New managing partner at Irwin Mitchell

The new Managing Partner of Irwin Mitchell says the leading national law firm will carry on driving forward despite the difficult economic climate.

John Pickering takes up his new post as National Managing Partner of Irwin Mitchell on Friday (May 1^st), replacing Howard Culley, who has held the role for the past 24 years.

Pickering, who was previously National Head of the firm’s highly-regarded Personal Injury division, paid tribute to his predecessor for the role he had played in helping Irwin Mitchell deliver significant growth and maintain its reputation for offering expert service to its clients.

The 53-year-old, who joined Irwin Mitchell as a trainee in 1977, qualified in 1979 and became a Partner just a year later, said: “Howard will be a tough act to follow. Under his stewardship, this firm has gone from strength to strength in recent years. I intend to carry on building on that and I’m looking forward to working with my Partners to keep on driving this firm forward.”

 “These are tough times for many businesses but Irwin Mitchell, with its broad offering to both the general public and business clients, is well placed and we see this as being potentially a very good time to build on our strengths.”

Pickering added: “The industry faces some significant challenges through the Legal Services Act but it will present real opportunities as well. One of Irwin Mitchell’s many strengths has always been its ability to spot opportunities and we’ve always been at the cutting edge of the law.

“We intend to stay ahead of the game and maintain our well-established reputation for innovation and first-class service to the people who matter most – our clients.“

Howard Culley, who joined Irwin Mitchell in 1977 and has been National Managing Partner since 1985, will remain a Partner of the company at its head office in Sheffield.

He said: “For any business, continuity is hugely important and John and I have worked closely together for many years now along with the whole management team.