Spearing Waite swoops for rival’s retail team
Leicester law firm Spearing Waite has hired Shakespeare Martineau’s retail team, in a move that the company says creates the Midlands’ largest single site legal retail team.
The new additions are partners Caroline Smith and Darren Smith, solicitor Jenna Mistry, Paralegal Simran Sahdra and secretary Kirsty Spencer.
The new team now has seven partners and seven junior lawyers; a combined client portfolio of more than 10,000 retail units; and a list of clients which includes high street giants such as Poundstretcher, The White Company, Dunelm, Domino’s Pizza, and Emma Bridgewater.
Spearing Waite’s senior partner Tom Bower said: “Our retail clients require experienced specialist lawyers with broad industry knowledge, dedicated to the sector. Whilst many firms are reducing their focus, we are sharpening ours. Retail remains a core area for us, and this latest step underlines our intent. Caroline and Darren lead a strong and established team with an enviable client list.
“It is very much business as usual for the entire retail team, and clients joining us as part of the move can be assured of a seamless transfer and continued excellent service, that is now further enhanced by access to Spearing Waite’s wider legal service and sector specific teams across relevant areas such as property litigation, construction, planning and IP.”
Caroline Smith was head of Shakespeare Martineau’s retail team for seven years, and originally with Harvey Ingram when it became part of Shakespeares. She says: “After close scrutiny of Midlands law firms, we identified Spearing Waite as the obvious choice because of their existing exceptional portfolio of retail clients across the UK, and their expertise and commitment to the sector.
“Our teams share strong similarities in work and clients – both working with household names in retail and leisure – and believe our shared values and specialist expertise, presence and reputation in the retail sector will make us attractive to existing and potential clients, as well as potential new hires.”
Smith added: “Amid these challenging market conditions, we were eager to differentiate ourselves from our competition and we have achieved this goal through strength in depth, resulting in increased speed and proactivity and sharing of market trends so we can advise retailers on patterns we are observing across the sector to ultimately save them money in a market where every penny counts.”
