Legal 500: Top law firms and individuals across Yorkshire revealed
The 2018 annual Legal 500 rankings have revealed the region’s best corporate and commercial law firms, as well as leading individuals across the sector; but a warning of a gap in the recruitment market has been issued.
The report, published this morning, shows that Yorkshire continues to thrive with a buoyant market and active transactional workload that has so far weathered the storm of the looming presence of Brexit. The market is attracting a steady stream of investment through property developments, substantial construction work and infrastructure projects, with further investment promised through the government’s proposed Northern Powerhouse initiative, which aims to boost economic growth in the North of England and encourage greater diversification across the region.
The Legal 500 report states: “Leeds remains the legal stronghold of the county, playing home to several international firms and continuing to attract national firms: Gateley Plc, Freeths LLP and Shoosmiths LLP are all recent entrants in what is a saturated market.
“Conversely, the city and the region more generally is struggling with a dearth of junior lawyers due to the delayed impact of the financial crisis, with the lack of training contracts available at the time now creating a notable gap in the recruitment market.”
Sheffield continues to be a hub for manufacturing work, York is a key city in the region for agricultural clients and Hull continues to reap the economic benefits from its move to become a national centre for renewable energy and the success of its hosting of the 2017 City of Culture. Harrogate, York and Bradford also remains key cities for SME clients and owner-managed businesses.
Addleshaw Goddard, DLA Piper UK LLP, Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP, Pinsent Masons LLP, Squire Patton Boggs and Walker Morris LLP (which is unique among the group in choosing to operate solely from Leeds) comprise the region’s so-called ‘big six’. Leeds-only firms Clarion and Shulmans LLP represent strong competition.
Corporate and commercial:West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire
Tier 1
Addleshaw Goddard (Leeds)
DLA Piper (Leeds)
Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP (Leeds)
Pinsent Masons LLP (Leeds)
Squire Patton Boggs (Leeds)
Walker Morris LLP (Leeds)
Tier 2
Clarion (Leeds)
Gateley Plc (Leeds)
Gordons LLP (Leeds, Bradford)
Schofield Sweeney (Leeds, Bradford)
Womble Bond Dickinson (Leeds)
Tier 3
Lupton Fawcett LLP (Leeds, York)
Shulmans LLP (Leeds)
LEADING INDIVIDUALS
Andrew Kerr | Pinsent Masons LLP
Ian Gilbert | Walker Morris LLP
John Hamer | Walker Morris LLP
John Holden | Gordons LLP
Jonathan Jones | Squire Patton Boggs
Jonathan Procter | DLA Piper
Matthew Duncombe | DLA Piper
Robin Skelton | Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP
Yunus Seedat | Addleshaw Goddard
Corporate and commercial: Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Tier 1
DLA Piper (Sheffield)
Tier 2
CMS (Sheffield)
Freeths LLP (Sheffield)
HLW Keeble Hawson (Sheffield)
Lupton Fawcett LLP (Sheffield)
Tier 3
Bell & Buxton (Sheffield)
Irwin Mitchell (Sheffield)
Taylor & Emmet LLP (Sheffield)
Wake Smith Solicitors Limited (Sheffield)
LEADING INDIVIDUALS
Ben Hendry | CMS
Michele Phillips | Lupton Fawcett LLP
Peter Crawford | Freeths LLP
Richard May | DLA Piper
Roger Gough | DLA Piper
Corporate and commercial: Hull and East Yorkshire
Tier 1
Andrew Jackson Solicitors LLP (Hull)
Gosschalks (Hull)
Rollits LLP (Hull)
LEADING INDIVIDUALS
Andrew Funnell | Andrew Jackson Solicitors LLP
John Flanagan | Rollits LLP
Nigel Beckwith | Gosschalks
