The links that law firms have forged with regeneration organisations in Yorkshire have become historic. When the Government first launched regeneration projects in the region, lawyers were at the sharp end, advising urban development companies on complex legal issues such as compulsory purchase of land and brokering agreements between private and public sector organisations to get projects moving. The legal community was involved from the start in regeneration projects that have transformed Leeds and Sheffield from declining industrial cities in the mid-1980s, to the centres of financial services that they have become today.
The landscape of regeneration has changed dramatically during the past 20 years. Law firms have found it easiest to get involved in regeneration partnerships with politicians, national government organisations and the business community. It is usual now to find a senior partner of a law firm on a re-development committee, for example Mike Renger, senior partner at Nabarro Nathanson, is a board member of Sheffield One.
