Legal 500: The market remains in flux
THE fragility of the North West legal market persists, but new entrants prove its dynamism, according to the latest 2014 Legal 500 review.
The annual guide, which also provides its list of the star individual players regionally (who are listed below), says the wider market is still in flux and “no where less so than in Manchester”.
It cites the closure of corporate boutique firm EOS Law in December, with Ward Hadaway taking on most of its work, and the near collapse of Linder Myers, which was avoided through a restructuring deal with Assure Law.
There was also Pannone’s merger with Australian personal injury firm Slater & Gordon which had already acquired Liverpool-based Goodmans Law and Fentons Solicitors in 2013. The deal saw Pannone sell its consumer law practice, while spin-off Pannone Corporate took on the smaller corporate division.
This activity followed a dramatic 2013 marked by DWF’s acquisition of Cobbetts out of administration; Weightmans’ swoop for Semple Fraser’s Manchester team following the Scottish firm’s collapse; Linder Myers’ clutch of acquisitions; Mills & Reeve’s merger with George Davies; and JMW Solicitors’ tie-up with fellow Manchester firm Goodman Harvey.
The 2014 review says Manchester is still a dynamic market, capable of attracting new entrants such as TLT, Berwin Leighton Pasiner and Leigh Day.
It adds: “In Liverpool, firms are taking advantage of regeneration schemes and new developments such as the super port and Mersey Gateway, while retail and leisure are key growth sectors. The legal market here has experienced contraction rather than the consolidation in Manchester, although Chester-based DTM Legal opened a new office in the city.
“In the rest of the region, there is likely to be yet more consolidation. Larger players continue to take advantage of a low cost-base and strategic mergers to gain market share, with Slater Heelis LLP recently taking over Cottrills, giving the firm a Manchester office.”
The tier one North West firms remains unchanged on 2013 with Addleshaw Goddard, DLA Piper, Eversheds and Pinsent Masons leading the way.
Legal 500 rates Brabners, DAC Beachcroft, DWF, Gateley, Hill Dickinson, Squire Patton Boggs, and Weightmans in its second tier.
Legal 500’s leading individuals in Manchester are:
Madeleine Abas – Osborn Abas Hunt (Health and safety)
Christine Barker – Laytons (Family)
Ged Barnes – Addleshaw Goddard (Insolvency and corporate recovery)
Anthony Barnfather – Pannone, part of Slater & Gordon (Crime)
Roy Beckett – Irwin Mitchell (Commercial property)
Dan Bickerstaffe – e3 employment law (Employment)
Adrian Bever – Addleshaw Goddard (Health and safety)
Tom Bridgford – Eversheds (Corporate and commercial)
Liam Buckley – Squire Patton Boggs (Commercial Property)
Andrew Chamberlain – DWF (Employment)
Craig Chaplin – DWF (Intellectual property)
Mary Clarke – DLA Piper (Employment)
Michael Clavell-Bate – Eversheds (Commercial litigation)
Jonathan Clay – BLM (Personal injury)
Paula Cole – DAC Beachcroft (Employment)
Nigel Dale – Eversheds (Banking and finance)
Gregg Davison – Pinsent Masons (Corporate and commercial)
Paul Devitt – Addleshaw Goddard (Corporate and commercial)
Julian Diaz-Rainey – Pinsent Masons (Commercial litigation)
Mike Edge – Pinsent Masons (Commercial property)
Jonathan Edwards – DWF (Banking and finance)
Tony Fitzmaurice – Davitt Jones Bould (Commercial property)
Diane Gilhooley – Eversheds (Education)
Stephen Goodman – JMW Solicitors (Commercial property)
John Gosling – Addleshaw Goddard (Commercial litigation)
Andrew Gregory – DWF (Insolvency and corporate recovery)
Rebecca Grisewood – Gateley (Corporate and commercial)
Daniel Hall – Eversheds (Corporate and commercial)
Tim Hamilton – Addleshaw Goddard (Corporate and commercial)
Tony Harper – Brabners (Corporate and commercial)
Andrew Harris – DWF (Commercial litigation)
Frances Harrison – Hempsons (Clinical negligence)
Elizabeth Hassall – Gateley (Family)
Joel Heap – DWF (Commercial litigation)
Carol Jackson – Pannone, part of Slater & Gordon (Personal injury)
Sue Jenkins – DAC Beachcroft (Employment)
John Joyce – Addleshaw Goddard (Insolvency and corporate recovery)
Martin Keates – DLA Piper (Insolvency and corporate recovery)
Catherine Leech – Pannone, part of Slater & Gordon (Personal injury)
Bill Lister – Fieldfisher (Intellectual property)
Samantha Livesey – Pinsent Masons (Information technology)
Richard Lloyd – Eversheds (Planning and environment)
Anthony Lyons – Kuit Steinart Levy (Licensing)
Andrew Maskill – Addleshaw Goddard (Banking and finance)
Elaine Maxwell – Maxwell Gillott Solicitors (Education)
Ian McConkey – DAC Beachcroft (Professional negligence)
Melanie McGuirk – Pannone Corporate (Intellectual property)
Susan Molloy – Gateley (Banking and finance)
Matthew Morgan – Pinsent Masons (Banking and finance)
Steve Morris – DWF (Commercial litigation)
David Moss – Eversheds (Construction)
Andrew Needham – Millbank Edge (Corporate and commercial)
Michael O’Connor – Addleshaw Goddard (Projects and energy)
Martin O’Shea – Addleshaw Goddard (Banking and finance)
Frank Patterson – MPH Solicitors (Clinical negligence: claimant)
Simon Pedley – Mills & Reeve (Commercial litigation)
David Pickering – DWF (Family)
Malcolm Pike – Addleshaw Goddard (Employment)
James Preece – Clyde & Co (Professional Negligence)
Helen Ridge – Pinsent Masons (Corporate and commercial)
Jonathan Robinson – DWF (Corporate and commercial)
Kirsty Rogers – DWF (Employment)
Diarmuid Ryan – Squire Patton Boggs (EU and competition)
Frank Shephard – DWF (Corporate and commercial)
Claire Shepherd – Squire Patton Boggs (Banking and finance)
James Sheridan – turner parkinson (Corporate and commercial)
Geoffrey Shindler – DWF (Personal tax, trusts and probate)
Lesley Smythe – DWF (Family)
Kit Sorrell – Regulatory Legal Solicitors (Commercial litigation)
James Szerdy – DWF (Banking and finance)
Jim Tully – Addleshaw Goddard (Corporate and commercial)
Jonathan Watkins – DLA Piper (Corporate and commercial)
Maurice Watkins – Brabners (Sport)
Anita Weightman – Irwin Mitchell (Commercial property)
Karl Williams – Pannone Corporate (Debt recovery)
Liverpool
Carole Atkinson – Weightmans (Family)
Mark Beardwood – DLA Piper (Commercial property)
Michael Brabner – Brabners (Corporate and commercial)
Mark Goodwin – DLA Piper (Commercial litigation)
Pamela Jones – Hill Dickinson (Commercial property)
Mark O’Connor – O’Connors (Corporate and commercial)
Andrew O’Mahony – Brabners (Corporate and commercial)
Jim Pinsent – DLA Piper (Construction)
Philip Rooney – DLA Piper (Commercial property)
Sue Russell – Hill Dickinson (Corporate and commercial)
Denise Walker – Brabners (Corporate and commercial)
Richard Watson – Hill Dickinson (Clinical negligence)
Elsewhere in the North West
Martin Gillibrand – Oglethorpe Sturton & Gillibrand, Lancaster (Agriculture and estates)
Mark Manley – Manleys Solicitors, Chester (Commercial litigation)
Angus Whyte – Land Law, Altrincham (Commercial property)
