Halliwells: A bullish firm’s rise and fall

HALLIWELLS grew rapidly during the boom years, unafraid to take on debt and assume what some critics saw as a brash, aggressive attitude.

Originally named Halliwells Landau the firm began to expand in the late 1990s eventually extending its operation to incorporate Liverpool, Sheffield and London.

Focusing on corporate law Halliwells developed a bullish, entrepreneurial reputation and was known for its tough corporate culture.

An ‘eat what you kill’ system of pay created a cut-throat environment. “You could get situations with partners battling each other for work rather than everyone working for the common good,” said one source.

In the late 1990s senior partner Roger Lancaster oversaw a major shift at the firm as it doubled turnover in three years, launched an office in London and more than doubled staff numbers to 300.

Mr Lancaster was replaced in 2001 by two managing partners Paul Thomas and Alec Craig, and Ian Austin took over in 2004 following tightly contested elections.

Under Mr Austin the firm dropped ‘Landau’ from its title and worked to reform its pay structures with the aim of creating a fairer spread of profits. A merger with Liverpool-based Cuff Roberts took place in 2004 which added 16 partners and around £6m a year in revenue.

The firm attempted to pull away from mid-tier competitors building turnover from £35m in 2003 to £86m by 2007.

A move to the glass-walled prestige of Manchester’s new Spinningfields business district appeared to seal the firm’s reputation as a major player.

But then the economic climate changed and Halliwells was caught out by a high cost base and falling fee income. It was among the first in the legal community to make redundancies.

Despite a major refinancing last year – which saw it restructure its debts – rumours persisted that Hallwells could be the legal sector’s biggest casualty of the downturn.

With speculation that Hill Dickinson – a conservatively run practice based in Liverpool – was looking to buy Halliwells assets, it emerged that administration would be the end-game for the one-time darling of the legal scene.

This was confirmed on June 24, when Halliwells said it had filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator, which would give it time to clinch deals to sell its assets.