sees three new partners join Forbes – Simon Ost, Nick Jones and Dan Bickerstaffe.

With offices in Manchester and Liverpool, each partner is independently recognised as a leading employment lawyer by the legal directories and highly respected by clients and peers.

 The cost of the deal has been undisclosed.

Forbes is an award-winning law firm with 11 offices nationwide.

The firm has 64 partners and nearly 400 staff , advising on a wide range of commercial, public sector and personal matters. The acquisition strengthens Forbes’ already nationally recognised employment team and expands the firm's service offering to both existing clients and e3's established client base.

Pauline Wild, managing partner at Forbes, said: "Our vision is to be the number one regional law firm with a national reach. e3 is a perfect acquisition to help us deliver against that promise, bringing outstanding client experience and a brilliant team of lawyers.”

Jonathan Holden, national head of employment at Forbes, added: “Dan, Simon and Nick have built an enviable business that punches above its weight and we embrace that entrepreneurial spirit and experience. It’s clear that they always go the extra mile for clients, which mirrors our own approach to delivering exceptional client results – just like we do at Forbes. 

 “What’s more, e3 co-founder Dan Bickerstaffe was previously an associate at Forbes so knows our authentic and united culture first hand and we knew it would be a great fit. I look forward to working closely with the e3 team as we deliver against our shared ambitions.”

Forbes' employment team has grown by more than 300 per cent in the last 10 years; the acquisition will accelerate that growth while maintaining consistently excellent client service.  The team is now one of the largest employment teams by headcount and specialism in the North West 

Dan Bickerstaffe, partner at e3, said: "We established e3 to create a specialist law firm focused on effectively and efficiently delivering the needs of today's business community. 

“Joining forces with Forbes was a logical next step in our evolution. There are very few firms like Forbes which deliver a truly full-service offering across commercial, public sector and private client from a regional HQ.

"We look forward to bringing our expertise to the firm and driving growth across the North West, while benefiting from the wider team, reach and resources that will enable us to serve our clients even better."

In an interview with Pauline Wild in the May/June edition of Lancashire Business View, Pauline talked about wanting to make the law firm the number one regional law firm in the UK talking about 'growth is high on our agenda'.