Hall Brown Completes Awards Hat-Trick As Regional Employer Of The Year 

Published on 19 October, 2023 | Claire Reid

Hall Brown Family Law has continued its remarkable run of success by claiming a prestigious regional business award.

The firm triumphed in the Employer of the Year category at the North West Business of the Year Awards.

It is Hall Brown’s third major trophy of the year and comes just days after the firm retained its place as a Tier One in the influential Legal 500 standings, being named the “the crème de la crème” of family law firms in the region in the process.

Partner Claire Reid described how the latest honour came as “a genuine thrill” which underlined how Hall Brown had become not only one of the country’s leading law firms but “a great place to work”.

“To have any recognition for what we do is always so very heartening. Our aim, of course, from the start has been to deliver the very best service that we can to clients.

“Being well regarded by the rest of the legal profession is also important because it shows that our peers appreciate the quality of the work achieved by both our lawyers and support staff.

“However, this new award is truly special because it highlights why that is possible and why we have been able to attract so many talented individuals, not just in Manchester but our other offices across the country too.

“The judges remarked on the lengths to which we have gone in order not just to enable everyone in the firm to do their best work in the office but away from it too.

“That has not just been the case during the pandemic but since we launched. We fully understand that results are important but that having working arrangements which act in the best interests both of clients and colleagues is to everyone’s advantage.”

The North West Business Awards are organised by TheBusinessDesk.com and are intended to “celebrate the achievements of businesses of all sizes”.

All of the companies which entered were subjected to a rigorous judging process, which included a visit by members of the judging panel before a shortlist was announced comprising firms which “are innovating, disrupting and thriving”.

Hall Brown was one of five firms in the running for the Employer of the Year title and collected its trophy during a ceremony held at Manchester’s historic Midland Hotel.

It completes a remarkable awards hat-trick, following a double win in June when it was named Medium-sized Law Firm of the Year in the Manchester Legal Awards (MLAs) and took the Boutique Law Firm title at the eprivateclient Excellence Awards.

Those victories have added lustre to Hall Brown’s hold on a place among the country’s legal elite.

Only last week, the latest edition of the Legal 500 classifications stated that having already been a “pre-eminent name in the divorce and financial remedy sphere”, the firm had further “strengthened its capabilities”.

Four of Hall Brown’s partners, including Managing Partner James Brown and Senior Partner Sam Hall, Andrew Newbury and Beth Wilkins, are included as Leading Individuals – more than any other North West family law specialist.

They were joined in the top rank of individual family law practitioners by a trio of their colleagues in Hall Brown’s Sheffield office – partners Alison Fernandes and Martin Loxley, and consultant Zoe Round.

In addition to its dominance of the top categories in the North West and Yorkshire, plaudits were bestowed on a number of fee earners working in all of Hall Brown’s offices.

Two – Senior Associate solicitors Madeleine Hailey and Sarah Hewitt – were identified as “real rising stars”.

Associate Emma Hubbard and Senior Associate Melanie Hadwin also completed a tremendous first year since joining Hall Brown by being cited for their respective roles in helping the Sheffield team eclipse its competitors in South Yorkshire.

Partner Izzy Walsh, who heads up Hall Brown’s office in London, has also won praise for her skill, together with consultant Catherine Bell.

In March, Mr Brown was one of eight new members appointed to the Law Society’s Leadership, Management and Operations Section Advisory Committee.

The Committee was set up to offer guidance on best practice and innovation to senior solicitors working either in-house or in private firms across England and Wales.

Over the last 12 months, Hall Brown has seen turnover increase from £5.5 million to £6.6 million and its staff roster grow by a similar proportion.

It has recruited a dozen individuals during that time and now employs a total of 63 people, 48 of whom are fee earners.

In September, Michael Swanick joined as an Associate Solicitor, while Hannah Durkin, Rebekah Fender and Alexandra Marshall all progressed from their roles as paralegals to become trainee solicitors.

As well as its headquarters at the Grade II-listed Ship Canal House in Manchester and a London operation based in Holborn, Hall Brown has two Yorkshire offices – in Leeds and Sheffield.