Niche family law specialist acquired by regional legal practice

Regional law firm Sills & Betteridge is continuing its expansion drive by acquiring Sheffield city centre practice, Acclaimed Family Law. (AFL)

AFL, which will continue to operate under its own name from Cathedral Chambers, Campo Lane, is a niche firm dealing exclusively with private divorce and family law matters.

It will now be able to make available to its clients the full range of personal and commercial services provided by Sills & Betteridge.

Martyn Hall, chief executive of Sills & Betteridge, said: “This move is a strong strategic fit both for our existing operations in Yorkshire and our ongoing investment aspirations.

“Michelle and her team are dynamic and enterprising and share our service-first culture. We are pleased to have them onboard and look forward to building on the strong foundations both firms already have in the area.”

AFL director, Michelle Cooper, added: “We will continue to provide the exceptional service we are renowned for as Acclaimed Family Law under the Sills & Betteridge umbrella.

“Our clients will benefit from direct access to other departments including commercial, probate and conveyancing to provide them with an enhanced service from beginning to end which other stand alone family teams cannot offer.”

The collaboration sees Sills & Betteridge’s Yorkshire network grow to five offices since it first opened a small family practice in Doncaster in 2018.

It later acquired South Yorkshire full-service firm Bridge Sanderson Munro and Rawson Family Law also of Sheffield, and in 2022 opened the doors to its first office in the East Riding of Yorkshire, in Howden near Hull.