Boris Ignachkov A new expansion has been announced by leading medical negligence firm Irwin Mitchell. The firm has welcomed two new offices, one in Cardiff and one in Liverpool to be opened next month. With many law firms and businesses worldwide making a move to a hybrid working style with working from home up to three days a week, Irwin Mitchell’s view despite a new movement is to deliver improved client experiences and client contact.
Irwin Mitchell saw operating profits increase by 23% to £73.5m in the year 2021, promoting the ‘natural move’ to open up two new offices. Questions have already been asked over recruitment and training opportunities for aspiring solicitors and paralegals. The firm spoke to The Law Society Gazette and mentioned they are actively recruiting however have no plans to offer training contracts alike to London numbers, however, they stressed the fact it is early days.
Cardiff’s Legal Market
Looking at Cardiff first, for an aspiring solicitor, there are multiple opportunities in the public sector with options in real estate and construction. The Cardiff council is determined to retain recognition as a business hub for financial and professional services with their efforts already creating 10,000 jobs since 2011. With Irwin Mitchell making inroads into Cardiff, it presents opportunities for qualified solicitors and potentially soon, trainee solicitors in the southwest and western region.
Liverpool’s Legal Market
Liverpool now, lawyering jobs and the legal market seem to be up on the rise here. Law firms such as CMS and Taylor Wessing have opened up offices in recent years showing a need for expansion and investment in the north region. The North and Northwest specifically have been known in the past for their civil litigation cases from personal injury to negligence, this accompanies Irwin Mitchell as a leader in this area. Liverpool has been attracting high calibre legal talent in recent years from the strong economy with over £20 billion of investment opportunities each year with an average of 30,000 graduates every year. Current newly qualified salaries range between £36,000 to £41,000 depending on the size of the firm. This places Irwin Mitchell well in the legal market with offerings in specialist areas to compete with the likes of CMS, DWF, and tech firm Taylor Wessing.
The Future of Working From Home?
Irwin Mitchell has made a calculated professional decision to open in two new jurisdictions where they will be able to continue to grow and recruit a high calibre of trainees in the future. With the aims of allowing more flexible working hours and an increase in client contact time, it seems hard to think of any negatives to the new expansion.
The firm now has 17 offices across the UK, with a move to Southampton where the firm claims have been made specifically for hybrid working with roughly half the space dedicated to collaborative working. How the future of hybrid working plays out will be interesting to watch with businesses finding a balance between employee and client contact time over energy savings.