Tomorrow's World Newcastle Legal Business December 2004/January 2005
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Clockwise from left: Anna Knight in Northumbria university’s student law office, going through case files; Pujja Gujadhur and Helen Wood, third-year bar exemption degree students, at a client meeting with an actor employed by the university; Philip Plowden in the law faculty’s mock courtroom; final-year student David Telford with files for a case he’s currently working on; undergraduates working together in the student law office
Tomorrow’s world Newcastle is enjoying a famously vibrant spell of commercial and cultural activity, and the region’s top law firms are trying to sustain it. Legal Business hears how partners benefit from having the UK’s most innovative legal university on their doorstep CATHERINE WATSON
‘THERE WAS A TIME WHEN WORK WAS leaking out of Newcastle,’ Andrew Hoyle, senior partner at Watson Burton, admits. The North East’s premier city has certainly evolved during the past ten years, growing in confidence and stature. Hoyle is not alone in recalling the enormous strides made. ‘I remember dealing with a lot of insolvency work during the late ‘70s and ‘80s,’ says Ian Gilthorpe, senior partner of burgeoning law firm Robert Muckle. ‘The city has moved on so much since then.’ This view is backed up by the region’s redevelopment projects. The ‘winking eye’ bridge; the Sage Music Centre in Gateshead; the regenerated quayside; the Baltic arts centre – they all mirror the success of the region’s economy as a whole. ‘The city is moving forward,’ says Hoyle. ‘And it has
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been aided by the indigenous legal community.’ He sees the presence of quality law firms in Newcastle as integral to regeneration of the area. An increase of work in the corporate, real estate, health and education sectors have all provided a constant flow of work for the region’s firms. But are there the lawyers to service this demand, not least with a more mature Leeds market always on the lookout for further streams of work? Newcastle has a hidden trump card.
Where there’s Muckle The challenge is to find enough quality lawyers. ‘We could do with more up here,’ Hoyle notes. ‘Good careers can be built in the region.’ Watson Burton – like the larger Eversheds and Dickinson Dees – must persuade top-quality young lawyers to stake
Photography TIM SMITH
their future in Newcastle. A number of factors are in their favour: superb countryside, good-quality housing, short commutes, as well as a vibrant nightlife. As a city, you could argue that it’s not lacking much. A triumvirate of wellrespected local universities – Newcastle, Northumbria and Durham – has facilitated a migration of students to the region. This is boosting not only the economy, but also the pool of quality graduates for local firms to choose from. Gill Hunter is the graduate recruitment partner at Robert Muckle, and is well versed in
pointing out the benefits of working in the North East, versus the City. ‘It is true that the quality of life is better [in Newcastle],’ she says. ‘However, you don’t have to sacrifice the quality of work if you are at a good regional firm.’ Made up to partner
‘We could do with more quality lawyers up here. Good careers can be built in the region.’ Andrew Hoyle, Watson Burton December 2004/January 2005 Legal Business 77
>
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> only four and half years after qualification, Hunter is now the head of the firm’s technology and innovation unit. She herself serves as a handy demonstration of the potential career path available to those embarking at one of the region’s leading commercial firms. While Robert Muckle is indeed looking for future lawyers committed to the area, Hunter points out that the firm doesn’t exclusively recruit from local universities, and that what matters most is a practical, commercial approach. ‘Many of the universities are developing courses that enable graduates to
Hoyle: it is important to be active in the community
demonstrate that they have these skills,’ Hunter says.
HUNGRY FOR TALENT: SENIOR HIRES IN NEWCASTLE
Northumbria’s brio Key for sustainable partnerships is a wellrounded future workforce – the best defence against a drift to Leeds or even London. Making waves across the UK is the innovative stance being taken by Northumbria University, which is offering a four-year law degree validated by the Law Society and the Bar Council. This means that students can be exempted from either the LPC or the BVC, depending on their chosen career path. ‘We’ve recruited quite heavily from Northumbria,’ says Angela Curran, a partner at Irwin Mitchell (which has had an office in Newcastle since 2002). ‘We’ve had a bit of a policy to go there and look at their students. We’ve taken on graduates who’ve done their degree and LPC there, and we have just taken on someone who did the exempting degree.’ In the fourth year of the exempting degree, students are required to take part in the student law office: a legal advice centre whereby students (under the supervision of qualified lawyers) provide free legal advice to members of the public on a wide range of issues. ‘Northumbria’s student law office is a phenomenal place,’ Curran says. ‘When I first heard about it, I thought it was going to be fairly restrictive, but they have some quite highbrow, complicated work that they’re doing there. They are carrying a lot of responsibility and it’s an excellent
grounding for them.’ The student law office looks every inch the regular law firm office – papers stacked high, people beavering away behind flat screen computers, hushed telephone conversations. But the major difference is, of course, that these people hard at work are all undergraduates. There is a
existing Yorkshire clients, but also to potential new clients,’ he says. Other local firms are reluctant to be drawn on the question of having an office in Leeds. Dickinson Dees already has an office outside of Newcastle. The Tees Valley office was set up more than three years ago. ‘Teesside is very different [from Newcastle] and the people are very proud of their separate identity,’ says managing partner Neil Braithwaite. He suggests the last thing local people would want to do would be to ask someone in Newcastle for help. (And in footballing terms, at any rate, Middlesborough are the Magpies’ most serious rivals.) But he says that this does not signal the start of a series of regional offices and he is happy with the ‘single-site’ strategy.
Likewise, managing partner of Ward Hadaway Jamie Martin refuses to comment on the rumours circulating that his firm is planning to merge with another in Leeds. But he adds that he believes that there is continuing room for growth from the firm’s Newcastle base: ‘Our strategy is to remain an independent, regionally based law firm.’ But, as Robert Muckle’s Ian Gilthorpe says: ‘You can’t get away from the fact there are still fewer people between Teesside and Berwick, than there are in the Leeds and Manchester corridor.’ On being asked if he has any plans for expansion, he simply says: ‘We see ourselves as a north-eastern firm, operating across the North East.’
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Watson Burton is set to open an office in Leeds, which will be led by Andrew Gosnay, who is the head of banking. Gosnay joined the firm in 2004 from Pinsents’ Manchester office.
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In addition, insolvency lawyer Graham Ridler is set to join Watson Burton as a partner. Formerly a partner at Eversheds, he is currently a consultant with Hong Kong firm Deacons, and looks likely to become head of corporate recovery in the Newcastle firm’s Leeds office.
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Andrew Davison joined Robert Muckle in mid-2004 as an equity partner. Prior to that, Davis had been with Eversheds since 1983.
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In October, Dickinson Dees hired DWF corporate partner Jeremy Swift, who has relocated from DWF’s Manchester office.
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Eversheds’ David Bowcock moved from the firm’s Manchester office to head Newcastle’s corporate department in 2003.
THE TYNE, THE TEES – AND LEEDS Senior partner Andrew Hoyle is credited with the growth and development of Watson Burton. Once best known for its personal injury work, there has been a perceptible shift towards commercial issues at the firm since Hoyle took over the reins five years ago. It is also the first of the main, commercial Newcastle firms (the others being Dickinson Dees, Ward Hadaway and, increasingly, Robert Muckle) to open its doors in Leeds. ‘For a firm that is growing rapidly, such as ours, it is it is important to move into another market place,’ explains Hoyle. He admires what Cobbetts has done in Leeds, and he hopes Watson Burton’s new office there will attract work from further afield. ‘By moving 95 miles further south, it helps not only to get closer to
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> perceptible buzz as you enter the office, with students diligently working through their numerous files. Whereas their university counterparts have something of a reputation for staying in bed late and watching daytime television, these students are banging on the office door at 8.30am and complaining that it doesn’t stay open long enough.
Local heros The glowing commendations from local lawyers of the student law office are, in no small part, thanks to Northumbria law school’s associate dean, and practising barrister, Philip Plowden. ‘He is part of the reason why the student law office is so successful,’ confirms Jen Smurthwaite, head of property litigation at Dickinson Dees. Plowden has strong links with many of the local firms, and was a catalyst in establishing a scholarship provided by Irwin Mitchell. Thanks to the award, Northumbria student Martin Wilson was able to travel to Australia and observe first-hand the differences between the role of student law offices in this country and abroad. ‘The Legal Services Commission doesn’t rely on us like the Australians depend on the student-run institutions,’ says Wilson, who has a training contract lined up with Robert Muckle. ‘There’s a lot more legal aid over here and we are not seen as the only resource if you don’t have the money.’ However, the importance of the law centre, both in Newcastle and nationally, shouldn’t be underestimated. Plowden is immensely proud of the work carried out by the students, and so he should be. ‘We have cases where people may have been convicted of serious offences, such as attempted murder, but they are still in prison past their tariff, because they refuse to admit their guilt,’ says Anna Knight, who is one of
Howe: wants to help lawyers of the future
the small cohort of students on the exempting degree’s BVC route. Thanks to the student law office, Alex Allan’s conviction for robbery was quashed in 2001. Two years later, students won compensation for the time he spent in jail. Matters are far from limited to crime; the centre also deals with – amongst other things – employment issues, contractual disputes, road traffic offences, housing and welfare. The student law office has also managed to enlist the help of Eversheds’ Newcastle office, to bring an extra dimension of commerciality to the work they can take on. ‘We were asked to help because it would open up a more commercial field to them,’ explains Eversheds associate James Thompson. ‘The way it works at the moment is that we
have six or seven fee-earners, mainly from the commercial litigation department, who attend meetings with the students. They’ll give them advice on how to deal with the next stage of the dispute.’ Newcastle-based partner (and head of litigation and dispute management) Susan Howe believes it is hugely important for Eversheds to be involved with the innovations taking place at Northumbria. ‘We want to encourage students and want to make sure the lawyers of the future are well prepared,’ Howe notes. ‘It’s important for Eversheds to have strong roots in the community and help people on our doorstep.’ Howe’s sentiments are echoed by Andrew Hoyle at Watson Burton. Although it doesn’t have any direct involvement with Northumbria’s student law centre (except in terms of recruiting), Hoyle does think that law firms should actively support their regions. ‘It is important to be an active member of the community,’ he says. ‘It is a social responsibility and rewarding in itself.’ Whenever appropriate, Eversheds has a practice of referring cases to the student law office that would not be financially viable for the firm to take on. For the students, economics simply don’t come into the equation. ‘From the perspective of student learning, it really doesn’t matter,’ Plowden observes. ‘To a practitioner who is going to be billing for the case, perhaps it can’t make economic sense; but from our perspective, focusing on the student’s learning, there [might be] some really tricky European Union case law and tribunal jurisdiction points that they can get their teeth into.’
Bills will follow Not having to worry about billing targets isn’t always possible during a training
‘The big difference between what we do and legal practice, is that we have no billing targets and so we can encourage the students to focus on reflecting on the work that they do.’ Northumbria law school’s associate dean, Philip Plowden 80 Legal Business December 2004/January 2005
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OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS Dickinson Dees Total number of lawyers: 458
65 partners 28 trainees, with 12 joining in 2005 Ward Hadaway Total number of lawyers: 117
48 partners 15 trainees, with eight joining in 2005 Eversheds Total number of lawyers: 133 An average busy day at Northumbria law school
29 partners 12 trainees, with six joining in 2005 Watson Burton Total number of lawyers: 78
27 partners 15 trainees, with four joining in 2005 Hay & Kilner Total number of lawyers: 42
20 partners Four trainees, with two joining in 2005 Robert Muckle Total number of lawyers: 26
16 partners Five trainees, with three joining in 2005 Irwin Mitchell Three partners One trainee, with one joining in 2005 Source: Legal Business
contract. ‘The big difference between what we do and legal practice, is that we have no billing targets and so we can encourage the students to focus on reflecting on the work that they do,’ says Plowden. This sort of ethical teaching (distinct from professional conduct) is something the Law Society is considering as part of its training framework review. Also as part of its review, in a recent document the Law Society advocated exempting degrees as another flexible way of getting into the profession. The degree at Northumbria has been running since 1994. It is still the only institution offering such a degree in England and Wales – a situation principal lecturer Kevin Kerrigan would like to change. ‘We’re not keen on being the only one really, because you don’t create that critical mass of awareness,’ Kerrigan points out. ‘At the moment we have 150 people graduating with the exempting degree, and they can get forgotten.’ In particular, Kerrigan would like to raise the
profile of the exempting degree with the major London firms. ‘We’ve got the same problem as all other non-City LPC providers, in that by and large the Magic Circle firms will only take trainees from the City LPC,’ he says. On an ad hoc basis, some of the firms have recognised the commercial content of the degree, and have not required the students to transfer to the City LPC. But what Kerrigan would really like is a statement from the Magic Circle firms saying that they would generally accept the students without them having to do the LPC. However, most recruiters at Newcastle’s law firms have already woken up to the benefits of the four-year exempting degree and the benefits derived from providing legal advice to the public. ‘Those graduates who have spent 12 months in the student law office are very familiar with the nuts and bolts of things,’ says Irwin Mitchell’s Curran. ‘They have the basic mechanics of work in a legal market that you just can’t get from doing the LPC – no matter how practical the LPC is now.’ Irwin Mitchell partner John Davis, adds: ‘We want to grow our own talent, and taking on trainees from places like Northumbria is the best way to do it. That way we can bring in – and retain – trainees to make up the next generation going through.’ LB catherine.watson@legalease.co.uk
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