Six months ago Derby’s newest professional services firm Knights opened an office at Pride Park and is establishing itself in the city as a key player after appointing 14 partners to date.
A number of well-known professionals from the Midlands have chosen to make the move to Knights at a time when the legal market is experiencing significant changes – as reports predict a 75 per cent reduction in the next five years* through mergers or acquisitions.
Having recently completed an acquisition in January, Knights is now a UK top-70 law firm employing 300 professionals and has ambitious plans to grow further.
Office leader for Knights’ Derby office, Andrew Pilkington said the success of the firm’s first six months was down to attracting the best talent and offering something different to the traditional law firm ownership model.
“Derby is one of seven Knights’ offices and we are building a strong offering in the city. I’m proud to say we already have one of the top franchising teams outside of London based here, as well as experts in corporate, commercial, real estate, litigation, employment, regulatory, family and private client,” said Andrew.
“Our way of working appeals to many established professionals who have become frustrated by the traditional models, behaviours and working practices as well as paralegals who are looking to begin building their careers with us.
“Since Christmas we’ve noticed a surge in new business as our brand begins to become better known in Derby and across the wider East Midlands.
“Being the newest Knights’ office set up entirely from scratch has been a challenge, but the model has proved successful and now we complement other offices in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Cheltenham, Chester, Colchester, Hale and Oxford.
“We all work as one team within a network of over 300 professionals and we are aiming to recruit 100 more professionals across all our offices by the end of 2016.
“It’s an exciting time to be working in the professional services sector and in the city of Derby which is experiencing major regeneration and growth. We are constantly seeking ambitious and hard-working people who would like to work for a modern, forward-thinking business in this area.”
* The report: Analysis of external and corporate investment in UK law firms: sustainable momentum established was published on 11 January 2015 by Arden Partners and states that mid-tier legal firms are becoming more fragmented.
