Harbottles moves to LLP status

Harbottle & Lewis is converting to a limited-liability partnership (LLP) from 1 July this year.

The move means that 17-partner Harbottles will file a full set of accounts with Companies House in 2004 along with other law firms, including Wragge & Co and Eversheds, which have also recently converted to LLPs.

Harbottles began the conversion process just after Easter, advised by LLP expert Richard Linsell of Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw.

The exercise has involved transferring all the assets of the partnership into the new LLP and revising the agreements between the firm and its banks, although Harbottles is understood not to have an overdraft.

"We believe that within a few years most law firms will convert to LLPs, rather than taking the 'wait and see' approach that more conservative firms have taken," said Harbottles managing partner Samantha Philips.