Bates Wells & Braithwaite

Turnover at Bates Wells & Braithwaite rose by 13 per cent in 2011–12, from £14.7m to £16.7m.

The firm has been investing in its corporate and commercial group and brought in Richard Marke from Lawrence Graham in 2012 to help the develop the team. Marke brings expertise in the technology and outsourcing fields.

The change in focus has come as Bates Wells’ traditional strong point, acting for public benefit companies, is coming under severe pressure from drops in Government spending. That said, charity clients still make up around 60 per cent of the firm’s revenue, with commercial clients and a few high-net-worth individuals making up the rest.

Bates Wells had an average of 77 partners over the 2011–12 financial year, including eight women. Following two promotions the firm now has 15 equity partners.

The firm operates a pure lockstep that takes seven years to climb. Top of equity in 2011–12 stood at £273,074.

Lockup at Bates Wells was 125 days at the year-end, a little shy of its 115-day target, and the firm has around £2m of borrowings.