Payne Hicks Beach

Turnover at Payne Hicks Beach slipped 2.9 per cent in 2011–12 from £20.8m to £20.2m, which followed a dip of 5.4 per cent in turnover the previous year.

The drop can mainly be attributed to a slower year in areas such as corporate work, which contributed just eight per cent of the Lincoln’s Inn firm’s turnover — a drop from the previous year's proportion.

In keeping with the firm’s reputation for private client work, in April 2012 it hired Robert Brodrick, the former head of private client work at Trowers & Hamlins. The firm also promoted Stephen Woodward to partner in the private client department.

As a demonstration of the firm's efforts to diversify its offering, in January 2013 it hired Julian Critchlow from construction specialist Fenwick Elliott to lead a newly created construction and energy practice group. His arrival at the firm followed the hires of construction and energy consultants Paul Taylor and Diana Hird, signalling a clear move by the firm to develop and consolidate its expertise in this area.

There have been no changes to the firm’s remuneration system and it continues to operate a modified lockstep.