Walker Morris retrains lawyers in insolvency

Leeds firm Walker Morris is attempting to ride out the effects of the downturn by retraining 30 corporate, banking and property lawyers in insolvency law.

The firm expects an upsurge in demand for insolvency work and the ­initiative aims to enable associates and assistants in potentially less busy departments to assist the firm’s core insolvency team and to deal with some transaction-related insolvency issues independently.

Managing partner Peter Smart explained: “I’m ­convinced there’s a wall of insolvency work just around the corner, possibly starting with the small and medium-sized businesses, but rapidly taking out a lot of major businesses in many sectors.”

The initial training consists of three internal and external training sessions of three hours each. While the newly trained lawyers will be assisting the insolvency practice, they will not be marketed as insolvency specialists.