A new style of law firm has more than doubled its office space in its first year and is stamping its mark on corporate Birmingham and beyond.
Emms Gilmore Liberson was launched in 2011 by directors Greg Emms, Stephen Gilmore and Martyn Liberson who were all partners at Lee Crowder before going their separate ways following the merger with Cobbetts LLP.
They established a limited company with themselves as directors and opened for business on May 9 in Lancaster House, Newhall Street, Birmingham, where they now employ nine staff in total.
And after just 12 months they have been forced to take an extra floor of the building which stands on a prominent corner of Newhall Street and Great Charles Street on the edge of the city’s key commercial quarter.
Gregory Emms said: “Not only is this a new kind of law firm in that it is a limited company rather than the more conventional partnership, it is also a law firm with a radically different approach.
“The directors of Emms Gilmore Liberson are highly experienced lawyers and are able to take a far more proactive and commercially aware approach to our clients than is customarily the case in legal issues these days.
“We are not afraid to give advice, rather than simply present the options as so often is the case – we have many decades of commercial experience and we are able to share this with our clients.”
Emms Gilmore Liberson’s hands-on approach to providing commercial legal advice in the areas of corporate, commercial, litigation,property disputes and property, is further enhanced by their low overheads.
Gregory Emms said: “We do not have the high rents, HR, IT and marketing costs that larger organisations have to carry – and which impact on the client’s bill with no discernible improvement in the quality of advice or service.
“Therefore we are able to give our clients first class legal advice that is competitively priced in what is still a tough market for professional services.”
The pedigree and experience of the directors has meant the firm had a flying start with a client list that would be the envy of many national firms.
“We are acting for leading regional and national property management and investment companies, advising technology start-ups, fund raising in the private equity market, advising match funded ventures, working with national institutions and government bodies – and we have had particular success in our first year advising on mergers and acquisitions.
“They have supported us from the beginning because of our track records. As one client recently told us ‘Thank you for your energetic approach to our cases – we always feel we get whole-hearted involvement from your firm’.
“Geographically, our client list spans far and wide from central Birmingham and London to instructions from Gibraltar, New Zealand, Senegal and advising a number of US clients that have UK subsidiaries.
“We have obtained injunctions to assist in recovering cash and assets for Chinese manufacturing clients and advised on a cross border joint venture for a significant Irish company,” said Stephen Gilmore.
Another particular area of expertise is in providing legal advice to national firms of insolvency practitioners on their growing caseload.
“We are also acting for companies interested in buying businesses out of administration as we understand the issues and potential pitfalls they face,” said Stephen Gilmore.
But above all, the directors of Emms Gilmore Liberson are particularly proud of one result of setting up their own business in its first year.
Martyn Liberson said: “We are all agreed – this is a great place to work, and for talented, commercially minded lawyers looking to provide quality legal advice to an impressive client list, then Emms Gilmore Liberson is definitely one to add to your list of targets for your next move.”