About us

Our ambition is to be the market-leading independent UK law firm, with a clear purpose to deliver the highest quality service and best experience, for our people and for you.  

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Central to our purpose to deliver the highest quality service and best experience, is a commitment to environmental sustainability and to our social, diversity and inclusion responsibilities. 

At your side 

Our depth of market sector expertise and specialism in complex legal areas, is matched by genuine care – for our people, for our clients and for the communities around us. A culture of fairness and support runs through the heart of the firm, and our platinum Investors In People accreditation is testament to that.   

Always thinking ahead, we work alongside you as a guide through changing business environments, identifying opportunity whenever we can and seeking the best possible outcome. We’re accessible, responsive, straight-talking and easy to do business with, building long-lasting relationships as a result. 

All of this makes Burges Salmon a law firm you can trust, with people you’ll enjoy working with. 

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Our culture

We are driven by a commitment to fairness, respect, quality, ambition and collaboration.

These values underpin our culture.

We strive to ensure they are evident in how we work and deliver our service, how we engage with our suppliers, how we show respect for the environment and community, and in how we maintain an engaging, inclusive workplace. 

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Relationships matter

With clients ranging from large corporates and privately owned companies, to public sector bodies, entrepreneurial businesses, individuals and their families, we are trusted to help them with all their legal needs, from business-critical issues to business-as-usual. 

Our clients are at the heart of everything we do, and our collaborative culture means that we quickly draw on expertise from across the firm to build the best team for you. We take time to understand your needs and constantly seek to add value, going beyond legal advice to deliver innovative solutions and market insights, also facilitating valuable connections with our network of trusted firms in other geographies where needed.       

We are committed to building a long-term relationship with you, listening and regularly reviewing that relationship to understand what’s working well, and what we can do differently to strengthen that bond and exceed expectations. 

Working with you

Burges Salmon in numbers

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lawyers

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UK jurisdictions

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of partners recognised by Chambers UK 2025 as leaders in their field

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employees

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partners

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fee income to April 2024

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Responsible business

At the core of who we are and how we operate.

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News

Read about Burges Salmon in the media

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Brief history

Our roots

In 1770, one of the founders of the Bristol Law Society (the oldest in the country) was Daniel Burges. His son went on to become City Solicitor (from 1822) and Town Clerk, practising in partnership with William Brice.

Founding the firm

Daniel Burges’ grandson Edward Burges, qualified as a solicitor in 1837 and founded the firm as sole practitioner in 1841, in a building a few streets away from our current site in Bristol.

Changing names

In 1890, the practice was continued by his son Colonel W.E.P. Burges, and a partnership with W.J. Sloan led to the firm becoming Burges & Sloan.

Between 1897 and 1962, the firm was based in Marsh Street, and changed name several times.

National recognition

In the 1920s, new partner Wilfred Scammell joined the firm and later wrote The Law of Agricultural Holdings, a text book which brought national recognition for the firm’s agricultural practice.

Now a work bearing the names of two former partners of the firm, Scammell & Densham, its ninth edition was published in 2007.

The new name

In 1947 the partnership was joined by Stuart Evans, to become Salmon, Cumberland and Evans. The firm’s move to Narrow Quay House in 1982 saw the shortening of the firm’s name to Burges Salmon.

Since that date, the firm has grown to become one of the most respected and professional commercial firms in the country.

Moving time

In 2010 we moved to One Glass Wharf, a modern office building in the Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone.

In 2016 we refreshed our brand to better reflect our values, our people and our offices. In 2019, we then opened an office in Edinburgh to demonstrate our commitment to the Scottish market.

Expansion

In 2020, we opened a wholly owned subsidiary office in Dublin.

This enabled our internationally renowned Intellectual Property practice to continue to deliver its market-leading expertise and insight in the EU, across a range of industry sectors after the Brexit transition period ended (from 1 January 2021). 

Roll on Friday

In January 2025 the firm was named the RollOnFriday joint ‘Best Law Firm to Work at 2024’, becoming the only firm to have won the top accolade for an unprecedented fourth year in a row.

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