Manchester: 2010
As everyone knows, northerners like a good fight, and it seems there's no better place to ‘have it out' at the moment than in the North West. The recent recession has seen the number of litigation practices in Manchester alone soar to take the contentious legal market to a new level. While the likes of Addleshaws and Pannone have dominated the commercial litigation arena since the dawn of time, the professional indemnity/commercial insurance market has been monopolised by national heavyweights including Hill Dickinson, Weightmans, Berrymans, and Beachcroft to name a few. Who would have thought there would be any more room to move...how wrong we were. London litigation giant Barlow Lyde & Gilbert sent shockwaves through the insurance community in 2009 by announcing the opening of a Manchester office with the recruitment of a DLA duo on the general insurance side. Known for its high end work in specialist litigation and professional indemnity in particular, they found lawyers from competitors including Hill Dickinson, Weightmans and Davis Arnold Cooper knocking on their door. The biggest news yet, however, was the addition of the entire Halliwells insurance team following Halliwells demise - an unexpected boost to a firm trying to make inroads into a new market.
BLG were the most high profile newcomer on the insurance side, but only the most recent in a string of firms coming from the bright lights of London to establish themselves on the North West legal scene. Kennedys, Mills & Reeve and Greenwoods have all opened their doors in Manchester in recent years, leaving the city without question the insurance hub of the North. Do the insurers they come to feed from have enough litigation to keep all these giants well fuelled we ask? The answer is undoubtedly yes. Business is thriving and looks set to continue for a long time yet as the old faces such as DWF and Robin Simon show no pressure from the newcomers and continue to thrive.
So what about transactional lawyers? It's fairly obvious that the bankers and corporate lawyers in the market have had a very tough eighteen months. With little bank lending and confidence at an all time low, most have been scratching for work and many forced to downsize. But the good news is that green shoots do seem to be appearing. The transactional market is undoubtedly healthier and lawyers who have managed to keep their heads above water are actually becoming very busy again. The same with real estate - after months of grim news, signs of optimism are emerging. We have seen a slow upturn in both commercial property and residential conveyancing since the start of the year, and this looks set to continue. With insolvency lawyers still gearing up for the expected boom and employment lawyers booking up the Tribunals into next year, everyone seems almost happy again...that is except family practitioners it seems...and Halliwells of course.
Family law continues to struggle, and with unnamed big hitters in the market still making redundancies across the North West, confidence is low. One reason may be impending legal aid changes, but in the privately paying market perhaps wives are sitting tight waiting for better times to sell the matrimonial home...and why not?! Finally, how could we forget Halliwells, the most talked about firm the year. The firm's demise had been threatened for a long time, but when administrators were finally appointed in June it marked a sad end to a once thriving heavyweight firm. With Hill Dickinson taking the Liverpool arm and BLG seizing the opportunity to grow their insurance practice in Manchester, many jobs were thankfully saved, but the biggest firm to benefit was HBJ Gateley Wareing, who aside from insurance have taken most of the old Halliwells Manchester office. Out with the old and in with the new...RIP Halliwells and welcome HBJ to mark the start of a new era.
So who knows what lies in the year ahead? One thing that does seem clear is that litigation, insurance and employment will continue to thrive. Value for money is, however, more important to clients than ever before. With fees being driven down and fixed fee schemes becoming more prevalent, this may carve the way for more unqualified fee earners and paralegals in the profession. There will always be a place for a solicitor, but the economic downturn may change the way we practice in years to come.
