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Overview

After almost 150 years of provincial obscurity, Shoosmiths' recent growth has been little short of dramatic. Having almost doubled in partners to 105 partners and 1,400 staff since the turn of century, Shoosmiths now sits at the crest of a new wave of national firms looking to replicate the success of Eversheds, DLA et al. It has reached its initial goal of cracking the UK's top 30 law firms by turnover and has not stopped growing yet.

Like many of its peers, such as Bevan Brittan, Bond Pearce and Clarke Willmott, Shoosmiths has fairly unglamourous roots, originating in Northampton before spreading to Nottingham, Milton Keynes, Basingstoke, Reading and Fareham and, most recently, Birmingham.

It has successfully followed the well-trodden path of winning the commoditised and less sexy work of bluechip companies, doing it well and becoming trusted with more complex matters. However, unlike national firms that sold or distanced themselves from their bulk operations when they hit the big time, Shoosmiths is keeping a tight hold on its bulk insurance, debt recovery and property operations, which remain the largest individual contributors to the firm.

One of the first firms to appoint a non-lawyer to run the business (and one of the few to make a success of it), Shoosmiths has developed a more corporate structure and feel than most law firms.

Key issues for the future are winning more premium work – especially corporate deals – from its bluechip client base (and attracting the City talent it needs to service it) while retaining most of its operations in the country's secondary legal centres and keeping its commoditised areas profitable should the post-Clementi era bring in greater competition.

The firm's partner profits took a hit during the tough times of 2007-08, with PEP falling 19.7% to £327,000. However, the firm broke through the £100m mark for turnover by increasing revenues by 6.6% to £103.4m. The corporate and commercial and employment teams saw the biggest revenue growth, with 32% and 30% increases in income respectively.

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History

By the turn of the century, Shoosmiths had developed profitable bulk businesses in personal injury, debt recovery and conveyancing but was some way behind the curve when it came to offering premium level advice. The turning point for the firm came in 2002 with the appointment of an accountant, Paul Stothard, as CEO and a major business review that targeted bluechip clients and introduced an element of merit-based pay for partners.

The review also sanctioned the firm's first office in a primary legal centre, in Birmingham, which opened in 2003. The firm went on a recruitment drive, targeting partners from both top-tier national firms and the City. The success of this strategy has been dramatic, with double-digit rises in both turnover and profits every year since.

Future changes may be more radical still. The management is again working on a new strategy to exploit the post-Clementi legal landscape come the implementation of the Legal Services Act in 2011, which may involve incorporating parts or even all of the firm.

Culture

The business ethos of the firm's management seems to gives rise to an internal culture that is entrepreneurial without being cut-throat. Staff and partners are generally described as 'down to earth' and the open-plan offices appear to allow the development of closer working relationships than might be found elsewhere – inmates frequently describe the firm as 'sociable'. Northampton, Fareham and Basingstoke are in out-of-town business parks, which may not be to everybody's taste.

Key departments

Shoosmiths is divided into five main areas: commercial property; residential property; corporate/commercial; employment; and dispute resolution. The legal expenses division, which mostly carries out claimant PI work for the clients of insurance companies, is the biggest single contributor of fee income for the firm, while on the premium work side, the 800lb gorilla is without doubt property – both commercial and house-building.

Niche strengths can be found in leisure, IT, competition, consumer goods and food (Associated British Foods is a major client) although the fastest growth recently has been in corporate, where the firm has successful mid-market M&A and AIM practices. Banking litigation – both bulk and bespoke – is also an increasingly successful practice area.

National/international coverage

Offices in Birmingham, Nottingham, Milton Keynes, Basingstoke, Reading and Fareham although its Northampton home town is still the largest office by some way and identifiably the firm's HQ. Birmingham, which opened in 2003, is likely to be the fastest growing in future as the firm attempts to move up the food chain.

Property, employment and corporate/commercial are spread across the firm's offices while more specialist practices tend to be based in one location, such as IP in Milton Keynes, IT in Reading and insolvency in Birmingham. Basingstoke is home to the firm's bulk insurance practice.

Given that the firm is targeting some of the domestic work that the first wave of national firms are leaving behind, it is perhaps unsurprising that Shoosmiths has no international offices, although it is a member of the World Services Group referral network.

Key clients

Shoosmiths enjoys a long list of household names, although many tend to use the firm for specific areas rather than instruct it across the board. These include retailers Alliance Boots, McDonalds and Next and a number of automotive clients in the form of Volkswagen, Nissan, Daimler Chrysler and Ducati. Banking and insurance clients include HBOS, ING Direct and Zurich while the firm beat two magic circle firms to win the lion's share of US facilities management giant Aramark's general UK work in 2007.

In the public sector, the firm acts for a number of local authorities, the London Development Agency, SEEDA and the Open University. Shoosmiths is also on the national Government legal services panel for property, IP and employment/pensions.

Leading partners

Include: Birmingham chief Joel Kordan and David Morley in real estate; Iain Gilbey in planning; Ron Reid in product liability; and Waine Mannix in asset finance and dispute resolution.

Career prospects

As the soaring PEP would indicate, Shoosmiths' corporate structure means high leverage ratios and just 41 Shoosmiths partners currently hold equity. Nevertheless, the firm's high growth rates – it grew its partnership by 10% in 2006-07 – mean Shoosmiths assistants are actually rather more optimistic about their partnership prospects than most. Whether this proves to be more hope than expectation remains to be seen, as indeed does whether the firm remains a partnership at all in the medium term, given the management's apparent enthusiasm for exploiting the Legal Services Bill.

Salaries

Not the highest payer (unless you're an equity partner). Shoosmiths prefers to emphasise its cultural attractions and work-life balance to potential recruits, rather than trying to lure them with cold, hard cash.

Recruitment

Work-life balance

Makes a big deal about giving its employees a life outside work and, by and large, seems to deliver.

Diversity

One of the few law firms to take diversity seriously. Top of the Diversity League Table compiled the Black Solicitors' Network and the Law Society for both ethnic diversity and gender among the UK's leading 100 firms.

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