Law firm expands into city offices as part of growth strategy
Commercial law firm, Hill Dickinson, has begun 2024 with a move into new offices at 11 Wellington Place, Leeds.
It follows the signing of a lease agreement in May 2023 and forms part of the firm’s wider growth and sustainability strategy.
The firm now occupies a full floor of the 10-storey building. The 9,000 sq ft relocation will allow Hill Dickinson to continue delivering on its growth strategy in the city, providing space for a continued increase in headcount over the next 10 years.
Since establishing a presence in Leeds in 2017, the business has grown its team to over 40 people in the city, as well as expanded its service lines.
Originally focused purely on healthcare, Hill Dickinson’s Leeds offering now includes corporate, banking, real estate, construction, employment and restructuring.
The move follows lateral hires for the firm in the second half of 2023, with Lemi McCauley arriving as partner in August 2023, subsequently joined by Lizzy Wood and Molly Rowell from Shoosmiths, to establish a full restructuring team for Hill Dickinson’s Leeds practice.
Credit: SG Photography
Partner Glenn Hayes also joined from Irwin Mitchell in December last year as head of employment in Leeds, bringing a dedicated commercial employment team to complement the firm’s health employment team practice in Leeds for the first time.
Craig Scott, CEO elect and head of Business Services Group, said: “Leeds is a city that is seeing rapid expansion across a range of industries and sectors, which means there’s increased demand for legal services in the city – and we are responding to that.
“This brilliant new space reflects our strategic ambitions in a number of important areas: it allows us to meet growing demand from new and existing clients in and around Yorkshire, it aligns with our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint and it demonstrates our ongoing commitment to being part of a thriving business community in Leeds for the long term.
“The number of quality senior lateral hires we’ve attracted during the last two years, backed up by the strength of our growing national teams, has allowed us to expand our full-service offering into Leeds very rapidly.”
Esther Venning, partner and head of Leeds office, said: “It has been incredibly rewarding to see our Leeds office grow at such pace recently, now housing a team of more than 40 across a range of services.
“The Wellington Place move is an exciting next step to continue delivering on this growth.
“As one of the fastest growing legal centres in the country, Leeds is home to a host of incredible talent, with excellent universities and law schools right on our doorstep.
“This has created a buoyant market where we can attract strong talent at a range of levels, from new trainees to experienced partners.”
The firm has worked with a number of subcontractors on the design and fit-out of its Wellington Place offices, including Incognito, Avid, Kennedy Redford, RLB and Overbury.
In July 2023, the business also confirmed the intended move of its entire Manchester operation to Gary Neville’s landmark £400m St Michael’s scheme in 2025.
