Vardags aiming to woo top legal talent

FAMILY law firm Vardags has launched a recruitment drive for outstanding legal thinkers as it prepares to open its first office outside the capital in Manchester.

The company is set to launch its Northern office in a 1,500sq ft space on the top floor of Ship Canal House on King Street in the wake of being listed among The Sunday Times fastest growing companies.

Vardags, founded by renowned family law specialist Ayesha Vardag in 2010, has grown 65% each year and, according to managing director Catherine Thomas, has been attracted to the vibrancy of what it sees as the UK’s second city.

“Manchester is the second city,” said Thomas. “I don’t care what Birmingham says. It’s incredibly vibrant. You only have to see the restaurants and bars.

“As a company, we go where the wealthy people are, and because of the buzz around Manchester, it was the obvious choice. We have been planning to open up here for at least two years.”

Vardags is in the process of hiring a number of lawyers for its team, but Thomas said expectations will be high.

“We identified a gap in the market, that’s why we’re coming here,” she went on. “But we aren’t looking for pen pushers and form fillers. We are creative and strategic about the way we go about the law.

“We want people who can think academically about the law, maybe with a view to setting new precedents. The company has always been about that sort of thing.”

Thomas, 32, was recruited by Vardag over a coffee several years ago.

“We met for a chat four years ago, and I was so impressed with her,  by the time we’d finished I had agreed to join the company and I handed my notice in at the firm I was working for the following day,” she said.