Blake Morgan expands regulatory group with specialist acquisition

Leading law firm Blake Morgan has announced the acquisition of specialist advisers Accountants National Complaint Services Ltd (ANCS), as it expands its regulatory services.

As part of the deal, Chris Cope, founder and director of ANCS has joined Blake Morgan as a consultant and will play a key role in driving the growth of a new Accountants Defence team alongside Nick Leale, Partner and Head of Professional Regulatory, and Legal Director Samantha Hatt.

Blake Morgan’s Professional Regulatory team has established an excellent reputation for defending professionals in disciplinary proceedings and Chris brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in accountant complaints and disciplinary cases including ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) Disciplinary Hearings. Providing specialist accountancy defence is going to be a key growth area of the Regulatory team, which has offices in the Thames Valley, South Coast, London and Wales.

Nick Leale, Head of Blake Morgan’s Professional Regulatory team said: “We are delighted to be working with Chris and looking forward to growing the firm’s accountancy defence work in the years ahead. Chris is a hugely respected figure in accountancy disciplinary circles who brings extensive skills and expertise built-up over a long period of time.

“Somewhat uniquely, Chris worked for many years earlier in his career within the Professional Conduct Department of the ICAEW and has since represented hundreds of accountants and accountancy firms in relation to disciplinary and compliance matters brought by UK accountancy regulators. We envisage Chris’s broad expertise combining to great effect with our large, specialised regulatory team as we further expand into the representation of all professionals who are facing misconduct proceedings.”

Chris Cope said: “After 36 years providing a service to the accountancy profession in respect of regulatory problems, I very much welcome this excellent opportunity to develop and expand these services through the expertise and resources of Blake Morgan.

“Working with Blake Morgan’s extensive regulatory team will only enhance the quality of advice and assistance that we can offer to accountancy professionals.”