Expanding to new ground
NORTH-EAST law firm Dickinson Dees says it is on track to break through the £50m turnover barrier again as it launched a new group to service the region’s offshore industry.
The firm, which has an office at Teesdale, Thornaby, generated £51.4m turnover in the year to April and said it was on course to match that again in this financial year.
An 18% rise in litigation work has boosted income at the firm, which is also seeing growth in areas such as waste management and public services.
Now Dickinson Dees is targeting more work in the offshore sector after launching the Offshore Services Industry Group (OSIG), which will provide support services to the industry’s regional supply chain.
It will pool the talents of in-house experts in engineering, construction, technology, environmental and regulatory issues, employment, property, intellectual property and commercial trading contract arrangements.
Head of OSIG, partner Simon Lewis, said the “dynamic” offshore sector offered opportunity for growth.
“The North-east has a well-developed supply chain that services the offshore industry,” he said.
“By bringing together experts from across the firm, we aim to provide a comprehensive and proactive service to this sector.”
Dickinson Dees employs 685 people across five offices in Newcastle, Tees Valley, York and London.
Earlier this year the firm shed 90 jobs including 15 fee-earning solicitors as the recession began to bite.
The firm’s managing partner, Jonathan Blair, said stability was beginning to seep back into the sector although the economic conditions would remain challenging for the next 18 months.
His comments come as a new report showed that Northern legal fee earners saw their profits fall by 40% in the last year - almost twice the UK average.
The survey, by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), also said the average profit per partner in the North was £227,000, almost four times less than the average of £872,000 across the UK’s top 10 law firms.
