SOCIETY NEWS
FIRM RANKED IN THE TOP 10 BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FIRM REVEALS RECORD RESULTS Anthony Collins Solicitors has released its annual results for 2020/2021 recording an annual (1 May 2020 - 30 April 2021) turnover of £22.3m, with profits of £5.38m - up 15% on the previous year.
The Birmingham office of law firm Mills & Reeve is celebrating after being featured in the top 10 places to work for in the region, part of Best Companies annual list ranking the finest UK and regional employers. Nationally, the firm also achieved 23rd place in the UK 100 Best Companies to Work For list, a huge rise from 90th place in 2020, and an impressive second place in Law’s 20 best firms to work for 2021. Mills & Reeve continue to be the only law firm to have been named on a Best Companies list for 18 years in a row. This recognition follows the firm being named as one of the top law firms in the UK for the fifth year running by RollonFriday. The Best Companies results show that Mills & Reeve improved its
scores across all eight workplace factors with the largest increases in leadership, which exceeded Best Companies’ three-star benchmark by six per cent and giving something back, which rose by eight per cent from 2020. The other six factors are wellbeing, fair deal, my manager, personal growth, my company and my team. Steve Allen, partner and head of the Birmingham office at Mills & Reeve, said: “I’m very proud that we have been listed as one of the top 10 Best Companies to work for in the Midlands. Our culture has always been central to the growth of our Birmingham office particularly during the challenges of COVID-19.Creating an innovative, diverse and supportive environment for colleagues to work in translates into first class service for our clients in the sectors and markets in which we operate.”
To mark its resilient performance, the nationally recognised law firm, which operates offices in Birmingham and Manchester, is also announcing that 240 staff will receive a 5% of salary profit share bonus. Peter Hubbard, senior partner at Anthony Collins Solicitors, said “It has been a landmark year for the firm. We want to build on this, moving forward with our colleagues and client partners to continue delivering a positive social impact across the UK. In recognition of the extraordinary commitment of everybody working at ACS during the pandemic, I am delighted we are awarding a 5% of salary profit share bonus to all staff so we all share in the firm’s success. ACS colleagues have been extremely flexible in their approaches to work and we want to recognise and reward them for this.”
GLOBAL POSITIONS FOR BIRMINGHAM PARTNERS
DWF has announced the appointment of two of its Birmingham-based partners to senior global positions, effective from 1 May 2021.
Jon Stevens, managing partner of the Birmingham office and leading tax law specialist has been appointed Deputy Global Head of Tax and Private Capital. This role will see Jon oversee a global team of more than 100 people, comprising of over 60 in Spain and 20 in the UK and Ireland. Jon has worked in Birmingham for over 20 years and has experience of advising clients on a wide range of tax issues including corporate and property tax matters, group 6 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk
reorganisations and tax disputes. Toby Askin, equally experienced in property development, investment and portfolio management, has been appointed Global Head of Real Estate. Toby, who is currently UK Head of Real Estate, will lead and implement a strategy to grow the global Real Estate Team. The team comprises of 200 talented and experienced lawyers, across 17 offices and 10 jurisdictions and has worked on some of the industry's largest transactions. These appointments complement the ongoing support from Birmingham based Melanie Williams as Head of DWF's Real Estate Sector and
Hospitality Group. In addition to her role at DWF Melanie also sits on the Board of Directors of the Colmore Business District (BID) and the Board of Citysave Credit Union. These appointments form part of DWF's new internal operating structure which it announced in January. The new structure is an important step forward in DWF’s strategy, which will help it to fulfil its aim of becoming the leading global provider of integrated legal and business services. It will see the Group move into three more streamlined and efficient global divisions of Legal Advisory, Mindcrest and Connected Services.
