Halliwells carve-up set to complete
THREE separate deals to carve up the assets of struggling law firm Halliwells look set to be completed ahead of a deadline tomorrow when the firm is due to appoint administrators.
Legal sources have indicated that the partners at London-based law firm Barlow Lyde & Gilbert are understood to have completed a deal to take on the firm’s remaining insurance practice in Manchester after its Sheffield office separated in December to join Kennedys.
Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, which recently opened its own practice in Manchester, will take on around 200 members of Halliwells staff who work for clients such as insurance firms Axa and Chartis.
A second deal which would lead to Hill Dickinson taking on Halliwells’ Liverpool staff has yet to be announced, but it is understood that files were being transferred from Halliwells’ offices at Bruntwood’s Plaza building in the city over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Birmingham-based law firm HBJ Gateley Wareing is believed to have agreed the terms of its deal to take over the rump of Halliwells’ Manchester operations, including its corporate and real estate functions.
This deal, which initially looked like the least likely of the three, is also understood to have been approved by the firm’s partners.
Documents filed at Companies House show that the firm created a new separate Limited Liability Partnership known as HBJ Gateley Wareing (Manchester) last week.
A source said that the deals were likely to complete on Friday but had dragged on as parties had been unable to agree terms on a Transitional Service Agreement, which would have kept the firm’s support staff in employment at least until September. As a result, it is likely that some redundancies will be announced by the firm today.
