Dickinson Dees outgrows North East

Profits per partner have also witnessed a steady rise, up 15 per cent from £205,000 to £235,000.
Managing partner Neil Braithwaite observed: "The main message is that it's very even growth across the whole firm. All areas, without exception, are doing very well." He was reluctant to single out a particular practice area as the driving force behind the increased revenue. Senior partner Graham Wright said that the corporate practice had performed well and that the firm was making good progress in projects and PFI.
Longstanding client Go-Ahead again delivered a goodly-sized amount of work to Dickinson Dees. In addition to its defence against a hostile takeover bid from French state-owned development agency C3D, the firm has acted on a number of Go-Ahead's ground-handling services acquisitions, totalling £72m.
Other high-value work included a combined investment by Grainger Trust and Deutsche Bank in Bromley Property Holdings to enable the company to acquire BPT. The deal was worth £470m.
In response to charges levelled at the firm that it needs to develop a national client portfolio despite its strong regional presence, Braithwaite said: "We're winning a lot of major jobs elsewhere - PFI work in particular." He added that the firm was increasingly operating as a national player, citing its position on the Barclays panel as just one example of winning new business.
Wright also emphasised the firm's expansion beyond its traditional North East heartland. Its position on the Treasury Solicitor director's disqualification panel has broadened the firm's geographical spread, and Wright is aiming for more panel wins during the coming year.
The firm continues to recruit, and the number of partners has now grown by seven to 57. Of the new partners, five were promoted internally and two moved to Dickinson Dees from firms in the region. These lateral hires were private client specialist Helen Tavrages, who joined from Eversheds, and former Archers property partner Barbara Painter.