DWF has confirmed that it has held informal merger talks with a number of firms including Cobbetts, after news emerged today (4 November) that the website dwfcobbetts.co.uk had been registered for business.

Managing partner Andrew Leaitherland said that DWF was in informal merger discussions with "three or four firms", but stressed that any agreement was not imminent, and that the dwfcobbetts.co.uk domain name had been registered by an "over-zealous" member of the firm's IT team.

Leaitherland confirmed that a tie-up with Cobbetts was one option currently under consideration.

Leaitherland (pictured) said: "We had an internal partners meeting about five to six weeks ago where we discussed opportunities for growth, and Cobbetts was one of a number of firms that we highlighted.

"It seems an overzealous IT person has jumped the gun a bit and gone and registered the website."

"We are looking at strategies to grow and we are looking for a merger."

News of the registry of the dwfcobbets.co.uk domain name was first reported on RollOnFriday earlier today.

DWF reported turnover of £83m for 2010-11, ranking it in 40th place in the most recent UK top 50. The firm posted a double-digit increase for the last financial year, with fee income growing 15%. The northwest firm also saw profits per equity partner rise 17% to £390,000, alongside a 31% increase in partner headcount from 120 to 157.

Meanwhile, Cobbetts, which dropped out of the UK top 50 in 2008-09, posted a 1% rise in turnover this year from £43.8m to £44.5m. The firm conducted three separate redundancy rounds during the financial crisis with 69 jobs going across the firm.

Cobbetts could not be reached for comment.