News & Views

The founders of a Manchester-based law firm Hall Brown Family Law have hailed its first 12 months in business as “nothing short of fabulous” having attracted a number of very high profile clients.

We all know that nothing in life is certain. As the actor, director and philosopher Clint Eastwood once said: “If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.” He also said he’d tried being reasonable and didn’t like it. They should teach this kind of philosophy in law school.

A Liverpool-headquartered property restoration specialist has repaid the investment made by funding provider Merseyside Special Investment Fund (MSIF) three years ahead of schedule.

As the Queen starts to relax after her Christmas broadcast and I rise with a flush in my cheeks to carve our Cambridge Bronze, I will spare a thought for our cherished legal profession. Like the bird beneath my knife, it has had a good stuffing this year.

Had Isambard Kingdom Brunel been a lawyer and not an engineer, suspension bridges might have remained the domain of orthodontists and we might still be rowing wooden boats to the Balearics for our summer holidays.

With the Government, the Competition and Markets Authority, the Legal Services Board, the Law Society and the legal services regulators all flashing their sequined blouses like contestants on Strictly Dumb Downing, the idea of leaving a ‘secure’ job and setting up a new law firm is likely to feature alongside bareback-rodeo and base-jumping on most people’s personal risk register.

We’ve started serving English Brexit Tea in our office. Some say it leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste while others find it quite refreshing.

Heswall-based financial adviser Gee & Watson has acquired financial adviser McEwan Wallace Wealth Management in a multimillion-pound deal.

“The trouble with retirement is you never get a day off.” Anon

The Jackson Canter Group – one of the North West’s fastest growing law firms – has acquired Lees Solicitors LLP, signalling a major step towards becoming one of the region’s largest providers of legal services.