Davenport to grow TP’s property and employment teams

NICK Davenport, managing partner of boutique commercial law firm Turner Parkinson says the firm is committed to sustained growth, and while cautious over the economic backdrop, is looking to to grow its property and employment teams.

Mr Davenport told TheBusinessDesk.com the firm has had a “really good year” with double-digit turnover growth led by the corporate finance team, and is looking to beef-up its smaller teams in commercial property and employment.

The Manchester firm has just promoted employment associate Gareth Roberts to department head and partner, and more hires are being sought.

“In property we brought in Paul Bibby from George Davies and it’s going very nicely too. The department has never been mainstream, but there is no reason why it shouldn’t be – we’re involved in Project Digital , which is a big feather in our cap.

Save for its small divorce-focused unit, which is badged as ‘tp Private Client’ and focuses on business owners, Bridge Street-based Turner Parkinson has a total focus on commercial law, a deliberate move in the face of ever-more competition in the consumer legal market place.

Mr Davenport said: “We are in good shape and our pipeline is good too. We are cautious though as the economic climate is so uncertain and we’ll only hire if we are sure we have the work to sustain it.

“We have a strong focus – and control of our own destiny, which is important. Our divorce team sits nicely within our mainstream commercial practice, but we don’t do any other private client work.

“We used to do some wills and probate, but it’s just not worth our while, and it’s only going to get more competitive as the big brands like the Co-op and Tesco enter the market.

“I do fear for the future of smaller consumer-focused firms, there will be be a tremendous fall-out in that market,” he added.

Currently three departments, corporate, commercial litigation and corporate recovery,  account for 90% of income. The remaining 10% comes from the other commercial functions including music law specialist partner Andy Booth, whose clients include the Stone Roses.

Although keen to grow, Mr Davenport says Turner Parkinson has no aspirations to “dominate the world.”

He explains: “Our success is built on offering an intimate partner-led approach and we don’t want to change or dilute this.”