HBJ Gateley Wareing rebrands

Law firm HBJ Gateley Wareing has announced that it is to rename and from 1 May 2011 will adopt Gateley as its new national brand.

Last July, the Birmingham-based firm acquired collapsed law firm Halliwells, including its Manchester real estate team.

The company moved into 31,000 sq ft over four floors of Ship Canal House on King Street in Manchester last summer.

The 800-strong law firm said all of its offices in England and Dubai will change to Gateley and in Scotland the firm will be called HBJ Gateley.

Mike Ward, Gateley's senior partner in England, said: "The change of name is a natural step for us. The HBJ Gateley Wareing name is reflective of the history of the firm but we are widely referred to in the market in England as "Gateley". We have found that clients that are new to the firm sometimes struggle to identify our brand between the "Gateley" and "HBJ" names and, following the opening of our Manchester office last summer, we feel the time is right to make this change to allow the firm to focus on a strong national brand.

"As a national firm, with a comprehensive network of offices, we are keen to reduce confusion and use one name to reinforce our integrated national approach. This change in name not only reinforces our vision and values but in areas, such as London and the North West where we are not as well known as we are in our traditional Midlands' base, will provide a clear brand focus."

With 145 partners, Gateley has offices in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester, Nottingham, Manchester, London and Dubai.