Awards: Win for law firm’s private wealth team; Accolade for pensions partner; Export success celebrated

LAW firm Mills & Reeve’s private wealth team has won the Regional Law Firm of the Year accolade for the third consecutive year at the Citywealth Magic Circle Awards.

The firm, which has an office in Leeds, beat off competition to secure the award which was voted for by more than 12,000 members of the public and judged by ten industry experts.

Now in its 11th year, the awards are run by Citywealth, the magazine for global wealth management experts dealing with £20m+ high net worth clients.

Mills & Reeve’s national private wealth team, made up of more than 100 lawyers and a private client base estimated to be worth more than £4bn, advises high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs and professionals on estate planning, including wills, trusts, family investment companies and family charters.

Julia Rangecroft, partner in the private wealth team in the Leeds office of Mills & Reeve, said: “It is a fantastic achievement to win the award three years in a row and is a testament to the private wealth team’s market leading position and our highly skilled lawyers who are dedicated to providing a top quality of service to clients.”

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LAWYER MONTHLY has announced that Walker Morris pensions partner Jo Ratcliffe is the winner of the Women in Law – Pensions Lawyer of the Year Award 2016.

The Women in Law Awards celebrate and highlight the achievements of women in the legal profession across the globe.

Ms Ratcliffe was selected for the accolade in recognition of her work in the pensions sector including her involvement with significant pensions cases, size of transactions, peer recognition and votes from Lawyer Monthly readers.

She is widely recognised for her knowledge of pensions and advises both companies and trustee boards.

She is a member of the North East Group of the Association of Pension Lawyers and was formerly chair of the North West Association of Pension Lawyers.

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EXPORTING success in North America with the backing and support of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) Yorkshire and the Humber secured a major transatlantic trade award for Quality Bearings Online.

The Leeds-based supplier and distributor of more than one million bearings and ancillary products from the world’s leading brands plus its own budget brand won the title of Export Award Micro-Business (for businesses with less than 10 staff) at the Chase Awards in London.

The Chase Awards recognise the best stories of successful exporting and inward investment in the transatlantic corridor by micro, small or medium-to-growth sized businesses.

Established in 2012 and now employing eight people, Quality Bearings Online supplies large and small businesses in 36 different sectors across the US.

While the US is its main export market, the business also trades with customers in aerospace, oil and gas, renewable energy, marine, transportation and manufacturing throughout mainland Europe, Canada, Australia, the Republic of Ireland and several countries in Africa, with exports in total now representing about 60% of monthly turnover.

Simon Riley, managing director and co-founder of Quality Bearings Online, attributed the award to improvements to the business based on knowledge gained from joining an e-exporting programme offered by UKTI Yorkshire and the Humber and delivered by Ed Ryder, managing director and founder of Otley, West Yorkshire-based creative marketing and design agency BISKIT.

Mr Riley said: “We started liaising with UKTI in 2014 and joined the e-exporting programme from September 2015 to March 2016. Attending the programme produced outstanding results for us as an online business because we started receiving orders from overseas.

“We were encouraged to look at our website and processes from a completely different perspective. We worked through every aspect of it to identify potential areas of concern such as shipping fees, taxes and duties. We also amended the site to ensure the removal of any possible problems that a company could face when trading overseas.”

Mark Robson, UKTI regional director for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “Quality Bearings Online proves my mantra that exporting is different but not difficult and something we at UKTI want to be the new normal for businesses looking to broaden their horizons.”