lb150 p76-81

sjones

Typewritten Text

Tomorrow's World Newcastle Legal Business December 2004/January 2005

76 Legal Business December 2004/January 2005

Newcastle

Tomorrow’s worldNewcastle is enjoying a famously vibrant spell of

commercial and cultural activity, and the region’s

top law firms are trying to sustain it. Legal Business

hears how partners benefit from having the UK’s

most innovative legal university on their doorstep

CATHERINE WATSON

‘THERE WAS A TIME WHEN WORK WASleaking out of Newcastle,’ Andrew Hoyle,senior partner at Watson Burton, admits. TheNorth East’s premier city has certainly evolvedduring the past ten years, growing in confi-dence and stature. Hoyle is not alone inrecalling the enormous strides made. ‘Iremember dealing with a lot of insolvencywork during the late ‘70s and ‘80s,’ says IanGilthorpe, senior partner of burgeoning lawfirm Robert Muckle. ‘The city has moved on somuch since then.’

This view is backed up by the region’sredevelopment projects. The ‘winking eye’bridge; the Sage Music Centre in Gateshead;the regenerated quayside; the Baltic artscentre – they all mirror the success of theregion’s economy as a whole. ‘The city ismoving forward,’ says Hoyle. ‘And it has

Clockwise from left: Anna Knight in Northumbria university’s student lawoffice, going through case files; Pujja Gujadhur and Helen Wood, third-yearbar exemption degree students, at a client meeting with an actor employed bythe university; Philip Plowden in the law faculty’s mock courtroom; final-yearstudent David Telford with files for a case he’s currently working on; undergraduates working together in the student law office

LB150 p76-81 Newcastle 29/11/04 4:33 pm Page 76

Newcastle

December 2004/January 2005 Legal Business 77Photography TIM SMITH

been aided by the indigenous legalcommunity.’ He sees the presence of qualitylaw firms in Newcastle as integral to regener-ation of the area. An increase of work in thecorporate, real estate, health and educationsectors have all provided a constant flow ofwork for the region’s firms. But are there thelawyers to service this demand, not leastwith a more mature Leeds market always onthe lookout for further streams of work?Newcastle has a hidden trump card.

Where there’s MuckleThe challenge is to find enough qualitylawyers. ‘We could do with more up here,’Hoyle notes. ‘Good careers can be built inthe region.’ Watson Burton – like the largerEversheds and Dickinson Dees – mustpersuade top-quality young lawyers to stake

their future inNewcastle. A number of factorsare in their favour: superb coun-tryside, good-quality housing,short commutes, as well as avibrant nightlife. As a city, youcould argue that it’s not lackingmuch. A triumvirate of well-respected local universities –Newcastle, Northumbria andDurham – has facilitated amigration of students to theregion. This is boosting notonly the economy, but also thepool of quality graduates forlocal firms to choose from.

Gill Hunter is the graduaterecruitment partner at RobertMuckle, and is well versed in

pointing out the benefits of working in theNorth East, versus the City. ‘It is true thatthe quality of life is better [in Newcastle],’she says. ‘However, you don’t have tosacrifice the quality of work if you are at agood regional firm.’ Made up to partner

‘We could do with morequality lawyers up here.Good careers can be builtin the region.’ Andrew Hoyle, Watson Burton

>



Newcastle

demonstrate that they have these skills,’Hunter says.

Northumbria’s brioKey for sustainable partnerships is a well-rounded future workforce – the best defenceagainst a drift to Leeds or even London.Making waves across the UK is the innova-tive stance being taken by NorthumbriaUniversity, which is offering a four-year lawdegree validated by the Law Society and theBar Council. This means that students canbe exempted from either the LPC or theBVC, depending on their chosen careerpath. ‘We’ve recruited quite heavily fromNorthumbria,’ says Angela Curran, apartner at Irwin Mitchell (which has had anoffice in Newcastle since 2002). ‘We’ve hada bit of a policy to go there and look at theirstudents. We’ve taken on graduates who’vedone their degree and LPC there, and wehave just taken on someone who did theexempting degree.’ In the fourth year of theexempting degree, students are required totake part in the student law office: a legaladvice centre whereby students (under thesupervision of qualified lawyers) providefree legal advice to members of the publicon a wide range of issues.

‘Northumbria’s student law office is aphenomenal place,’ Curran says. ‘When Ifirst heard about it, I thought it was going tobe fairly restrictive, but they have somequite highbrow, complicated work thatthey’re doing there. They are carrying a lotof responsibility and it’s an excellent

only four and half years afterqualification, Hunter is now thehead of the firm’s technologyand innovation unit. She herselfserves as a handy demonstra-tion of the potential career pathavailable to those embarking at one of the region’s leadingcommercial firms.

While Robert Muckle isindeed looking for futurelawyers committed to the area,Hunter points out that the firmdoesn’t exclusively recruit fromlocal universities, and that whatmatters most is a practical, com-mercial approach. ‘Many of theuniversities are developingcourses that enable graduates to

grounding for them.’ The student law officelooks every inch the regular law firm office –papers stacked high, people beavering awaybehind flat screen computers, hushedtelephone conversations. But the major dif-ference is, of course, that these people hardat work are all undergraduates. There is a

>

Senior partner Andrew Hoyle is credited with thegrowth and development of Watson Burton.Once best known for its personal injury work,there has been a perceptible shift towards com-mercial issues at the firm since Hoyle took overthe reins five years ago. It is also the first of themain, commercial Newcastle firms (the othersbeing Dickinson Dees, Ward Hadaway and,increasingly, Robert Muckle) to open its doors inLeeds. ‘For a firm that is growing rapidly, suchas ours, it is it is important to move into anothermarket place,’ explains Hoyle. He admires whatCobbetts has done in Leeds, and he hopesWatson Burton’s new office there will attractwork from further afield. ‘By moving 95 milesfurther south, it helps not only to get closer to

existing Yorkshire clients, but also to potentialnew clients,’ he says.

Other local firms are reluctant to be drawn onthe question of having an office in Leeds.Dickinson Dees already has an office outside ofNewcastle. The Tees Valley office was set up morethan three years ago. ‘Teesside is very different[from Newcastle] and the people are very proud oftheir separate identity,’ says managing partner NeilBraithwaite. He suggests the last thing local peoplewould want to do would be to ask someone inNewcastle for help. (And in footballing terms, atany rate, Middlesborough are the Magpies’ mostserious rivals.) But he says that this does notsignal the start of a series of regional offices andhe is happy with the ‘single-site’ strategy.

Likewise, managing partner of Ward HadawayJamie Martin refuses to comment on therumours circulating that his firm is planning tomerge with another in Leeds. But he adds thathe believes that there is continuing room forgrowth from the firm’s Newcastle base: ‘Ourstrategy is to remain an independent, regionallybased law firm.’

But, as Robert Muckle’s Ian Gilthorpe says:‘You can’t get away from the fact there are stillfewer people between Teesside and Berwick,than there are in the Leeds and Manchestercorridor.’ On being asked if he has any plans for expansion, he simply says: ‘We see ourselvesas a north-eastern firm, operating across theNorth East.’

THE TYNE, THE TEES – AND LEEDS

■ Watson Burton is set to open an office inLeeds, which will be led by Andrew Gosnay,who is the head of banking. Gosnay joined thefirm in 2004 from Pinsents’ Manchester office.

■ In addition, insolvency lawyer Graham Ridler isset to join Watson Burton as a partner.Formerly a partner at Eversheds, he is currentlya consultant with Hong Kong firm Deacons,and looks likely to become head of corporaterecovery in the Newcastle firm’s Leeds office.

■ Andrew Davison joined Robert Muckle inmid-2004 as an equity partner. Prior to that,Davis had been with Eversheds since 1983.

■ In October, Dickinson Dees hired DWFcorporate partner Jeremy Swift, who hasrelocated from DWF’s Manchester office.

■ Eversheds’ David Bowcock moved from thefirm’s Manchester office to head Newcastle’scorporate department in 2003.

HUNGRY FOR TALENT: SENIOR HIRES IN NEWCASTLE

Hoyle: it is important to be active in the community



Newcastle

perceptible buzz as you enter the office, withstudents diligently working through theirnumerous files. Whereas their universitycounterparts have something of a reputationfor staying in bed late and watching daytimetelevision, these students are banging on theoffice door at 8.30am and complaining thatit doesn’t stay open long enough.

Local herosThe glowing commendations from locallawyers of the student law office are, in nosmall part, thanks to Northumbria lawschool’s associate dean, and practisingbarrister, Philip Plowden. ‘He is part of thereason why the student law office is so suc-cessful,’ confirms Jen Smurthwaite, head ofproperty litigation at Dickinson Dees.Plowden has strong links with many of thelocal firms, and was a catalyst in establishinga scholarship provided by Irwin Mitchell.

Thanks to the award, Northumbriastudent Martin Wilson was able to travel toAustralia and observe first-hand the differ-ences between the role of student law officesin this country and abroad. ‘The LegalServices Commission doesn’t rely on us likethe Australians depend on the student-runinstitutions,’ says Wilson, who has a trainingcontract lined up with Robert Muckle.‘There’s a lot more legal aid over here and weare not seen as the only resource if you don’thave the money.’ However, the importanceof the law centre, both in Newcastle andnationally, shouldn’t be underestimated.Plowden is immensely proud of the workcarried out by the students, and so he shouldbe. ‘We have cases where people may havebeen convicted of serious offences, such asattempted murder, but they are still in prisonpast their tariff, because they refuse to admittheir guilt,’ says Anna Knight, who is one of

the small cohort of students onthe exempting degree’s BVCroute. Thanks to the student lawoffice, Alex Allan’s convictionfor robbery was quashed in2001. Two years later, studentswon compensation for the timehe spent in jail.

Matters are far from limitedto crime; the centre also dealswith – amongst other things –employment issues, contractualdisputes, road traffic offences,housing and welfare. Thestudent law office has alsomanaged to enlist the help ofEversheds’ Newcastle office, tobring an extra dimension ofcommerciality to the work theycan take on. ‘We were asked tohelp because it would open up amore commercial field to them,’explains Eversheds associateJames Thompson. ‘The way itworks at the moment is that we

have six or seven fee-earners, mainly fromthe commercial litigation department, whoattend meetings with the students. They’llgive them advice on how to deal with thenext stage of the dispute.’

Newcastle-based partner (and head of liti-gation and dispute management) SusanHowe believes it is hugely important forEversheds to be involved with the innova-tions taking place at Northumbria. ‘We wantto encourage students and want to make surethe lawyers of the future are well prepared,’Howe notes. ‘It’s important for Eversheds tohave strong roots in the community andhelp people on our doorstep.’

Howe’s sentiments are echoed byAndrew Hoyle at Watson Burton. Althoughit doesn’t have any direct involvement withNorthumbria’s student law centre (except interms of recruiting), Hoyle does think thatlaw firms should actively support theirregions. ‘It is important to be an activemember of the community,’ he says. ‘It is asocial responsibility and rewarding in itself.’

Whenever appropriate, Eversheds has apractice of referring cases to the student lawoffice that would not be financially viablefor the firm to take on. For the students,economics simply don’t come into theequation. ‘From the perspective of studentlearning, it really doesn’t matter,’ Plowdenobserves. ‘To a practitioner who is going tobe billing for the case, perhaps it can’t makeeconomic sense; but from our perspective,focusing on the student’s learning, there[might be] some really tricky EuropeanUnion case law and tribunal jurisdictionpoints that they can get their teeth into.’

Bills will followNot having to worry about billing targetsisn’t always possible during a training

Howe: wants to help lawyers of the future

‘The big difference between what we do and legal practice, is that we have nobilling targets and so we can encourage the students to focus on reflecting on thework that they do.’ Northumbria law school’s associate dean, Philip Plowden

>


December 2004/January 2005 Legal Business 81

Newcastle

contract. ‘The big differencebetween what we do and legalpractice, is that we have nobilling targets and so we canencourage the students to focuson reflecting on the work thatthey do,’ says Plowden. This sortof ethical teaching (distinct fromprofessional conduct) issomething the Law Society isconsidering as part of its trainingframework review. Also as part ofits review, in a recent documentthe Law Society advocatedexempting degrees as anotherflexible way of getting into theprofession. The degree atNorthumbria has been runningsince 1994. It is still the onlyinstitution offering such a degreein England and Wales – asituation principal lecturer KevinKerrigan would like to change.

‘We’re not keen on being theonly one really, because youdon’t create that critical mass ofawareness,’ Kerrigan points out.‘At the moment we have 150people graduating with theexempting degree, and they canget forgotten.’ In particular,Kerrigan would like to raise the

profile of the exempting degree with themajor London firms. ‘We’ve got the sameproblem as all other non-City LPC providers,in that by and large the Magic Circle firmswill only take trainees from the City LPC,’ hesays. On an ad hoc basis, some of the firmshave recognised the commercial content ofthe degree, and have not required thestudents to transfer to the City LPC. But whatKerrigan would really like is a statement fromthe Magic Circle firms saying that they wouldgenerally accept the students without themhaving to do the LPC.

However, most recruiters at Newcastle’slaw firms have already woken up to thebenefits of the four-year exempting degreeand the benefits derived from providinglegal advice to the public. ‘Those graduateswho have spent 12 months in the studentlaw office are very familiar with the nutsand bolts of things,’ says Irwin Mitchell’sCurran. ‘They have the basic mechanics ofwork in a legal market that you just can’tget from doing the LPC – no matter howpractical the LPC is now.’ Irwin Mitchellpartner John Davis, adds: ‘We want to growour own talent, and taking on trainees fromplaces like Northumbria is the best way todo it. That way we can bring in – and retain– trainees to make up the next generationgoing through.’ LB

[email protected]

Dickinson DeesTotal number of lawyers:

458

65 partners 28 trainees, with 12 joining in 2005

Ward HadawayTotal number of lawyers:

117

48 partners15 trainees, with eight joining in 2005

EvershedsTotal number of lawyers:

133

29 partners 12 trainees, with six joining in 2005

Watson BurtonTotal number of lawyers:

78

27 partners15 trainees, with four joining in 2005

Hay & KilnerTotal number of lawyers:

42

20 partnersFour trainees, with two joining in 2005

Robert MuckleTotal number of lawyers:

26

16 partners Five trainees, with three joining in 2005

Irwin Mitchell

Three partnersOne trainee, with one joining in 2005

Source: Legal Business

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

An average busy day at Northumbria law school


lb150 p76-81

Documents