The Legal 500

Freeth Cartwright LLP is a major regional practice offering services to both the commercial and private client across the entire legal spectrum. It has offices in London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Manchester and has an associate office in Stoke; KJD Freeth. The firm has a wide range of clients throughout the UK and many of its clients have strong international connections.

The firm: Freeth Cartwright LLP has grown rapidly in recent years and now ranks as one of the leading regional firms offering comprehensive legal services in the public and private sectors.

It works with clients to reduce their legal spend by analysing the root cause and then upskilling the client’s team, thereby enabling them to reduce risk. It places particular emphasis on the benefits of IT.

It has won a Legal Technology Award for its IT caseviewer platform, was a finalist in the British Legal Awards, Best Use of Technology, and in 2010 was shortlisted by the Law Society for Excellence in Innovation. It also worked with BlackBerry to develop digital dictation. Clients benefit through more efficient working and client extranets. The firm is also Lexcel Accredited.

Whilst aiming to provide the very best service possible in all areas, the firm also prides itself on its wish and ability to understand the businesses of its clients and to demonstrate that with a properly developed relationship it can significantly add value. The firm believes that major legal practices should be in ‘partnership’ with their clients, not merely reacting to clients’ specific instructions or dealing with problems after they have arisen. The firm aims to combine first-class legal expertise with a thorough knowledge of the client’s business.

Types of work undertaken: The firm’s commercial practice covers a broad spectrum of corporate, commercial, public sector and financial work from small day-to-day transactions to significant mergers and acquisitions, some with an international content.

The firm’s corporate and commercial team provides the full range of services, specialising in MBOs, MBIs, the reorganisation and financing of businesses, mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. The firm also has a significant capability in specialist areas, including pensions, PFI projects, competition, EC law, corporate tax and sport and entertainment law. Freeth Cartwright LLP has a specialist intellectual property unit dealing with both contentious and non-contentious work, and significant work in the telecommunications and IT sectors.

With one of the largest commercial property departments outside London, the firm acts for developers of industrial, residential and commercial property, institutional lenders and investors, privatised utilities, housing associations, the public sector and commercial landlords and tenants. The firm has dedicated units covering planning, environmental issues and construction.

The emphasis in dispute resolution is on risk management and risk avoidance. Five of the firm’s members are qualified mediators. The firm has specialist groups in employment, landlord and tenant, construction litigation, professional negligence, defamation and insurance. The firm also undertakes significant insolvency, recovery and litigation work for major banks and accountants. Freeth Cartwright LLP acts for Lloyd’s underwriters, insurers and indemnity institutions. The firm has particular expertise in medical negligence and product liability under the leadership of Paul Balen who enjoys an established national reputation in the field.

Emphasising the firm’s range of services, the private client units provide expertise in family and childcare matters, court of protection, housing litigation, immigration, personal injury, residential conveyancing, and wills and probate.

The firm plans to continue growth through organic development, by pursuing pro-active strategic marketing policies and by investing in high-calibre people, from trainee solicitors to partners.

Number of UK partners 92
Number of other UK fee-earners 153