Fletchers becomes ABS in growth drive
FLETCHERS, the specialist North West law firm has become an alternative business structure (ABS) – a move designed to enable further growth.
The £12m turnover Southport firm, which after major investment over the last three years now has 280 staff, is looking to become a top 100 turnover firm – meaning it will have to double fee income.
Chief executive Ed Fletcher told TheBusinessDesk: “It’s an incredibly exciting time for us. The ABS is a natural step for us after the significant expansion we have seen recently.
“I believe we can break into the top 100 law firms organically as a result of the quality and nature of our case-load.”
Rather than using ABS status to raise external finance, Fletchers will use it to attract talent as it can now appoint non-solicitors as directors.
It has already been recruiting non-lawyers to its board, most notably finance director, Gary Carrington, who assists with the development of commercial initiatives.
In addition, it has three non-lawyer non executive directors, Nigel Savage, the former CEO of The University of Law (formerly The College of Law), marketeer Paul Duncanson and David Walmsley.
Ed Fletcher added: “Our non-solicitor directors can now be acknowledged officially by Companies House, and it paves the way for us to attract future talent to the board, both internally and externally, to ensure we have the best possible leadership to achieve our vision.
“Bringing in talent from different industries helps to increase the breadth of our business experience, which in turn leads to a competitive advantage. Innovation in the legal sector is crucial to success and we aim to remain at the forefront of the industry by continuing to break down traditional barriers.”
Fletchers specialises in complex medical negligence and personal injury cases. It claims to handle one in 10 medical negligence cases the UK. It is also one of the biggest motorcycle injury specialists (around 1 in 3 motorcycle accidents in England and Wales) and a major player in serious injury.
The firm has innovated too launching a consumer brand, Patient Claim Line, and Medical Law Network, a panel which offers other firms an effective way to bring their services to market.
