Saleem Fazal

Taylor Wessing

Saleem Fazal had been a partner in the London office of Taylor Wessing for 14 years when he was tasked with a new project. As a property litigator, his practice reached all the firm’s groups and clients, so he knew every corner of the firm. It is the reason management trusted him with the launch, in 2019, of its first innovation hub in Liverpool a centre of excellence to support the London office and create new opportunities in the regions.
Fazal understood the assignment. The office is now the firm’s fastest-growing location. Starting with a small risk team focused on business acceptance matters, the hub now has a 130-strong (and growing) team of specialist fee-earners and business services. While juggling his real estate disputes mandates, Fazal has made client development strides by targeting local opportunities across life sciences and technology. For instance, he secured a spot on the growth panel of Liverpool Science Park, the city’s start-up accelerator.
The hub has created jobs for a local workforce that would have previously had to move to London to work for an international law firm. After the launch of a local trademark team, next year the focus will be on growing a group of paralegals who will provide help with corporate, disputes and tax work.