Thursday 07.01.2010

Halliwells Kickstarts 2010 With New Office Head

Commercial law firm Halliwells LLP has announced the appointment of partner Neil Thompson as head of the firm's Sheffield office.

Neil, who joined the firm in January 2008 to establish its corporate offering in South Yorkshire, replaces Suzanne Liversidge who resigned in December. He is well known in the deal-making community having handled corporate work in the region for more than 25 years.

Having achieved on-target half-yearly figures during the exceptionally tough credit-crunched climate of 2009, the office is strongly-positioned to benefit from the upturn in corporate activity.

Commenting on his appointment, Neil Thompson said: "We have a talented and dedicated team here in Sheffield and I will be working closely with them to deliver our vision of growing the firm and continuing to deliver the best possible service to our clients.

"While we have lost a number of insurance lawyers, our breadth of expertise remains as diverse as it ever was. We retain a strong multi-disciplinary practice on the ground in Sheffield covering insurance and healthcare, corporate, real estate, commercial litigation, regulatory, employment and construction, backed up by the strength of resource in Halliwells nationally.

He continued: "In the run-up to Christmas we were burning the midnight oil on client work and while the heady days of 2007 may not return, at least for a while, there are very good signs of activity levels increasing in our mainstream business. Our strategy of offering quality, value for money advice to local businesses is as valid now as it was when I joined Halliwells.

"I will be working with the team to expand aggressively in 2010, and our first milestone in this respect will be a key partner appointment in our newly-established Sheffield planning department."

The insurance litigation team in Sheffield will now be driven by acting head Ian Austin, Halliwells' executive chairman who has been with the firm since 1987.

Commenting on the appointment of Neil Thompson and the outlook for 2010, Ian said: "I have every confidence in Neil's abilities to galvanise our Sheffield team and further establish Halliwells as one of the region's leading commercial and corporate law firms. It's business as usual for the firm here in Yorkshire."

About Halliwells

Halliwells is a national law firm providing a range of multi-disciplinary legal services.


For any enquiries please contact Liz Powell/Rachel Barker at Cicada Communications on 01423 567111/07837 718638. Email liz@cicada-comms.com