Halliwells
No of Partners: 156
No of Assistant Solicitors: 198
www.halliwells.co.uk
Halliwells is perfectly clear about where it wants to be in the Manchester market - nothing less than ‘Top Dog’ according to managing partner, Ian Austin.
Given the firm’s stellar rise from middle-tier obscurity to a place alongside the Addleshaws, DLA Pipers and Eversheds in little more than a decade, few would bet against this happening.
Austin puts the secret of Halliwells’ success down to, “sheer hunger, enthusiasm and drive to get up the tree.”
Indeed the firm has expanded four-fold in the past 5 years, opened a successful London office, another in Sheffield, and now has 600 staff.
There is no doubt that Halliwells has long been the most entrepreneurial, some would say aggressive, of Manchester’s home-grown law firms. The firm’s foundations are extremely strong. Its turnover is now the highest in Manchester and average profits, at £345,000, are up there with the national firms. Halliwell’s strengths are in corporate, (which includes a very successful IPO practice), property, commercial litigation and insurance litigation.
There seems to be recognition within the firm, however, that it is entering a new phase in its development. So the ‘eat what you kill’ partner remuneration system has been abandoned and a more distributive modified lockstep introduced.
Otherwise, Austin says, the formula is more of the same, namely to continue to grow and improve the client-base by concentrating on the core practices and to expand out some of the other practices from there, such as IP, employment and insolvency, which the firm recently took steps to improve with the hire of former Hammonds partner, Duncan Haymes, in 2004.
One of Halliwells’ key targets is to increase the number of plcs, banks and institutions the firm acts for. Austin sees an opportunity for Halliwells as the nationals move some of their leading Manchester partners to other parts of their networks.
“Clients in the north want to use good, bright lawyers who are based up here,” says Austin.
“There’s a big opportunity for us here - they know we can offer a full corporate service and that we can do it in Manchester. We’re uniquely placed.”
Unsurprisingly, Halliwells likes to recruit in its own image. The key words to emphasise in any CV are enthusiasm, drive, commitment, commerciality and loyalty. In Manchester, the firm is attracting recruits from all of the national firms, although Halliwells is happy to take people from elsewhere - if they’ve got what it takes, that is.
“We look for people with a real hunger to get on and the ability to grow a business,” Austin says. Shrinking violets need not apply.
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