Hub opening sees law firm expand into another UK city

Law firm, arch.law, has unveiled a new Collaboration Hub in Leeds as the latest move in its expansion drive.

Located at Grade-II listed 10-12 East Parade, the hub is the ninth for the leading distributed law firm and joins hubs across the UK in Birmingham, Manchester and London together with Australia and Canada.

A strategic goal for the distributed law firm is to increase its footprint and international capabilities to meet the demands of its expanding client base.

Opening the Leeds Hub is head of arch.convey, Lee Gaddes who was one of the first members to join arch.law in 2021.

Andrew Leaitherland, arch.law CEO, said: “We’re seeing the rapid evolution of how clients access legal services and with the contraction of the sector both regionally and nationally it’s enabling radical change.

“A key differentiator for arch.law is our ability to enable smaller firms, teams or individuals to join with a smooth transition, but also importantly, while delivering a seamless, technology-driven and enhanced service to clients.

“I’m pleased for arch.law to now have a presence in the thriving city of Leeds.”

arch.law currently has over 80 members and was founded in 2021 by Leaitherland, who is the ex-CEO of DWF Group plc.

He explained the distributed model suits modern ways of working, with members able to both work from home or from one of the dedicated hubs.

He said: “Leeds is one of the key regional centres and I think our hub here will grow significantly as there are some great quality lawyers and clients in Leeds.

“We’ve now been going for more than two years and there’s a lot more to come for us in the pipeline – we want to open a hub in Bristol and we need to look at Scotland too.”

Reacting to last week’s news that insurance specialist, Plexus Law, has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, Leaitherland added: “You’re always going to have ups and downs in the industry but I think this is relatively isolated in terms of this particular firm, rather than the market segment.”

Gaddes has previously led two law firms, and more recently left Gaddes Noble Property Lawyers to concentrate full time developing the arch.convey product within arch.law.

He was previously owner of Noble & Co and managing partner with a five-office law firm in West Yorkshire.

He has a strong track record in commercial property advising developers, landlords and tenants and looking after high-end residential conveyancing matters.

Gaddes said: “I met Andrew Leaitherland in the early days of arch.law and was really impressed with his vision and strategy.

“From the start arch.law has adopted the best technology, tech stack and case management tools and having these capabilities together with each member’s expertise is a real differentiator.

“But most importantly it’s our ability to deliver cost effective legal services to clients, and I’m happy to have the opportunity to develop arch.convey.”