Legal news: Firm launches ninth office; Gateley & more

MAXWELL Hodge, one of Liverpool’s longest established independent firms,  is launching its ninth office in Merseyside, creating three new jobs.

Over the past 150 years, the firm has extended its network across Merseyside and Wirral.

Maxwell Hodge will open the doors to its new home on Allerton Road in Woolton Village, on the site of the former Fletchers Tea Rooms on Monday.

The new office will be ledp by director Denise Scoular who said: “Woolton is a warm, welcoming community and we are really excited to be able to join the neighbourhood. We have been dedicated to providing the very best legal advice locally, and our high street network of offices deliver exactly that.”

“We can’t wait to open our doors next week and welcome Woolton residents to our new home.”

The firm became Maxwell Entwistle & Byrne in 1940, founded by Sir Maxwell Entwistle.

He was instrumental in assisting business development in Liverpool and, as leader of the City Council, he played a leading role in the approval of the development plan for the city centre following the blitz.

The firm went on to merge and acquire legal firms throughout the city, becoming Maxwell Hodge in 2005.

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NATIONAL firm Gateley, and the Sport and Recreation Alliance have announced a new corporate partnership. 

The link-up  will see Gateley, which counts Manchester City FC among its clients, become the main legal provider for the Alliance, an umbrella organisation for the governing and representative bodies of sport and recreation in the UK, representing 320 members, including the FA and UK Athletics.

Manchester-based John Burns, head of sports at Gateley said: “Our team is already a member of the Legal Panel Framework for UK sports governing bodies. We recognise the vital role that the Alliance plays within sport and we are excited at the prospect of getting more involved with the wide range of work they do. 

“We have experience in dealing with a whole range of sports clients from leading Premiership Football clubs and international governing bodies to smaller national governing bodies and individual athletes; and so I am proud that our work within sport has been recognised by the Alliance.”
 
The Sport and Recreation Alliance exists to support its members – the governing bodies of sport and recreation – in promoting participation and with their general running. This includes providing their members with services and advice, representing their views to decision makers, promoting the interests of sport and recreation and campaigning on the issues that most affect its members.

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COMMERCIAL law firm Brabners has advised Youth Federation on the formation of a new free school in Macclesfield.

The Fermain Academy will provide alternative teaching for up to 40 students aged between 13 and 16 who have been excluded from mainstream education.

Free schools are funded directly by central government but independent of local authorities and have increased control over budgets, teachers’ pay, the curriculum and buildings.

A team from Brabners made up of partner and head of charity Stephen Claus, associate Graeme Hughes, partner Nigel Williams and associate Andrius Roos advised the senior management team from Youth Federation on governance, charity law and disposal of the site, which was previously a youth club, to the free school company.

Youth Federation’s pre-opening team consisted of chief executive Chris Hindley, finance director Mervyn Harding, and two Operations directors Martin Howlett and Kevin Bradburne.

The teams together with the principal Nic Brindle established a fully functioning free school from scratch in less than 10 months.

Hughes said: “This type of school is increasingly providing for youngsters who otherwise might slip through the educational net.”

Hindley said: “The challenge of setting up a free school in the current climate is immense, but the support from Brabners was invaluable in allowing us to navigate these challenges successfully.”