Peter Duff – Shoosmiths

Shoosmiths has posted a 10% increase in revenue to £128.5m for 2017-18, alongside double-digit upswings in profit and profit per equity partner (PEP).

Profit rose 22% during the year to reach £35.8m, with PEP increasing 18% to £434,000 – a new record high for the firm.

Firm chairman Peter Duff (pictured above) attributed the healthy financial growth to a "quite deliberate drive to invest across the board".

The results follow a year in which the firm invested in all of its offices, more than doubling headcount in its 18-month old Leeds office to 60, while its Belfast base – which it acquired via a 2016 merger with Northern Irish firm McManus Kearney – grew by 83% to 22. 

A series of hires saw the firm welcome, among others, corporate partners Philip Goldsborough and James Foster from Irwin Mitchell, while commercial lawyers Alex Kirkhope, JP Buckley and James Wood Robertson from DLA Piper, and pensions lawyer Lynette Lewis from Eversheds Sutherland all join as partners.

"We've seen continued growth over the past couple of years, as planned, and this has come from our investments. We've seen new team structures, new systems and new partners. It's all part of a quite deliberate drive to invest across the board, not in any one area," said Duff.

The firm's fastest-growing practices included real estate (19%) and commercial (17%), with the firm's litigation and regulatory teams also highlighted as standout performers.

The firm's corporate practice also saw double-digit growth on the back of roles on significant deals, such as the merger of Emoov and Tepilo to create the UK's second-largest online estate agency. Shoosmiths advised Emoov with a team led by corporate partner Amit Nayyar.

While the firm has seen success with newer clients, such as securing an appointment to Morrisons' legal panel, Duff believes a "substantive part" of its growth was driven by developing new workstreams with existing clients, such as Google and longstanding client Marston's.

Of the coming year, financial director Chris Stanton said he is expecting another year of good growth, saying the firm has made significant progress during the past few years.

However, with Brexit on the horizon, Duff cautioned: "We are, like everyone else, watching the market closely. [Brexit] is going to have some impact, but for every impact there are challenges and also opportunities.

"We have a broad portfolio of services, so we will be able to react. We're mindful of whether the market will slow up but equally, we're also seeing clients trade as normal."