Sagar: GB now pre-eminent in shipping and maritime market
Insurance claims services business Gallagher Bassett (GB) has made its third law firm acquisition as it expands its legal offering into shipping and maritime law.
The deal for City firm Mays Brown adds 15 staff to GB’s legal team, which now numbers around 180, and the company – part of US insurance giant Arthur J Gallagher & Co – continues to look for more deals.
In 2017, it acquired Strata Solicitors, one of the first alternative business structures [1], which provides litigation and recoveries services, and then in 2024 Caytons Law, a law firm operating in London and Bristol specialising in providing legal and claims management services to the insurance industry. They continue to operate under their brands.
The deal for Mays Brown followed GB’s acquisition of WK Webster, a global marine and transit claims management firm, and then earlier this year another marine claims management firm, Germany’s Reck & Co.
In the marine world, third-party administrators (TPAs) like WK Webster represent the interest of cargo owners, while ship owners’ interests are represented by law firms – hence buying the law firm.
Manan Sagar, chief executive of GB’s Europe, Middle East and Asia operations, explained that it worked both ways – introducing a legal service to GB’s clients, and a claims management service for Mays Brown’s clients.
He noted that some law firms, like DWF and DAC Beachcroft, have done the opposite to the same effect by buying TPAs.
“The acquisition of Mays Brown, in conjunction with our recent M&A activity, positions Gallagher Bassett as the pre-eminent provider of marine claims, legal, and consulting services globally.
“It’s a corner of the market that requires considerable knowledge and naturally complements our claims management expertise.”
David Wartski, a director and founding partner of Mays Brown, said: “For more than 20 years, we have built Mays Brown into a trusted name in the maritime sector. The opening of our Newcastle upon Tyne office at the end of 2025, led by senior admiralty lawyer and master mariner Andreas Welz and his team, complements our existing dry shipping expertise and now enables us to support clients on marine casualties and admiralty disputes.
“Becoming part of Gallagher Bassett gives us an excellent opportunity to build on the first-class service standards we have set and offer our clients the full spectrum of maritime law solutions.”
Mr Sagar told Legal Futures that, when he joined GB two years ago, “I had a mandate to grow what was then predominantly a UK business and also our capabilities. And that’s what we’ve been doing”.
That has included legal services and Mr Sagar explained that it was not just about administrating claims. “Where we pride ourselves is in providing expertise and ensuring that we are helping to drive down the total cost of claim.”
He continued: “If you are just administrating a claim and then passing it across to a law firm to manage the legal side of it, in our opinion you are not acting on the best interest of the client.”
The fragmentation of suppliers in the market “is a challenge for both the clients and the claimants”, he added.
The approach allowed for a more rapid response. For example, one of GB’s clients is DHL Supply Chain. “In motor, the ‘golden hour’ [the first hour after an accident] is very important because what you want to do is try and understand where the incident has happened and make an assessment of liability.
“So, for example, if somebody crashes in the back of your car, it’s a clear open and shut case. Now, if the person who’s gone into the back of your car is a DHL truck, what we would do is reach out to you and say, ‘If your car is not roadworthy anymore, we’ll get you a rental car. We’ll make sure that things are sorted. You don’t have to worry about it’.
“That goes a long way in managing the cost of the claim, delivering efficient service to the claimant and reducing flow-on effect to revenue.
“While our liability specialists are finalising their assessment and engaging with the involved parties, both the claimant and worker are able to get back on the road in a safe and timely manner.”
Looking to the future, the plan is to continue developing legal expertise where it meshes with GB’s workstreams, such as financial lines, professional indemnity, director and officer insurance, and clinical negligence.
But ultimately, as with all good M&A, “making it successful is more around cultural alignment”, said Mr Sagar.
“Gallagher is very much a family. It’s a $15bn revenue, 70,000 people family, but it is still a family. If you don’t have that cultural alignment when we’re looking at an acquisition, it’s not right for us.”
He talked about founders of successful law firms who feel they have hit a glass ceiling. “In most instances, the reason why these businesses have been set up is because they didn’t want to be with a large law firm. So they don’t want to be absorbed by one.
“We provide a credible option. We want people to provide the right expertise and the right outcomes to our clients. It is very entrepreneurial, it’s very much about people first and not about billable hours. That resonates with why they have not been in a large law firm.”
The creation of a one-stop shop also came at a time when larger clients were “trying to consolidate their supplier estate”, he added.
Matt Foote, GB’s global head of mergers and acquisitions, commented: “This acquisition reinforces our commitment to a strategic M&A approach focused on identifying and pursuing opportunities that align with our core values and advance our growth.”