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Our view....
Hammonds had a few post-merger problems after they swallowed
Birmingham firm Edge Ellison in 2001, but it remains
unquestionably one of the big four firms in Birmingham and the
Midlands generally.
The firm is particularly noted for its
banking and finance practice
and its commercial litigation and property work. Recent deals have included work on a
£100m mixed-use development in Solihull, representing Aston Villa
during the football club's renegotiation of its contract with Premium
TV Ltd, and winning the tender to advise the £60m Ryder Pension Fund.
That said, it's spent much of the
last couple of years haemorraghing partners. The firm as a whole lost
an incredible 17 partners in 2002, and the Birmingham office lost another seven the
following year, including head of finance, Chris Harlowe. It did make a few
hires as well, including a rare acquisition from Wragges
(litigation partner Ann Benzimra) and Eversheds' head of property
tax, Robert Jones.
Of course, some of these departures
were orchestrated by the firm and they've certainly had an
impact on profits: they were massively on the up both in 2006 and
2007. But then they collapsed again by 9% in 2008, and stand at
£367,000 per partner, well below
the firm's competitors. Other downsides include the fact that the
Birmingham office is undergoing refurbishment, so staff are currently
working in a building site. The canteen is deemed to be rubbish, as
is the IT (lawyers still use Windows 2000).
But for now, it remains a profitable
outfit (although less than it should be) with good work and a bonus system that applies to the entire
firm. Overseas expansion means that postings in Paris or Berlin are
always a possibility, and a continuing drive to reduce costs (all
direct dial numbers at Hammonds are now at national rates, with the
firm getting a cut...) doesn't seem to have impacted on the salaries
or benefits offered to lawyers.
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