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Freeths: the new name for Henmans Freeth
June 1 marked a major milestone for leading Oxfordshire law firm Henmans Freeth as it changed its name to Freeths, writes Alison Dewar of The Business Magazine
It’s more than three years since Henmans LLP merged with what was then Freeth Cartwright, and during that period the Oxford firm has seen a huge period of growth, with turnover up to £10.6 million from £8.8m, and staff numbers rising to around 120.
Managing partner Sarah Foster explained: “The beliefs and motivation that have been with us throughout the Henmans days remain as strong as ever, and while the name may be changing, the lawyers and quality of service certainly won’t.
“I know that when we originally merged three years ago, there were concerns that Henmans would lose its personal touch, but I like to think those concerns never became a reality. There is a huge amount of goodwill in the Henmans name, the majority of lawyers here are Henmans people, and while we will always be committed to Oxford as our home, all of the Oxford partners think the time is right for change.
“Being one of the Freeths’ offices, it just doesn’t make sense to continue to operate under a different name. We hope that clients will see it as what it is – simply a change of name with the same high-level of service they have come to expect over the years.”
Anthony Henman, who joined his family’s firm as a partner in 1967, is fully supportive of the change and remains as a consultant.
He says collaboration and having access to the best legal brains across such a wide range of disciplines has proved a real benefit for clients: “The merger has been a plus, plus, plus, right from the outset.
“The relationship has really worked and I personally feel very proud that the firm has got it right and we have people like Sarah, who has been a driving force behind our success.
“To be successful as a law firm now you need to either have a very small niche offering, or a large national presence, and being part of Freeths is enabling us to do that very well. I am absolutely delighted by the way Henmans has embraced the changes and look forward to the future.”
Foster agrees, adding: “The Freeths merger has certainly borne fruit for us and enabled us to enjoy a tremendous amount of growth. We always said that Freeths was a very good fit and has allowed us to remain committed to the local area, while at the same time, working on some very big household client names.”
Among these has been the sale of Lafarge Tarmac to CRH, a deal worth €6.5 billion, which involved a total of 60 lawyers, many of them from the Oxford office.
The areas where the Oxford team has seen the biggest growth recently are in the corporate and the property sectors, particularly agricultural property, where the firm has a great deal of specialist expertise, something it is able to share with wider firm colleagues.
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In 2014, Foster became a fully elected board member of the Freeths' Group – one of just 10 partners out of 130 group- wide – and this has given her the opportunity to continue flying the flag for Oxford at the highest level, while also being involved in major strategy decisions.
As the second largest Freeths’ office of 11 offices, the merger has also given the Oxford office the opportunity to share its in-depth knowledge throughout the group. In turn, Oxford clients have benefited from Freeths' wider resources, with access to experts in other specialisms such as pensions, corporation tax, insolvency and intellectual property.
Foster has ambitious plans to increase turnover through further expansion to around £12m over the next three years. One of the latest projects has been the launch of the private client team’s specialist Platinum service, which is designed to help individuals who are going through relationship breakdowns, covering legal issues such as preserving wealth for future generations and pension planning.
Sarah Foster, managing partner, and Anthony Henman, consultant
Emphasising the firm’s commitment to longevity and service, Foster concluded: “We’ve been here for over 100 years and we’ve acted for some clients for more than 60 years. Building trust, long term relationships and delivering results is what’s important to us.
“We believe we think differently to other law firms and that means taking ownership of issues for clients and providing practical, innovative and bespoke solutions. We want to make sure we maintain our position as Oxfordshire’s leading law firm and continue to offer the best possible service and advice to clients.”
The firm is regularly listed as a Top Ranked Leading Firm in “legal bible” Chambers UK and a top tier firm in The Legal 500, while its lawyers earn many top accolades in their chosen fields.
Details: Sarah Foster 01865-781000
sarah.foster@
freeths.co.uk freethsoxford.co.uk
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JUNE 2016
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