New name in Yorkshire’s legal sector as Halliwells deals reached
YORKSHIRE’S legal sector has a new entrant as deals look set to be reached on the future of Halliwells.
A substantial number of the new 70-strong Kennedys’ team in Sheffield were recruited from Halliwells last December.
Halliwells has subsequently run into difficulties and three deals over its assets are now expected to be completed before tomorrow when administrators are due to be appointed.
Kennedys’ has established its offices at Ventana House and will be focusing on clients in the insurance, commercial, mining, retail, engineering and public sectors.
The team is led by Suzanne Liversidge, a former managing partner at Halliwells in Sheffield.
She said: “We’re very pleased now to be part of Kennedys and look forward to expanding our presence in Sheffield. Our clients have been fantastic and I’d like to thank them for the support they’re showing us.”
Kennedys’ senior partner Nick Thomas said: “We are delighted to welcome these outstanding teams to Kennedys’ growing national and international network. The client relationships they bring are testimony to impressive service standards and top quality advice.
“We all look forward to building out from this excellent, new base in Sheffield.”
Legal sources have indicated that the partners at London-based law firm Barlow Lyde & Gilbert are understood to have completed a deal to take on Halliwell’s remaining insurance practice in Manchester.
Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, which recently opened its own practice in Manchester, will take on around 200 members of Halliwells staff who work for clients such as insurance firms Axa and Chartis.
A second deal which would lead to the Hill Dickinson taking on Halliwells’ Liverpool staff has yet to be announced, but it is understood that files were being transferred from Halliwells’ offices at Bruntwood’s Plaza building in the city over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Birmingham-based law firm HBJ Gateley Wareing is believed to have agreed the terms of its deal to take over the rump of Halliwells’ Manchester operations, including its corporate and real estate functions.
This deal, which initially looked like the least likely of the three, is also understood to have been approved by the firm’s partners.
Documents filed at Companies House show that the firm created a new separate Limited Liability Partnership known as HBJ Gateley Wareing (Manchester) last week.
