Fourteen Appointments Across All Areas Of Business ‘Reflects The Quality Of Our Firm And Of Our People’, Says Group Chief Executive

By Dave Grimshaw

The Group Chief Executive of Irwin Mitchell says a record number of 14 Partner promotions at the leading law firm this year is testament to the strength of the business, its broad range of services and to the quality of its people.

Announcing that nine lawyers and four non-lawyers would be promoted to partnership status, subject to SRA approval, with a solicitor also being promoted into the firm’s full equity membership, John Pickering said he was delighted that the successful candidates came from right across the firm, reflecting the strength of its offering to clients.

Four of the newly-promoted solicitors are based in the firm’s rapidly-growing Business Legal Services (BLS) division, with another five lawyers coming from the Personal Legal Services (PLS) side of the business, along with one PLS solicitor and serious injury specialist who will become a full equity member.

In addition, building on Irwin Mitchell’s track record of promoting people from non-legal backgrounds to its partnership structure, four other candidates from business support functions such as Operations, HR and Business Development and Communications will become Associate Directors, equivalent to being a Partner at the firm.

Pickering said: “Our business is growing and in a strong position and this round of partnership promotions reflects the breadth of the high quality, innovative services we provide to our clients. One of Irwin Mitchell’s strengths is the diversity of its offering and yet again, this announcement reflects that, covering our work with business and private clients.

“On top of that, once again we can also demonstrate the value we place on the role people from non-legal backgrounds play in the success of our firm and the service to the most important people of all, our clients. We will always reward people on the basis of the value they bring to our business and we are delighted to be able to do that again this year.”

Irwin Mitchell was one of the first firms to apply for ABS status and the first to be awarded multiple ABS licenses and Pickering added: “The legal sector is changing and all of our people have a major role to play in helping us achieve our vision of becoming the legal brand of choice.

“These appointments build on the other high quality senior appointments we have made across the course of the year. We are in a strong position and I am sure all of our successful candidates will join our existing Members and Partners in making sure we continue to build our business and to offer market-leading services to both businesses and consumers.”

Promotions from the firm’s PLS division include Sheffield-based Serious Injury Partner Neil Whiteley, who moves up to join the full equity membership after 19 years with Irwin Mitchell, while fellow serious injury specialist Rachael Aram, who is also based in Sheffield, is one of five PLS solicitors appointed as a Partner for the first time.

She is joined by two medical negligence specialists in Sarah Rowland, also from Sheffield, and Birmingham-based Luke Daniels, who also works with victims of child abuse. Public Law solicitor Alex Rook, who is based in London and specialises in community care, disability discrimination and human rights law, completes the PLS legal quintet with fellow London lawyer Rosemary Giles, who specialises in helping victims of Asbestos Related Disease.

From the BLS side of the business, four solicitors make the step up to Partner, including Real Estate experts Andrew Wallis, from Sheffield, and Claire Quinn, from Manchester. The BLS quartet continues with Leeds-based insolvency specialist Doug Robertson and Daniel Brumpton, a member of Irwin Mitchell’s Commercial Litigation department in Sheffield specialising in professional negligence cases.

The appointments to BLS come off the back of a year which has seen 13 other partners join the rapidly-expanding division, culminating in the appointments of four senior Real Estate partners in Manchester in February and the recent high profile hire of Chris Rawstron to head up the business team in Birmingham.

Four further appointments to Associate Director – which is the equivalent of Partner status at the firm – see two members of the PLS division’s Operations team promoted in David Robinson, who works with Irwin Mitchell’s market-leading Motor department, and Danny Varhalamas, who works with the Private Client Legal Services teams.

Two other new Associate Directors come from the firm’s business support teams, with Manchester-based Head of Talent and Resourcing Janet Sandford promoted alongside Head of Group Communications Mark Duffell.

All appointments will be subject to SRA approval and effective from May 1.

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's key people here.