44 legal focus
The only way is up as Pitmans goes for growth
When it comes to success in the legal world, it would be hard to argue with the accomplishments of Pitmans, writes Alison Dewar
Already the largest law firm in the Thames Valley, with offices in Reading and the City of London, Pitmans continues to go from strength to strength.
In the past year alone, it has taken on nearly 40 new employees and unveiled a dynamic new brand and corporate identity, underlining its commitment to putting the human touch at the heart of everything it does.
In November 2009, it merged with SK Sport and Entertainment and 18 months on, managing partner Christopher Avery is proud of its success.
“One of our biggest achievements is our growth and that we can now offer all clients a broad range of commercial services,” he said.
“The merger has given us the chance to take advantage of the synergies, efficiencies and mutual benefits that existed. In turn, that’s enabled us to drive forward, to win new clients and generate new work for both entities.”
Head of Pitmans SK Sport and Entertainment LLP is Jeremy Summers, who has presided over a 30% rise in turnover since the merger. Underlining Avery’s words, he added: “There were lots of things that SK probably couldn’t have done before, but now we know a person who can. It makes it very easy and it is fantastic to be able to give clients the seamless service that they want.”
In the face of all its exciting expansion news however, Pitmans has remained true to its Thames Valley roots and recently renewed the lease on its prestigious offices at The Anchorage in Reading for a further 15 years.
Pitmans takes pride in being a leader in the Thames Valley economy. Last year, Pitmans Corporate completed over 30 transactions, comprising an aggregate value of over £568 million.
That success has been regularly recognised at local business awards, where Pitmans won both Thames Valley Law Firm of the Year and Deal of the Year at the Thames Valley Deals Awards 2008/09.
This year’s event, which was held on April 7, saw continued success as corporate partner Adam Dowdney walked away with the title of Lawyer of the Year and the team won Deal of the Year (under £25m) for the Guralp Systems deal.
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the award itself. (See separate Deals Awards write up on pages 25-37 for full details).
Always keen to invest in the future, the practice founded the Thames Valley Entrepreneur’s Club, aimed at helping incubate new ideas and assist start-ups to obtain finance and drive growth, and it is also a co-sponsor of the Southern Tech 100, a listing of the top businesses in the technology sector.
With its own dedicated technology sector group, the firm has wholeheartedly embraced the use of new media – including Twitter through which it has recently won new clients – both to ensure its own profile remains high and also to communicate with existing and potential clients.
Its Pitmans Times newspaper is available in both print and digital editions for easy download and the firm has gained a whole new army of followers in the legal world through articles on legal website Lexology.
Charity support
Helping others less fortunate is also something the firm believes in and it is a keen supporter of both local and national charities, including Combat Stress and the Reading-based Duchess of Kent House Charity.
And on a lighthearted note, a team of junior lawyers recently joined the fun in Reading’s annual charity pancake race, raising £170 for the British Heart Foundation.
As a legal firm however, Pitmans does more than simply fund raise. It recently acted on a pro-bono basis for the Red Balloon Learner Centre Group, a charity which works to provide a ‘first class’ education for some of society’s most vulnerable and isolated children, in the acquisition of premises to provide a new centre in Reading.
So where next?
Further growth is clearly on the agenda and Pitmans has been working with strategists from Henley Management College to identify how it can best take advantage of market liberalisation and align the business with the forthcoming Legal Services Act 2007.
In addition, Pitmans made the
final shortlist of four for Law Firm of the Year once more, just being pipped at the post for
On May 1, the firm converted to Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) status, something which Avery believes will help create a platform for future growth and diversification.
“We already have 20 different disciplines Christopher Avery, managing partner
within the practice, which makes us by far the largest full-service practice in the region and we want to go on to greater things,” said Avery. “Intellectual property is particularly exciting, hence our merger, and I also believe IT law will continue to be an incredibly interesting area in which to do business in the future.”
Looking further afield, Pitmans continues to invest in its European and worldwide network, most recently by recruiting Paul Harding to chair and grow InterAct Europe, the referral network of European law firms of which Pitmans is a founder member.
Through the network, Pitmans already has formal ties with firms in major cities such as Paris, Zurich, Madrid and Barcelona and it is looking to grow still further. Two new member firms joined in 2010 and there are ongoing discussions about new associate member firms in China and India.
“Our links through InterAct work both ways,” said Avery. “We have clients who need to outsource legal work into other countries through our member firms, but at the same time, businesses overseas will be looking to come to the UK and need legal support, which is where we come in.”
It seems the world really may become Pitmans’ oyster.
Details: Christopher Avery 0118-9570248
cavery@pitmans.com www.pitmans.com
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MAY 2011
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