With the first quarter of 2024 complete, top-100 law firm Moore Barlow, which has six offices in Guilford, London, Lymington, Richmond, Southampton, and Woking, celebrates its success as a powerhouse regional legal practice.
Quarter one wins
This year, the team who work with businesses, organisations, individuals, and families regionally and nationally:
- In the first quarter, the team assisted with deals covering purchases, sales and management buyouts totaling £84.7m. Last year, they worked with the recognisable brand name, Rio drink brand, on a £12.3m sale.
- In a testament to its forward-thinking approach, the family team at Moore Barlow, which launched ‘Accord’, a one couple, one lawyer innovative approach to divorce last year. The family team has seen a significant rise in people looking for this solution.
Major cases
Its major trauma team, led by senior partner Trevor Sterling, has consistently been in the national headlines as the team leads on the Wimbledon school crash incident, supporting 20 families who were affected, including the two families who lost both their eight-year-old daughters in their search for answers.
Earlier this year, Scott Taylor, partner and head of contentious trusts and estates at Moore Barlow, appeared in the Supreme Court in a landmark case, ‘Hirachand v Hirachand’. The court is set to make the final decision on whether people who sign ‘no-win, no fee’ Conditional Fee Agreements (CFA) for claims under the Inheritance Act 1975 (“the 1975 Act”) should pay the success fee agreed with their legal advisors (reducing their reward) or if the Defendant could be ordered to contribute.
Mala Sidebottom, partner at Moore Barlow, also made the headlines after she received a winning judgement in her liability-only High Court case of Gahir. The case arose from a delayed diagnosis of Herpes Simplex Encephalitis by a GP, which has left Gurmukh Gahir with life-changing injuries.
Attracting and retaining talent
Compared to the national average, where women in the legal sector make up 22% of equity partners, Moore Barlow leads the way with 58% female partners. In December, Anna Iceton joined Moore Barlow as a partner on its property disputes team after leaving her role at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP). The firm is set to make new announcements soon about the 2024 talent it’s adding to its roster.
Richmond refresh
In a commitment to its future in London, Surrey and Hampshire, Moore Barlow moved to a new office in Richmond last year. The modern workspace has welcomed hundreds of clients and intermediaries over the past few months and is rapidly emerging as one of Richmond’s key hubs for doing business.
Award shortlisting
Ed Whittington was shortlisted for Managing Partner of the Year in the Modern Law Awards.
Jeremy Over was also named a finalist for Lawyer of the Year in the Solent Deal Awards.
Looking back, looking forward
In the past six years, Moore Barlow has undergone a complete re-engineering of its business model, formulated a clear purpose with people-first values, and a long-term strategy to become a regional law firm that rivals the skills, experience, and service of any City firm.
The firm is increasingly looking to offer these skills and services to compliment those of the larger City firms, in areas of law that are not within their offering, working within our ‘sweet spot’ as a partner, rather than a competitor.
As we enter the second quarter of 2024, we’re excited about how the rest of the year will look. We have been planting many seeds of opportunity, and this year, those opportunities will continue to blossom as our people continue to do what we do best: being the first port of call for businesses and individuals both nationally and regionally.
Ed Whittington, Moore Barlow managing partner
