The south of England is UK Plc’s heartland and the battle among law firms for multi-service bluechip clients has reached an all-time high. Regional law firms, once thought of as parochial and providing bluechips with only the occasional piece of employment or property advice, have in the last five years firmly come of age.
In the south of England, there are a number of such law firms that are truly full service and can handle anything outside the largest, most complex transactions and technical bet-the-house type work. They have recruited heavily from the flow of highly-skilled City lawyers leaving London, disaffected with long hours and the onerous and unreliable track to possible partnership. Clients have come with them, but it is the lawyers’ drive, ambition and track records that have made the real difference.
