Mourant du Feu & Jeune and Ozannes, two providers of offshore legal services based in the Channel Islands, have decided to merge. The new firm, Mourant Ozannes, will be effective from May 2010. Jonathan Rigby of Mourant du Feu & Jeune will be appointed as group managing partner. Peter Ferbrache of Ozannes will become senior partner and Ian James of Mourant will become chairman. Robert Shepherd will continue as managing partner of the Guernsey office.
Both firms have experienced sizable changes in recent months. At the end of November 2009, State Street bought Mourant’s $170 billion fund administration business, Mourant International Finance Administration. January also saw rival law firm Appleby poach for Ozannes associates to launch an offshore arm in Guernsey.
Competition in the Channel Islands has been hotting up. Bermuda-based Conyers Dill & Pearman recently announced they also aimed to open an office in the Channel Islands in Q2/Q3 2010, either through organic growth or acquisition.
The Mourant-Ozannes merger will create the Channel Islands largest fund adviser by the number of funds it advisers, according to date from Lipper, and advise more FTSE100 and FTSE250 companies than any other offshore law firm, according to Hemscott, an investment research company.
Jonathan Rigby, managing partner of Mourant, said: “We have always had enormous respect for Ozannes and we regard them as the leading law firm in Guernsey. The opportunity to combine premier practices in Jersey and Guernsey was too good to miss. We are very excited by this development and are looking forward to working together on our shared vision, to be consistently recognised as the leading law firm offshore.”
Robert Shepherd, managing partner of Ozannes, said: “This is an exciting development for both firms, which will enable us to build on the heritage of two very successful offshore law firms. There are many synergies between the firms in terms of focus, structure, culture and talented people, and by combining our market leading offering we endeavour to become the most sought after offshore law firm for clients and staff.”
Related News: Why State Street Bought Mourant