UK Outfit is First Law Firm Casualty of COVID-19 Pandemic
The firm's fate is expected to be the "first of many", according to the firm's administrator.
May 20, 2020 at 08:40 AM
2 minute read
The coronavirus has had major effects on law firm finances.
McMillan Williams Solicitors has been bought out of administration in a deal that will create a top 75 U.K. law firm and marks the first of what is expected to be many coronavirus-related collapses.
The Croydon-headquartered firm, which has 32 offices nationwide, entered administration last month, citing pressures of historic debt "exasperated as a direct result of COVID-19". It has been acquired by Taylor Rose TTKW as part of a pre-pack administration deal, it was announced on Wednesday.
All 420 members of staff will be taken on as part of the acquisition, according to a statement by administrators Quantuma.
Pinsent Masons' Steven Cottee advised the administrators, while Samantha Palmer provided regulatory advice.
Founded in 1983, McMillan Williams was later co-incorporated in 2013. The firm had a turnover in excess of £30 million for the year ended April 2019.
Quantuma partner and joint administrator, Sean Bucknall said in a statement: "The high fixed cost base and highly leverage model of many law-firms leaves them particularly vulnerable to the fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We are already seeing many law firms already in serious financial difficulty and unfortunately this administration will be the first of many."
In a statement on its website, Taylor Rose CEO Adrian Jaggard said: "Our resulting strength leaves us well placed to benefit as the Legal Services Market starts its journey of recovery from the stresses of the pandemic."
Read More:
DLA Piper Offers Reduced Working Schemes to Non-US Business
Taylor Wessing Cuts Partner Drawings and Readies Reduced Hours Scheme
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Malaysia’s Shearn Delamore Set To Expand Local Footprint With New Office Launch
CMA Uses New Competition Powers to Investigate Google Over Search Advertising
‘A Slave Drivers' Contract’: Evri Legal Director Grilled by MPs
Trending Stories
- 1Supreme Court Appears Sympathetic to Law Requiring Porn Sites to Verify Users' Age
- 2Cybersecurity Breaches, Cyberbullying, and Ways to Help Protect Clients From Both
- 3AI in 2025: Five Key Predictions on How It Will Reshape International Law Firms
- 4Justice Known for Asking 'Tough Questions' Resolves to Improve Civility
- 5Robinson & Cole Elects New Partners and Counsel
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
