Acquisition Part Of Plans To Grow Business

LEADING law firm Irwin Mitchell today announces the acquisition of personal injury firm MPH Solicitors (McCool Patterson Hemsi) as part of plans to grow its business.

The move by Irwin Mitchell, which became the first multiple-licensed ABS last August and reported income of more than £200m for the first time earlier this year, will see MPH also operate as an ABS and subsidiary of Irwin Mitchell from its offices in Manchester and Newmarket.

All five Directors of MPH will move to Irwin Mitchell as part of the deal along with their team of 24 lawyers and support staff specialising in serious injury, clinical negligence and armed forces work, adding further weight and expertise to Irwin Mitchell’s market-leading Personal Injury division.

It comes on the back of previous deals by Irwin Mitchell which have seen three firms acquired through debt legal services subsidiary Ascent since the end of last year.

John Pickering, Irwin Mitchell’s Group Chief Executive, said the MPH deal was the latest stage of its well-developed plans for growing all areas of its business.

 “MPH has a very strong reputation in the market for personal injury and we believe the MPH team will be a valuable addition to what is already an extremely experienced, expert team at Irwin Mitchell. MPH’s focus on client care matches ours and will help us offer even more people the high quality legal services they require,” said Pickering.

Andrew Tucker, Chief Executive of Personal Legal Services at Irwin Mitchell, said: “This will give us greater strength in depth in an important area for our business and is in line with our strategy to take advantage of the right opportunities available to us now we are an ABS.

“We already have a very strong position and reputation in the personal legal services sector and we plan to grow our presence still further as and when any future opportunities emerge.

Today’s acquisition of MPH builds on a number of recent high profile hires by Irwin Mitchell as further examples of the firm’s determination to grow its offering to both business and private clients. The recruitment in the current financial year alone includes three high quality Family law Partners – two in Manchester – as well as a new Head of Contentious Probate and a new Serious Injury Partner for Irwin Mitchell’s personal legal services division.

Five further senior hires have also been made for the firm’s fast-growing business legal services division, including a new National Head of Commercial Litigation, building on the 13 Partners hires in the previous financial year.

Pickering added:  “We have developed clear plans to expand our business across all the markets we operate within, both in the UK and internationally. This deal is one example of that but we will continue to work to find other opportunities to grow Irwin Mitchell into a very significant presence in the legal sector.”

Geraldine McCool, Director at MPH Solicitors said: “We attribute the success of MPH to the fact that we strive to put our clients at the centre of everything we do. We are rewarded with high levels of client satisfaction and loyalty. We are delighted to be joining a firm that shares that ethos. 

“These are difficult times for victims of personal injury and clinical negligence and their families due to recent funding and procedural changes and we believe that having access to greater resources, ancillary services and like-minded lawyers will help us to help them to meet these challenges. We will also be able to offer them help in other areas of law as they proceed through life. 

“The synergies between the two firms in niche areas such as MOD claims, asbestos-related work and clinical negligence, with Clients such as the Communication Workers Union and the commitment to pro bono work is compelling; we look forward to the future together.”

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