Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
| Company type | LLP |
|---|---|
| Industry | Legal services |
| Predecessor | Bryan Cave, Berwin Leighton Paisner |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Headquarters | St. Louis , United States |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Steve Baumer (Global CEO) |
| Products | Legal services (Real Estate, Tax, Finance, Corporate, Litigation & Corporate Risk, Transactions) |
Number of employees | Approximately 200 (Moscow office closed in 2022) (2022) |
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP (BCLP) is a global law firm operating from 31 offices across the globe, with its main headquarters located in St. Louis, Missouri. The firm’s expertise spans Real Estate, Tax, Finance, Corporate matters, Litigation & Corporate Risk, as well as Transactions.
Established in 2018, BCLP emerged from the union of Bryan Cave, based in St. Louis, and London’s Berwin Leighton Paisner. In 2024, the organization underwent a rebranding initiative, simplifying its name from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner to BCLP.
Bryan Cave
Originating in 1873 under the name King, Phillips & Stewart in St. Louis, the firm underwent several transformations and mergers before adopting the name Bryan, Williams & Cave in 1917 after P. Taylor Bryan. Its growth included opening offices in Washington, D.C. (1978), Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix, Arizona, and the Kansas City metropolitan area.
The year 2001 marked the launch of a Chicago office and a merger with New York’s Robinson Silverman Pearce Aronsohn & Berman. While Bryan Cave closed its offices in Riyadh and Dubai by 2005, it continued operations in Kuwait until that office was eventually shuttered.
Expansion into Europe included opening an office in Hamburg in 2007. The firm's 2008 merger with Atlanta-based Powell Goldstein brought new locations in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Dallas. In 2012, a significant merger with Denver’s Holme Roberts & Owen (HRO) added more than 210 attorneys to Bryan Cave’s team.
Berwin Leighton Paisner
Founded in 1932, Paisner & Co began as a general legal advisory practice in the UK, including services such as conveyancing. Over time, it built a strong corporate clientele including Great Universal Stores, Forte Holdings, and Penguin Books. Meanwhile, Leighton & Co, established in 1947, concentrated on litigation and property services for developers in London’s West End. The creation of Berwin Leighton in 1980 resulted from merging Leighton & Co with Berwin & Co; their client roster featured companies like Tesco, British Land, Ove Arup, and Lex.
In 2009, Berwin Leighton Paisner expanded into the Russian market by incorporating a team of 70 lawyers led by Andrey Goltsblat under the name Goltsblat BLP in Moscow.
BCLP
The fusion of Bryan Cave and Berwin Leighton Paisner took place in 2018 with Lisa Mayhew and Therese Pritchard appointed as co-chairs. Steve Baumer succeeded Pritchard as co-chair in 2019. By 2023, BCLP transitioned to a single leadership structure with Baumer assuming the role of Global CEO.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, BCLP decided to close its Moscow office employing around 200 staff members in 2022.
In 2023, Jeff Haidet joined BCLP as partner after serving as co-chair at Dentons US. Shortly thereafter, a group of fifteen intellectual property attorneys moved from Dentons to BCLP.
Notable transactions
In 2007, BCLP acted on behalf of Ralcorp during its $2.6 billion merger involving Ralcorp and the cereal portfolio of Kraft Foods under the Post Cereal brand.
The firm also advised Monsanto on its $290 million acquisition of Aly Participacoes in 2008. Aly Participacoes was part of Brazilian conglomerate Votorantim and included subsidiaries CanaVialis S.A. and Alellyx S.A., which focus on sugarcane breeding and genomics applications within the sugarcane industry.
Additionally, BCLP represented Barnes & Noble during its $596 million acquisition of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers Inc., a division originally separated from Barnes & Noble in the mid-1980s. This transaction was finalized on October 1, 2009.
References