Freeth Cartwright
No of Partners: 59
No of Assistant Solicitors: 91
www.freethcartwright.co.uk
In contrast to some of its East Midlands rivals, Freeth Cartwright has no plans to expand its empire outside the East Midlands. While the likes of Browne Jacobson and Shoosmiths have looked to Birmingham and beyond for at least part of their growth, Nottingham-born Freeth Cartwright, the product of the 1994 merger between Freeth Cartwright and Hunt Dickins (the latter names lost in a 2000 rebrand and restructure), has concentrated instead on developing its capacity in all three of the East Midlands’ major centres, opening offices in both Leicester and Derby in the mid-1990s.
Nevertheless, approximately 30% of the firm’s work comes from ‘outside’ the region, whether from major public sector clients (the firm is on the Office of Government Contracts’ panel for human resources work) or from clients with local origins, such as the clothes designer and retailer Paul Smith, which have hit the big time. The firm has also enjoyed some success in attracting partners from national firms, including Eversheds’ corporate partner David West and Irwin Mitchell’s head of tax, Bob Neal, both in 2004.
Primarily, though, the focus is on providing corporate and commercial services to the local, predominantly SME, client base. “We recognise that our market is primarily SME-dominated,” says chairman Colin Flanagan. “That’s our focus rather than going head-to-head with larger firms in markets where we would be weaker, such as Birmingham.”
The other notably strong performer is the insurance practice, which scored a notable success in 2004 when it was named as one of only six firms on Brit Insurance’s much-reduced panel, and houses a nationally-recognised professional negligence team. The construction practice also enjoys a roster of national clients, including Mansell, and the firm also boasts a leading clinical negligence team.
The aforementioned restructure in 2000 saw Freeth Cartwright become one of the first firms to appoint two non-lawyers into senior management positions, in the roles of chief executive and chairman, and reorganise its business into four main divisions – property and construction, commercial, private client and personal litigation.
The firm is keen to maintain strong links with the local business community (it counts former presidents of both the Nottingham and Derby Chambers of Commerce amongst its partners) and has recently appointed a corporate social responsibility coordinator to develop its community programmes and pro bono work. “There is a strong emphasis on the relaxed, informal and flexible culture at Freeth Cartwright,” Flanagan adds, “and potential recruits need to be in tune with this whilst demonstrating individual personality and flair.”
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