Irwin Mitchell

Irwin Mitchell
Headquarters Sheffield
No. of offices 17[1]
No. of attorneys 1100[2]
No. of employees 2100+[2]
Major practice areas General Practice
Key people Andrew Tucker (Group Chief Executive)
Revenue £210.6m (2015)[3]
Date founded 1912
Founder Walter Irwin Mitchell
Company type Limited liability partnership
Website
irwinmitchell.com

Irwin Mitchell is a firm of solicitors in the United Kingdom, established in Sheffield in 1912. Since the merger with Thomas Eggar in 2015, the firm now has 17 offices across 15 British cities. The firm has more than 180 partners, 900+ associates, consultants, senior advisors and other fee-earners, employing in total over 2,100 people.[2] The company was ranked 17th largest UK based law firm in terms of worldwide revenue in the 2014/2015 year with a turnover of £210.6m.[3]

History

Irwin Mitchell was founded by Walter Irwin Mitchell in Sheffield in 1912 as a general practice firm. His aim when he founded the company was to provide the highest quality law services to the general public.[4]

The company remained solely in Sheffield until its first expansion into a Birmingham office in 1989, the Leeds arm was next to follow, opening its doors in 1993. The company continued to acquire companies throughout the 1990s, with Sheffield outfit Kershaw Tudor in 1994; Leeds-based corporate and commercial firm Teeman Levine in 1995; and Birmingham corporate specialist Rigbeys in 1996. A City branch was launched in 1995 and added to another series of merger deals - with debt recovery and insolvency firm Braby & Waller in 1998 and personal injury outfit Lorenzo Zurbrugg in 2003. The firm launched in Newcastle in 2003 then opened its sixth office in Manchester in 2006. The company’s expansion went further afield in 2005 with the opening of their offices in Marbella (which then moved to Malaga) and Madrid. The year Irwin Mitchell moved internationally was also the year the firm’s annual turnover broke the £100m barrier.[5]

More recently, Irwin Mitchell acquired specialist personal injury and clinical negligence outfit Alexander Harris in 2006, absorbing the 12-partner firm's offices in London, Solihull and Altrincham and further tightening its hold on the claimant PI market.

The firm was among the first to show its hand on Alternative Business Structure (ABS) when in April 2011 it unveiled plans to generate a £50m war chest of external investment[6] and then applied in the first week of January 2012 for ABS status. The company gained this status in August 2012 and is the first to be granted multiple ABS licences by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).[4]

Irwin Mitchell launched a television advertising campaign in 2012 to promote its personal injury department.

In 2013 Irwin Mitchell sold off its Spanish offices in Madrid and Marbella to Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo,[7] also signing an alliance to work together in the future. Also in 2013 the firm acquired personal injury specialists MPH Solicitors, a personal injury boutique specialising in serious injury, medical negligence and armed forces work.[8]

In February 2014 the firm announced plans to open an office in Southampton. The office will initially focus on personal injury and court of protection work but is then expected to expand into private client and corporate and commercial work.[9]

In April 2014, the firm announced plans to open an office in Cambridge which marked the opening of its tenth UK office.[10][11]

Summer 2014 saw the firm launch an ABS with online insurer esure, with a team in the firm's Sheffield office providing legal representation for esure customers who were injured in motor accidents.[12]

In November 2014, Irwin Mitchell announced the acquisition of Berkeley Law, a Mayfair-based private wealth specialist.[13][14]

2015 saw Irwin Mitchell expand its geographic reach, opening a consulting office in Middlesbrough.[15] In the same year, Irwin Mitchell subsidiary Ascent acquired the commercial debt recovery division of P&A Receivables Services. [16] The firm also completed the largest merger in its history, merging with Thomas Eggar in a deal that creates a £250 million a year law firm. [17]

Structurally, Irwin Mitchell is primarily divided into two legal service areas.[18]

Personal Legal Services

Court Of Protection
Crime & Investigations
Divorce & Family
Employment & Work
Home & Property
International
Medical Negligence
Money & Tax
Personal Injury Compensation
Protecting Your Rights
Wills & Estates

Business Legal Services

Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Commoditised Services
Construction and Infrastructure
Corporate
Employment Law
Environmental
Finance
Financial and Other Regulations
Insolvency
International
Investigations and Prosecutions
Pensions
Planning
Property Litigation
Real Estate
Restructuring
Tax

Offices

Irwin Mitchell has an established office network covering Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and Southampton, plus a consulting office in Middlesbrough. It also operates in Scotland through Irwin Mitchell Scotland LLP with an office in Glasgow.[19]

The 2015 merger with Thomas Eggar gives the firm a presence in additional locations in the south of England, with offices in London, Southampton, Gatwick, Newbury, Chichester and Worthing. [20]

Charity and Sponsorship

Irwin Mitchell has a long history of supporting communities nearby to their office locations. The company has been involved with local charitable organisations or institutions, employee volunteering and charitable giving. The firm encourages employees to take part in volunteering and in 2010, to ensure all staff will be able to offer their time, the firm set up a volunteer policy. This policy enabled staff from all areas of the business to contribute 14 hours a year to community activity facilitated through the firm.[21]

The firm supports a number of educational programmes aimed at raising attainment in key skills such as literacy and numeracy. This work is supported by a number of offices through employees going to schools where they will support children who need extra help with their reading. Examples of this include the Manchester office linked with the Salford Literacy Project and the Sheffield office being the largest supporter of BITC’s Right to Read programme.[21]

The firm has held the naming rights to the Oval Hall at Sheffield City Hall since 2005.[22]

Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation

The Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation (IMCF) was set up in February 1997 as an independent, registered charity by the partners and employees of Irwin Mitchell. The foundation receives money each year from partner donations and the employee Give As You Earn (GAYE) scheme, a scheme the company is a top 10 contributor to in the UK. In December 2008 Irwin Mitchell was recognised as the 5th most charitable law firm, with over 13% of the employees donating to the GAYE scheme. Charities are nominated by each office once a year, this charity will receive 12 months of funding as well as any other support the firm can provide. Charities such as Comic Relief, Macmillan coffee mornings, Oxfam unwrapped and many national cancer charities have all been involved with the IMCF.[21]

Recruitment

Irwin Mitchell is the largest full-service law firm in the UK, offering career opportunities in various locations across the firm. The company has the largest personal injury practice in the country with a rapidly expanding business legal services division; there are lots of opportunities within the company for those looking to enter these divisions. Progression within the company is possible, with many of the partners starting life as trainees at the firm. The company’s graduate recruitment team attends many law fairs across the country for graduates to speak and network with current trainees, solicitors and partners.[23] The company is ranked 177th in the Guardian UK’s most popular graduate employers for the 2012/13 year compared with 253 in the 2011/12 year.[24] Also, in the Guardian UK’s top 300 law firms, Irwin Mitchell ranked 15th in 2012/13, down from 13th position in the 2011/12 year. In 2013 the firm topped the national firm rankings in terms of the perception of law firms looking for a career in the industry; they also posted the joint highest mark alongside Macfarlanes for diversity and work/life balance.[25] In February 2015 the firm was shortlisted in the "Most Popular Graduate Recruiter - Law - Solicitors" category in the TARGETjobs National Graduate Recruitment Awards.[26]

Awards[27]

2015 - Personal Injury / Clinical Negligence Team of the Year (Northern Law Awards)
2014 - Litigation Team of the Year (Scott and Co Legal Awards)
2013 - Development Of Talent Award (Halsbury Legal Awards)
2013 - Personal Injury Law Firm of the Year in England (Corporate INTL Legal Awards)
2013 - Corporate Law Firm of the Year (Yorkshire Insider)
2012 – Most effective diversity programme – gender (The Lawyer Workplace & Diversity Awards)
2012 – Best graduate trainee recruitment campaign (The Lawyer Workplace & Diversity Awards)
2011 – Corporate Strategy (FT Innovative Lawyers Awards)
2011 - Property Law Firm of the Year (Yorkshire Insider)
2010 – Trainee of the Year (Yorkshire Lawyers Awards)
2010 – Claimant Solicitor of the Year (Rehabilitation Awards 2010)
2010 – Deal of the Year (South Yorkshire Dealmakers Dinner)
2009 – Mid Tier Boutique Law Firm of the Year (Saint Nick Awards)
2009 – South Yorkshire Corporate Law Firm (Insider South Yorkshire)
2008 – Social and Welfare Solicitor (Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards)
2008 – Outstanding Case of the Year (Jennifer Cawthorne) (Proclaim PI Awards)
2008 – Claimant Solicitor of the Year (Rehabilitation Awards)

References

  1. ↑ "Irwin Mitchell and Thomas Eggar merge". Bristol Law Society. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  2. 1 2 3 "About Us". Irwin Mitchell. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  3. 1 2 "Legal Week - UK top 50: DLA Piper retains crown as largest UK-grown firm by global revenue". legalweek.com. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  4. 1 2 "Irwin Mitchell LLP Solicitors Review – London | Barton Solicitors Legal Advice". bartonsolicitors.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  5. ↑ "Legal Week - Irwin Mitchell". legalweek.com. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  6. ↑ "Irwin Mitchell finally gets keys to ABS warchest | News | The Lawyer". thelawyer.com. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  7. ↑ "Irwin Mitchell sells off Spanish offices to Cremades | News | The Lawyer". thelawyer.com. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  8. ↑ "Irwin Mitchell acquires PI specialists MPH Solicitors | News | The Lawyer". thelawyer.com. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  9. ↑ "Legal Week - Irwin Mitchell to launch in Southampton for tenth UK base". legalweek.com. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  10. ↑ "Cambridge solicitors Irwin Mitchell prepares for a spike in divorce enquiries in the New Year | Cambridge News". cambridge-news.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  11. ↑ "Irwin Mitchell makes first strategic move since securing £60m funding with Cambridge launch | News | The Lawyer". thelawyer.com. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  12. ↑ "Irwin Mitchell launches IMe Law with esure". legalfutures.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  13. ↑ "Irwin Mitchell Acquires Private Wealth Specialists Berkeley Law". irwinmitchell.com. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  14. ↑ "Irwin Mitchell acquires Mayfair-based Berkeley Law - Yorkshire Post". yorkshirepost.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  15. ↑ http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/irwin-mitchell-open-latest-consulting-9187047
  16. ↑ https://www.scci.org.uk/2015/07/irwin-mitchell-completes-seventh-acquision-as-expansion-continues/
  17. ↑ http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/practice/irwin-mitchell-creates-250m-firm-with-thomas-eggar-merger/5052398.fullarticle
  18. ↑ "Irwin Mitchell Solicitors | Personal & Business Legal Services". irwinmitchell.com. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  19. ↑ "Office Locations | Solicitors Across The UK". irwinmitchell.com. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  20. ↑ http://www.thomaseggar.com/contact-us
  21. 1 2 3 "Our Community | Irwin Mitchell". irwinmitchell.com. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  22. ↑ "Sheffield City Hall". sheffieldcityhall.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  23. ↑ "Training Contracts | Irwin Mitchell Graduates". traineerecruitment.irwinmitchell.com. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  24. ↑ "The Guardian UK 300 | Top graduate employers | TARGETjobs". targetjobs.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  25. ↑ "Legal Week - Law firms lose lustre as students mull alternative career options". legalweek.com. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  26. ↑ "The Shortlists | TARGETjobs Awards". targetjobsawards.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  27. ↑ "Irwin Mitchell Awards". irwinmitchell.com. Retrieved 2015-03-07.

External links

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