Three partners leave Halliwells to launch Manchester office for Plexus
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Plexus Law has hired a three-partner insurance liability team from Halliwells to launch an office in Manchester.
Partners Chris Gough, Tim Short and Louise Shaw will lead the new office in the North West. Plexus senior partner Andrew McDougall said the firm hopes to recruit 18 lawyers to the new office during the next year.
McDougall said: “It’s somewhat of a new era for us. We want to expand and given this credit crisis there are a lot of interesting opportunities for us.”
Earlier this year The Lawyer reported on Plexus acquiring insurance boutique Squire & Co (21 September 2009).
McDougall added that while the firm will recruit into broader areas of litigation the UK firm will focus on strengthening its insurance liability practice over the next few months.
In September Halliwells corporate partners Frank Shepherd and James Sheridan and commercial partner Craig Chaplin handed in their notice after indicating that they would leave the firm to join DWF’s Manchester office (18 September 2009).
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Readers' comments (13)
City Gent | 9-Nov-2009 6:28 pm
Oh dear, that's going to make it even harder for them to pay the rent on their flashy new offices.
I bet they wish they'd asked for a break clause!
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Not stunned | 9-Nov-2009 8:54 pm
Good move for these 3 as Plexus are on a roll. I do wonder why plexus does not appear in the Lawyer top 50 as it must be a top 50 firm by now. ???
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Anonymous | 10-Nov-2009 11:59 am
There is such a good lesson here about the vanity of certain law firms and the importance of staying true to what you are good at.
Andrew and his team were encouraged to leave Hammonds as they were seen as no longer being "core". The truth always was that they were a great team and generated cash.
Congratulations to Andrew for going from strength-to-strength. I wonder how much different things would have been for his former firm if he had stayed on board and continued to generate profit and cover overhead in the Leeds office.
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Anonymous | 10-Nov-2009 5:04 pm
but surely a break clause would impact on the size of the reverse premium paid by the landlord to the equity partners 2/3 years ago? I wonder how many of those who took the reverse premium money are left?
Judging by the number of CV`s doing the rounds there will be a few more partner departures over the next few weeks and months.
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Insurance specialist | 10-Nov-2009 10:49 pm
You have to agree that Plexus are on the rise but I wonder about their ability to crack Manchester. Having said that they are now (from humble beginnings) the biggest and best Insurance Practice in Leeds by far so don't bet against them.
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Anonymous | 11-Nov-2009 5:50 pm
Halliwells are seeking a merger but at this rate there will be nothing left to merge with.
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AMAZED RIVAL | 11-Nov-2009 7:45 pm
I am amazed at the suggestion that Plexus would be a top 50 firm. They have only a handful of member partners (4 I am told) so presumably turn over nothing like the amount that would be needed to break into the top 100 let alone the top 50. I think that "not stunned" needs to check his/her information! If I am wrong they (the 4 members) must be some of the wealthiest lawyers on the planet.
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Rural bliss | 12-Nov-2009 5:18 pm
Well according to the Law Society they have only 8 principals - http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/choosingandusing/findasolicitor/view=lawfirmdetails.law?orgid=511491&searchType=S
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Anonymous | 12-Nov-2009 7:27 pm
There is a difference between salaried and equity partners
The Parabis Group (of which Plexus are one part) has only 4 Equity Partners but sufficient salaried to get into top 50. Slightly surprised that above posters who plainly work for Plexus don't know that.
As for how much those equity partners take home, turnover is circa £65m and average profit margin for a top 100 firm is about 25%.....
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Hamm man | 15-Nov-2009 7:29 pm
It is true that the Plexus Law senior partners are each worth millions. The Leeds based Senior Partner is well known locally for apparently having a fleet of expensive cars. I have personally seen him driving a 2009 plate Aston Martin, a 911 porsche, a range rover, a porsche cayenne and a jeep, although not all at once! Good luck to him/them I say.
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