The Legal 500

Ford & Warren is one of the largest single office commercial law firms in the region, with roots in Leeds stretching back almost 200 years. The firm has achieved its present size entirely by generic growth, without mergers or acquisitions.

The firm: The cost-effective and quality services have enabled the firm to achieve a national reputation in key industry sectors and specialised areas of work. Areas of particular specialisation include employment and industrial relations, road and rail transportation, licensed and leisure industry, and finance litigation.

Ford & Warren has a significant presence in the public sector, particularly in health, education and local authority work.

Types of work undertaken: Employment and industrial relations: the department routinely advises on all employment issues, including unfair/wrongful dismissal; racial and sexual discrimination; redundancy; equal pay; and maternity rights. Its lawyers have particular expertise in industrial relations, including local and national agreements with trade unions, trade union recognition, advice on ballots before industrial action and injunctions.

Commercial litigation and dispute resolution: the team deals with a full range of litigation, including general commercial contract disputes, asset finance, construction, sports, defamation and regulatory litigation. The finance litigation team is achieving a national reputation in the field of asset finance litigation, consumer law and related actions.

Claims: the department has developed a range of technical and specialist services beyond the normal areas of work in road traffic accidents. It now deals with fraud, public liability, fire, stress and holiday claims. The department is defending numerous claims involving damages in excess of £1m.

Road and rail transportation: the firm and its lawyers have a national reputation for regulatory work in general, and road and rail transport in particular. The road and rail transportation lawyers advise on all aspects of the industry, including dispute resolution on national and international contracts of carriage, acquisitions and disposals of transport-related businesses, supply chain agreements, and consequences of major accidents.

Debt recovery: the team has attracted clients from new industry sectors, particularly sports goods manufacturers, manufacturing, publishing, media, electronics wholesale and factoring.

Property litigation: this nationally recognised team acts, amongst others, for a number of the major players in the licensed and leisure industry in the full range of property litigation.

Corporate and commercial: clients include a broad range of both owner-managed companies and major public companies. The department handles mergers and acquisitions of every size. The team has expertise in joint ventures; shareholder agreements and disputes; and MBOs, MBls and AIM floatations.

Commercial property/real estate: the real estate team has specialist expertise in the licensed and leisure industry and in the retail and investment market. The department acts for a number of banks in securitisation matters.

Public sector: public sector clients include universities, further and higher education colleges, schools, NHS trusts and health authorities. The department has a particularly strong commitment to both the education and health sector and has experienced in-house advisers from both sectors.

Probate, trusts and tax planning: the department carries out trust and tax planning for private individuals at all levels. The department also advises on shareholders’ agreements to ensure succession, setting up employee benefit trusts and offshore trusts. It also handles a full range of private trusts, wills EPA and receivership work.

Matrimonial: this department acts in all aspects of family law, including divorce, separation, residence and contact orders.

Residential property: the section handles residential sales and purchases. Much of the work involves multiple compulsory moves by the employees of corporate clients.

Breakdown of work %
Commercial litigation/claims 40
Commercial property 30
Employment 25
Private client 5

Number of UK partners 21
Number of other UK fee-earners 80