Yorkshire’s legal firms defy gloom – The Legal 500
YORKSHIRE’S legal sector is “as competitive as ever” despite smaller teams at major players and the demise of two firms, according to The Legal 500.
The legal bible says Leeds remains the “epicentre” of the Yorkshire market. Sheffield is the region’s second-largest legal market with York, Hull, Bradford and Harrogate offering “a broad selection of firms”.
It warns that the market has for some time been seen as being “on the verge of saturation” with 2010 seeing the loss of Halliwells and Ashton Morton Slack.
All next week, TheBusinessDesk.com will be taking a sector-by-sector look at the region’s legal market in association with RBS. Information from the Legal 500’s verdict on the Yorkshire and Humber legal market will also be available to download.
The latest edition of the Legal 500 lists the region’s first tier heavyweights as:
- Addleshaw Goddard
- DLA Piper UK
- Eversheds
- Pinsent Masons
- Squire Sanders Hammonds
- Walker Morris
The firms judged to be second tier “regional heavyweights” are:
- Irwin Mitchell
- Nabarro
The Legal 500 says Squire Sanders Hammonds’ merger has benefitted its larger clients with Eversheds also identified at having strengthened its international capabilities.
DLA Piper “dominates across a number of practice areas”, Pinsent Masons has a “well-established reputation” in the local market and Addleshaw Goddard is “renowned for its banking and finance capabilities”. Commercial litigation and insolvency are strengths at Walker Morris, it says.
Irwin Mitchell is a “go-to firm” for personal injury and clinical while Nabarro is noted for its real estate expertise.
“Notable firms” in Leeds outside the regional heavyweights are Cobbetts, DWF, Gordons, Clarion and Schofield Sweeney, soon to be joined from York by Dickinson Dees.
McCormicks in Harrogate and Rollits and Andrew Jackson in Hull are also picked out for mention.
Hill Dickinson is described as one of the “up-and-coming” firms in the Yorkshire market after it acquired a large proportion of the former Halliwells practice in the city.
