Fletchers combines specialist court of protection teams under the expanded EMG brand
Fletchers Group has agreed deals to bring EMG Solicitors and JE Bennett Law into the group as part of a major expansion of its Court of Protection and private client services business.
The move will create a dedicated Court of Protection division operating under the EMG brand and combining more than 200 specialists across offices in Durham, Darlington, Newcastle, Penrith, Manchester, Reading and Tunbridge Wells.
Fletchers said the enlarged practice will become one of the UK’s largest specialist Court of Protection operations. Alongside EMG and JE Bennett Law, Fletchers’ own 30-strong Court of Protection team will also transfer into the expanded business.
The enlarged EMG business will sit alongside Fletchers Group’s other legal brands, including Fletchers Solicitors, Rayden Solicitors, Blume and Medical Law Services.
Fletchers Group chief executive Peter Haden described the transaction as a significant step in the group’s wider growth strategy across civil justice and complementary legal practice areas. He said the combined business would strengthen expertise across the full range of Court of Protection work, including deputyships, trusts, estates, healthcare disputes, and education law matters.
EMG founder and chief executive Emma Gaudern will join the Fletchers management board and lead the enlarged business. The practice will continue offering services in residential conveyancing, wills and probate, and family law. JE Bennett Law founder and managing partner Jane Bennett will also join the leadership team, overseeing the expanded EMG operation.
Gaudern said discussions with Fletchers made clear the group would provide the “best possible partner” for EMG’s staff and clients. She added that the enlarged business would benefit from access to capital, investment in technology and support for future mergers and acquisitions activity.
She also stressed that the expanded EMG business would continue operating independently from Fletchers Solicitors, with safeguards in place to protect confidential client information and maintain professional boundaries.
Gaudern said Court of Protection clients referred to EMG by external firms would not be referred onward to Fletchers Solicitors under any circumstances. The announcement comes as consolidation activity across the legal sector continues to accelerate, with firms increasingly pursuing scale through acquisitions and specialist expansion strategies.
Haden said the new leadership structure would combine senior figures from all three businesses, including EMG co-founder Jemma Morland and Fletchers Court of Protection director Kate Edwards.Both transactions have received regulatory approval. Financial terms of the deals have not been disclosed.