ONE YEAR AHEAD OF PLAN, SWINBURNE MADDISON ANNOUNCES TWO NEW PARTNERS PLUS MAJOR REVENUE INCREASES

Image: [L-R] Laura Duff, Chris Ross, Phoebe Gogarty, Gillian Moir, Daniel Peacock, Amy Fletcher, Kate Cunniff

Swinburne Maddison LLP have ended the 2022/23 financial year on a major high after posting a superb increase in revenues of 19%. The firm’s three-year plan has been delivered a year ahead of schedule and they are gearing up for further success in the current year and beyond.

During this period 23 new appointments were made across the firm including two new partners’ promotions, taking the total number of partners at Swinburne Maddison to 12.

Gillian Moir and Chris Ross, who both joined the firm’s commercial property team in 2014, have been promoted from managing associate level and provide even more breadth at the top of the department’s management structure.

Firstly, Gillian was part of the team responsible for completing more than £75m of CBILS and RLS transactions on behalf of Atom Bank and has been recognised as a Rising Star for the last four years in The Legal 500.

The second new partner, Chris, was instrumental in supporting the firm’s appointment to the ‘general property and conveyancing legal panel’ for Karbon Homes and Gentoo Group following a successful tendering process last year.

These promotions have been bolstered overall by a further five new appointments, two of which are brand new positions, reflecting the growth in demand for the firm’s employment and dispute resolution advice.

Phoebe Gogarty joins having previously worked at notable Yorkshire and Newcastle-based firms and will be reporting directly to managing partner and head of employment, Jonathan Moreland. She will be advising clients in all areas of employment law.

The second new member of the dispute resolution team is Daniel Peacock, who is a well-known face within the North East Junior Lawyers Division where he held the post of regional chair and was later voted onto its national executive committee. Daniel will provide additional support to the team following an exceptionally busy twelve months which saw the dispute and resolution team’s turnover increase by 44.69% since the start of the financial year.

The residential property team also welcomes two new faces. Kate Cunniff, a newly qualified solicitor, joins from another long-established northeast law firm and Laura Duff, a CILEX advanced paralegal who graduated from Durham University in 2012 and completed her Graduate Diploma in Law in 2013. Laura recently worked for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in Cumbria.

Amy Fletcher is the fifth new appointment and joins as an associate solicitor within the private client team. Reporting to head of private client, Amy, who is an associate member of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) has worked within the private client teams of other regional law firms.

In addition to the recent fee earner roles, Swinburne Maddison has significantly invested in building a solid business structure by creating several new key support roles in IT, HR, finance, compliance and practice development. This underpins how the firm is shifting to meet the demands of a business that is competing strongly with the larger law firms in the region.

These positions support a surge in the number of new fee earners seeking to develop their careers at the Durham-based practice which is celebrating 25 years since its formation. At a time when competition for new talent is intense, the ability to fill positions created from significant growth is impressive.

Commenting on these recent highlights, managing partner Jonathan Moreland, said: “We reorganised our Senior Management Team two years ago with a view to accelerating our growth plans to take advantage of opportunities arising following the pandemic.

“I think it’s fair to say the high-profile nature of much of our work and our strong performance has been turning heads for some time now and the firm continues on an upward trajectory. Indeed, we are about to commence the rollout of a new three-year strategic plan.”

“Our teams have each turned in brilliant performances for us over the last year, dealing with everything from transactions in the lower and mid-points of the M&A market up to those in the £20m-£60m bracket.

“We have had a clear focus on the culture and values that brought us to this place and we’ve shown great agility in winning new clients and attracting top talent. It’s gratifying that clients and new team members have trusted us to take care of their needs. During a period of growth its hugely important to bring in people who are the right fit for the firm and who will help us continue to make Swinburne Maddison a great place to work.”