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Leeds is the epicentre of the Yorkshire market and remains as competitive as ever. Sheffield is the region’s second-largest legal market, while York, Hull and, to a lesser extent, Bradford and Harrogate all offer a broad selection of firms.

The Leeds legal market has for some time been seen as being on the verge of saturation, and 2010 brought the demise of both Halliwells and Ashton Morton Slack. A number of teams at the major players have decreased in size in recent years, and 2010 saw a considerable number of partner moves.

Addleshaw Goddard LLP is renowned for its banking and finance capabilities, regularly winning mandates at the top of the market, such as KCOM Group’s £200m facilities involving a group of banks that included Barclays Corporate, Lloyds TSB, HSBC and RBS. The Leeds corporate team has acted on a number of building society mergers in recent years, while other key strengths include competition litigation.

DLA Piper UK LLP has offices in Leeds and Sheffield, and dominates across a number of practice areas. Benefiting from the firm’s global network, it attracts a high volume of international instructions, including advising Yorkshire businesses with an international element and corporates investing into the UK. The corporate team is regularly involved in significant deals, such as the recent 11-jurisdiction acquisition of EMB Software for Towers Watson.

Eversheds LLP has an established Yorkshire client base, and has increased its international capabilities of late, including advising overseas clients acquiring UK companies; examples include Swedish client Securitas AB’s £43m acquisition of Reliance Security Services. It remains strong in other areas such as commercial litigation, recently advising GDF Suez in a breach of warranty claim over the purchase of one of Europe’s largest power plants.

Pinsent Masons LLP has a well-established reputation in the local market, and is a trusted adviser to household names such as Asda, which instructs the firm’s well-regarded employment team. On the corporate side, it has a strong background in mid-market M&A and public company work. Other strengths include construction, where clients include Balfour Beatty, Shaw Group and South Yorkshire Fire and Civil Defence Authority.

Squire Sanders Hammonds’ transatlantic merger has been particularly beneficial to its larger clients, but the firm has maintained a strong focus on key mid-market corporates based out of Yorkshire. Locally, it is renowned for its strength in corporate tax, and recently advised Rensburg Sheppards on the disposal of Rensburg Fund Management to Franklin Templeton Investments, valued at £45m.

Unlike the other leading heavyweights, Walker Morris operates out of a single office in Leeds. Areas of strength include commercial litigation and insolvency, both on the personal and corporate side; it recently acted for the syndicate of banks in connection with the £52m debt-for-equity swap and debt restructuring of Dyson. It counts GHD and Drax among its key clients.

Outside of the ‘Big 6’, key players include Irwin Mitchell LLP, a go-to firm for personal injury and clinical negligence; and Sheffield-based Nabarro LLP, which is renowned for its real estate expertise, and enjoys a leading reputation for commercial litigation and employment.

Other notable firms in Leeds include Cobbetts LLP; DWF LLP; Gordons LLP; Clarion; and Schofield Sweeney; and they are set to be joined by Dickinson Dees LLP, which has recently announced plans to move its Yorkshire base to the city from York. Harrogate is home to McCormicks, while Hull’s leading players include Rollits LLP and Andrew Jackson.

Up-and-coming firms in the market include Hill Dickinson LLP in Sheffield, which acquired a large proportion of the former Halliwells practice.

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