The merger between law firms Mogers and Dyne Drewett will create a strong business with growth ambitions in its heartland of Bath, Somerset and Dorset, according to Mogers managing partner Steven Treharne.
Speaking following the merger announcement last week, Mr Treharne, pictured, said the combination of the two would make it a force in an area that tended not to be served well by larger firms, particularly in areas such as private client and agriculture.
The tie-up takes effect from June 1 and the following day a new name and branding will be unveiled. 
But Mr Treharne said the two firms would continue to play to their individual strengths – the objective was not to cut costs but to grow the merged business.
The firm will be based in three offices, which will become centres of excellence, he said. Mogers’ Bath office will remain along with Dyne Drewett’s office in Sherborne.
Dyne Drewett’s existing plan to relocate its Shepton Mallet office to Wells will continue – giving the merged firm three bases to operate from in three prosperous locations.
Both firms have histories dating back to the 19th century and are similar in size. Dyne Drewett has just over 50 staff and five partners while Mogers also has five partners and slightly less than 50 staff. All partners and staff will stay in the merged firm.
Mr Treharne said informal discussions about a possible tie-up had started around 18 months ago.
“We have been friends for a long time as firms and our cultures are very similar,” he said. “We both had similar growth strategies and both saw the opportunities in this area. It became clear that we could work together in some way to achieve what we wanted to do.
“We realised a merger made commercial sense. This is about building a prosperous and sound business. We have both done very well as individual firms and can do even better together. This merger gives us something extra.”
Mogers has invested in innovation to grow over recent years, including offering its private client services to expats, launching an iPhone App for employment law updates and creating its own an HR company. As a result it has more than doubled in size since 2000.
However, it has no ambitions for the merged firm to move outside its heartland of Bath and Somerset, said Mr Treharne.
“We can't compete with the big beasts and we don't want to," he said. "We are local and we stick to that. Our ambitions for the merged firm is to be the best law firm in Bath, Somerset and Dorset.”
