Dickinson Dees still dominates regional law scene
THE publication of this year's Legal 500 sees Dickinson Dees once again dominating the legal scene in the North, reinforcing our reputation for quality and service excellence.
The UK economy has had a difficult couple of years and it would be imprudent to ignore the effect that the recession has had on the professional services market and Dickinson Dees has not been immune to this.
We have taken a cautious approach to 2009-10 where, in spite of the global economic downturn, we have continued our transition from being the North East’s leading law firm towards being the pre-eminent independent law firm outside London.
To highlight this transition, over the last 12 months, we have acted on deals worth over £6 billion across the UK in both the public and private sector, with our corporate department alone acting on over 170 transactions.
The geographical reach of the work we do continues to expand the length and breadth of the country as companies which may have traditionally chosen legal advisers in the City, look to outsource their work to regional firms such as those in the North East.
This servicing of clients across the country has reaffirmed our decision to open offices in London and York.
Towards the end of last year, we took the strategic decision to sell our commoditised volume business, d3 Legal, enabling us to devote ourselves fully to our core business and core strengths.
We remain committed to servicing the local market through our focus on sectors such as chemicals and pharmaceuticals and oil and offshore logistics.
Based in Newcastle, our multi-specialist chemicals and pharmaceuticals group is unique with one of the only teams of lawyers in the country that focuses specifically on comprehensive legal services for the sector. We have also been involved in a wide variety of matters relating to the renewable energy, emissions trading, waste and utilities fields.
We have undertaken a range of high profile public sector work across the UK, bringing the number of projects acted on up to an impressive 50 with a combined value of over £2.5 billion.
Our commitment to the sector has been reinforced by the creation of our public services team, a unique group, led by partner Tim Care, which brings together areas of the firm working on public services projects to share knowledge and best practice.
This team has also been consolidated by the appointment of public services specialist, Linda Walker from Durham County Council, as head of public law and corporate governance.
While it has undoubtedly been a difficult market in which to operate, we are well positioned to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves.
Through continuing to invest in high quality people we ensure a strong long-term future for the firm and a strength in depth of expertise across our practice areas.
We continue to seek to offer the best opportunities for ambitious lawyers and other staff within the firm in order to provide the most rounded service to our clients.
In addition to attracting expert lawyers from national law firms, we are proud of our home-grown lawyers and continue to bring good trainees to bear. This mix of legal talent is a winning combination.
As a large employer in the region, we are committed to giving something back to the community in which we work and strive to work with businesses and charitable organisations throughout the region in order to do so. Our support of their initiatives remains steadfast.
Over the coming year we will strive to maintain our position as one of the North’s leading law firms by actively developing our business in the North East and Yorkshire while continuing to be a standard bearer for the region on the national stage.
Jonathan Blair is managing partner at Dickinson Dees
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