Freeth Cartwright opens London base with focus on retail clients
Midlands firm Freeth Cartwright has launched in London with a view to improve its service to London clients, particularly those in the retail sector.
Philippa Dempster
While the firm has hired insurance lawyer Rachel Bolt as a consultant from Beachcroft, there are currently no London-based partners.
The London strategy is being managed by Nottingham-based head of commercial Philippa Dempster and Birmingham managing partner Richard Beverley.
Dempster said: “We have a lot of London clients and it’s really a base to service them. We’re looking at retail in particular. It’s very much a meeting place for us.”
However, Dempster added that the firm is looking to recruit into all practice areas for its new West End office.
Freeth Cartwright is the latest regional firm to make a City investment in spite of the wider economic conditions. Bath-headquartered Thring Townsend Lee & Pembertons has expanded its London base with the acquisition of private client boutique Leach & Co (The Lawyer, 12 April), while Bristol-based Veale Wasbrough merged with 17-partner City firm Vizards Tweedie to obtain its City base (The Lawyer, 13 July 2009).
Readers' comments (1)
Anonymous | 1-May-2010 10:26 pm
This sounds very similar to the London office Freeths had back in 2006, when I worked there. That was a set of meeting rooms and a receptionist who chewed gum.
Credit to Philippa Dempster, she really is a very capable manager but she must get frustrated by the backward approaches of other parts of the firm. For example, one department is known as the coop because it's where the firm houses children of big clients and WAGs of partners who want a legal career.
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