The Chasing 50

These firms may be more difficult to categorise, but there is no mistaking that their market is lucrative, and growing.

Together they are worth more than £400m, making up 40 per cent of the £1bn mid-market.

mid-market. And these firms are growing at rates that most larger firms would kill for.

For example, conveyancing and personal injury specialist Barnetts grew by 75 per cent last year, boosting its £6m turnover by £4m to reach double figures for the first time.

Look out for it in The Rising 50 next year, as winning places on the panels of banks such as NatWest and HBOS should push the firm’s revenue up even further next year.

The case of Paris Smith & Randall illustrates just how competitive the market now is.

This year’s Rising 50 contains a raft of names from last year’s chasing pack, including Matthew Arnold & Baldwin, Birketts and Withy King. They will know that the firms below are in hot pursuit.

These pages profile just a selection of them.

COFFIN MEW & CLOVER

South Coast firm Coffin Mew & Clover saw turnover pass the £10m mark for the first time in 2005-06, hitting £10.35m, which sees it enter The Rising 50.

Coffin Mew’s 99 fee-earners are spread across its four offices in Southampton, Portsmouth, Fareham and Gosport and are spread equally across practice areas. The firm has a thriving private client business, including family law, probate and tax and trusts, as well as a growing corporate and commercial department. Particular strengths lie in commercial property and social housing work.

Recently there has been an emphasis on growing the corporate and finance capability. Clients include NatWest Commercial Banking and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Last year Coffin Mew launched a charities group with the hire of Tim Waldron from an in-house role at a London-based charity. The idea behind the move is to complement the firm’s social housing expertise.

CAMPBELL HOOPER

The firm has 22 partners compared with 25 the previous year, as a couple of partners morphed into consultants.

Property and urban regeneration is a major strategic objective and the focus has begun to bear fruit. Six partners now specialise wholly in that field. Recent client wins include Countryside and David Wilson Homes, and the firm also acts for a number of local authorities such as Brentwood and Reading.

This development focus was underlined by the recruitment of former Pinsent Masons partner Peter Stockdale this autumn, whose clients include Berkeley Homes, among others.

BARNETTS

Barnetts is unique. The firm is growing at a rate of 75 per cent a year, but has only four partners.

This quartet is well supplied with more than 300 fee-earners, who together form an army of revenue growers as the firm encourages its young lawyers to actively go out and get business.

“We understand about gearing,” says chief executive Joe Whelan.

The firm attributes the growth to an increasing number of high street bank and large financial institution clients, including NatWest and HBOS.

Whelan expects the firm to grow at a similar rate in the coming years, making Barnetts one to look out for in The Rising 50 table in 2007.

WIGGIN

Media and entertainment boutique Wiggin is a fast grower, adding more than £1m to its turnover this year to reach £9.3m from £8.2m.

Wiggin demerged its private client arm three years ago and completed its first full financial year in 2005.

Despite its success the firm is unusual in its strategy to keep financial growth to a minimum so as to maintain a personal service to longstanding clients.

Wiggin believes it will hit its target of £16m by 2008, and the firm is still actively growing.

This year it recruited Olswang head of sports Michael Brader as head of corporate.

Brader, who was a corporate partner at Olswang since 1998, advises clubs, rights holders and sports rights management and investment companies on all forms of fundraising, joint ventures, M&A and strategic partnerships.

To keep associates in the loop, the firm is mulling over plans to create an of counsel role. The new position could give associates the choice of an alternative career path.

HEXTALLS

Hextalls, best known for insurance litigation, converted to limitedliability partnership status in April this year.

According to chief executive Matthew Clark, the conversion and a concurrent new business plan were the catalysts for the growth strategy to boost revenue beyond this year’s £8.5m mark.

The US is central to the firm’s plans. Clark said the firm is considering working in the US in a variety of different ways. This could mean a best friends relationship with a US firm, or even a merger.

The firm has been active in the recruitment market, picking up four partners from London’s Stallard after it merged with DMH.

The new team comprises shipping and transport partners Dominic Lang, Paul Bugden, Jonny Duval and Alex Vassiliades.

Hextalls also bagged IP partner Peter Brown from Michael Simkins in August this year.