Times have been tough for Birmingham mid-tier firm Martineau Johnson. A watershed was reached in October last year when longstanding managing partner David Gwyther stepped down from the helm after 15 years and senior partner Bill Barker took over.

But 2003 was not exactly filled with good news for Martineaus: it famously lost rated education partner Nicola Hart to Pinsents in May, and cut back on secretarial staff by 10% in September.