Browne Jacobson LLP Annual Review 2015/16

our year...2015/16

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Private and public sector legal experts, offering clear opinions and straightforward legal advice, whenever and wherever you need it. Complex problems – understood, explained and resolved by a single team, across our office network, working together in long term partnership with you. Exceptional service, every time, from experts you trust and costs that reflect what you value in a law firm, not the things you don’t. A place where people want to work and a business actively engaged with our communities and the environment.

Sometimes you just need a lawyer, but you’ll want to do business with us.

Cover image - Rebecca Bell, Legal Assistant, Health and Advisory team

Our year 2015/16 | Contents page | 3

ContentsOur year in brief 4

Looking to the future

Our key financials

Putting people first

Exceptional client service

In the heart of our community

Sector specialists

6

10

12

18

36

40

And the winner is... 44

International growth 16

Our year 2015/16 | Our year in brief page | 4

We were delighted to deliver organic growth for the seventh year in succession, posting a 9% increase in work done to over £64m. The momentum from 2014/15 carried on and the results were in line with our own high expectations. It was particularly pleasing to see each of our five offices achieving growth – a further sign that the major investments we have made in recent years in new office openings, people and infrastructure have really started to bed in and deliver.

Whilst year on year comparisons are significant, it is also critically important to take a step back to truly assess how the firm has performed and developed. In the last five years alone we have opened offices in Exeter and Manchester and moved to new locations in Nottingham and London. Financially we have grown turnover by over 80% since 2011 - and this has been achieved organically through retention and growth of our clients and people, as well as new strategic hires and client wins. This puts into perspective what an incredible journey we have been on and how the business has been transformed.Central to this success has been our continued ‘drive

for quality’ strategy, with its focus on people, sector knowledge and client service. 2015/16 was a year in which we excelled on all three fronts.

We continued to invest in people with a series of high profile lateral hires across many of our offices whilst also recognising the achievements of our people with a number of richly deserved promotions. We saw the arrival of Kathleen Fox Murphy and Mark Gleeson in the technology team, Clare Auty and Simon Charlton in the health team and Anita Bradley in the public sector team. These were accompanied by a number of senior appointments to our central management team including HR Director Lynne Farrage and Head of Learning Claire Stripp. This was alongside five new partner promotions and 11 associate promotions, sending a powerful message of our ambition to grow and a commitment to continue delivering the very best legal services we can to clients.

Welcome to Browne Jacobson’s 2015/16 annual review. It has been another memorable year in which we both met and, in many cases, exceeded expectations.

Our year in brief

page | 5Our year 2015/16 | Our year in brief...

Our sector expertise continues to win plaudits, whether it is amongst our more traditional core sectors or new and emerging ones such as the work being carried by our expanding financial services and technology teams.

Each year the breadth of our client base and the ground breaking work we do for them reaches new heights and 2015/16 was no exception: from completing our 1,000th academy conversion and winning new clients such as the National Procurement Service for Wales to successfully advising NHS England on its genomic laboratory services project, Cornwall Council on its dispute with BT and former JP Morgan trader Bruno Iksil to name just a few.

Over the coming year we will undertake our next strategic review. In many respects it will be business as usual. We remain committed to getting the basics right, delivering a quality service to all our clients through our successful sector based approach whilst striving to be the best employer we can be. But it will also be an opportunity for us to look ahead and identify those long term growth opportunities that will take Browne Jacobson to the next level.

“We have had another impressive 12 months. We are performing well against our strategy of long term sustainable and profitable growth. Our focus will continue to be on making sure we are the best we can be.”

Iain BlatherwickManaging Partner + 44 (0)115 976 [email protected]

Our Mowbray House office - Nottingham

page | 6Our year 2015/16 | Looking to the future

It was pleasing to consolidate our financial position with another impressive set of results, which saw us enter the Top 50 in The Lawyer league tables.

Today clients need more than just sound legal advice from their advisers; they expect their lawyers to be an extension of their in-house teams, understanding their business models and being alive to the unique challenges they face, both now and into the future. Our ‘view from the top’ thought leadership programme is one of many examples of how we are going beyond the realms of providing just legal advice. Since its launch when we moved into our new London office at Bevis Marks, we have held a series of high profile roundtable discussions with senior stakeholders on a raft of issues from the implications and risks that emerge from the devolution of powers from central to local government to the challenges faced by academy schools and school leaders. Our school leaders survey, which is carried out in partnership with ASCL and is now in its fourth year, has become the largest survey of its type in the country.

Another way in which we are looking to add real value to our client relationships whilst gaining a competitive edge in the market is through harnessing the data flowing

through the firm under the umbrella of our change programme. We have already made significant progress towards delivering the key strands of our business process improvement strategy. The introduction of a centralised end user dashboard will play a critical role in enabling us to intelligently use data that has been generated through the firm’s new practice management system and a host of existing applications, allowing us to better manage risk, improve commercial decision making and share knowledge across teams to help deliver exceptional client service. Recent changes to our business operations teams will also enable us to accommodate increased workloads and continue to assist our legal teams to deliver exceptional client service.

After nine months of development we saw our new look website go live. With over 6,000 pages migrated and 600-plus tests carried out, it was a tremendous multi-team effort involving colleagues across our marketing, business development, IT, finance, HR and compliance teams. But like many of our investments, its launch is only the start of a long term plan of ongoing development that will see new portals added, the rollout of personalisation and e-commerce to name just three.

Looking tothe future

2015/16 was a milestone year for the firm – one in which we demonstrated our growing confidence, drive and ambition to succeed.

page | 7Our year 2015/16 | Looking to the future

We have rolled out our key dates tool – an easy to use online solution to effectively manage critical and non-critical dates for our internal and external stakeholders. Agile working trials are currently being carried out in London and Nottingham, whilst our paperlite project is also underway in Birmingham and Nottingham. The intention is to roll this out to our other three offices by the end of the 2016/17 financial year.

The last twelve months symbolises the transformation the firm has undergone in the last few years; a transformation which was clearly evident at our first ever two-day summer event within the grounds of Belvoir Castle, when over 650 of our people from across all five offices gathered to share in our success and hear about our vision for the future of the firm. It was one of the most ambitious events we have staged and underlies our growing confidence as one of the UK’s leading law firms. It perfectly encapsulated the journey we have been on – one that was also recognised by our peers when we were named ‘Best Managed Law Firm’ at the Managing Partners’ Forum Awards 2016. It was also a year in which we entered the Top 50 UK law firm rankings for the first time – sure signs that we have made the step up from being a strong regional player to the national stage.

So what are our aims and ambitions for 2016/17 and beyond? After the investments made in London and Birmingham, we will start to turn our attention to the north west. Our Manchester office was first opened in 2012 and has since gone from strength to strength. To meet current and future demand and in line with our ambitions to develop a full service offering in the north west, we have recently signed a lease on our new state-of-the-art Manchester office in the heart of the city – a move which will offer our clients and people an exceptional working environment in which to do business.

We also recognise that we need to develop and adapt our policies, processes and culture if we are to continue to recruit and retain the very best talent and to meet the needs of a growing and diverse workforce. Our people strategy with its strong focus on areas such as succession planning, alternative career structures and training & development will ensure we meet the needs of a modern workforce.

Our first ever two-day summer event in the grounds of Belvoir Castle

Our year 2015/16 | Looking to the future page | 8

Being able to offer a flexible workplace model will also be a key pillar of our strategy. For example, our Bevis Marks office is ideal for those wishing to pursue a City based legal career. However, our state-of-the-art regional office network means we are able to also offer an equally rewarding and fulfilling alternative to those wishing to develop their careers outside London; careers which deliver training, client work and a working environment on a par with the City whilst offering a lifestyle choice which matches their needs. And because we work flexibly across all our offices, our people can have the best of both worlds.

The view from our Bevis Marks office in the heart of the City of London

Our year 2015/16 | Looking to the future

“It has been an incredible journey so far… but one that is only just beginning.”

Sarah Walker-SmithChief Operating Officer+44 (0)115 976 [email protected]

Making Browne Jacobson a truly balanced business will also be central to our long term aims and objectives. Currently approximately one-third (35%) of all our partners and ‘heads of’ are female. Whilst this is comparable and, in many cases, better than most of our peer group, we are committed to doing more. Progress has clearly been made in the legal sector but it is still widely accepted that the legal profession remains largely segmented along race, class and gender lines and that simply has to change.

Whilst we have ambitions to grow and develop the business on the national and international stage, we have never lost sight of our responsibilities to the wider community, both as a local business and employer. So, in 2015, we pledged our support to the restoration of Nottingham Castle, a key part of the regeneration of the city’s Castle Quarter. The three year project, which has already been supported by £21m from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Nottingham City Council and the European Union, will get underway next year and create 2,000 jobs, with over 200 of those in the construction industry. We also added our voice to the Nottingham Post’s Great Debate initiative to explore how the city can raise its profile, develop a sustainable economy and meet many of the challenges it faces from skills challenges to international competition.

No challenge comes bigger than the recent decision of the UK to leave the European Union which is why we have developed a dedicated Brexit hub, providing updates on the latest developments and how they impact on our clients, with a practical focus on minimising risks as well as exploring future opportunities.

Despite the cloud of uncertainty that will no doubt linger for some time to come following Brexit, as a firm we remain perfectly placed to take advantage of the opportunities to grow the business by continuing to invest in our chosen sectors, people and infrastructure. This will enable us to continue to deliver the exceptional service our clients have come to expect and demand. It promises to be an equally challenging, exciting and memorable year for Browne Jacobson and one that we are all looking forward to.

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It was a slow start to the year compared to 2014/15, however the second half proved to be stronger, particularly the last quarter. We have seen good growth in a number of our large clients including the NHS LA, Rapiscan, Ageas, the National College for Teaching & Leadership and HCA – all of which helped underpin our overall performance.

Lock up will be a continued focus over the coming year following an increase of four days compared to last year. Whilst our total investment in WIP has improved, there is more to do around debtor collection. A review of our processes, along with robust working practices and better communication will aim to drive an improved result in 2016/17. However, overall cash management during the year has been good and we ended the year with a strong cash position and our lowest debt position since 2012.

Profit for the year was £17.2m. This was 6% up on the prior year; it is ahead of the forecast position and, given the level of investment made during the year in systems and teams, is a great result. This result generated a

performance award of 5.5% of salary for our people.Some of the projects we have invested in will continue into 2016/17 including our new PMS and we have additional new projects planned which will require substantial investment.

Whilst we continue to enjoy growth across a very diverse client base and to expand our range of services, the emphasis on the provision of timely and relevant financial metrics and strong financial management and control remains key. The introduction of a new dashboard will enable improved reporting and better access to financial data across the business to support this.

Our year 2015/16 | Our key financials page | 10

Kit DolemanFinance Director+44 (0)115 948 [email protected]

“Despite the uncertainty as a result of the Brexit Referendum, with a healthy pipeline and focus on delivering our financial management objectives, we are confident the firm will maintain to a strong financial position during 2016/17.”

Our keyfinancialsWe had another great year in 2015/16, resulting in work done of £64.3m, 9.2% growth on last year and £1.5m ahead of forecast. Revenues have increased by £29.1m since April 2011 representing growth of 82.8%.

Our year 2015/16 | Our key financials page | 11

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Growth =9.2%

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lock up days

134

overhead efficiency

32.8% £3.5m

net debt £1.4m

our key financials... at a glance

Profit =£17.2m £

Revenue= £64.3m

total debt

Our year 2015/16 | Putting people first page | 12

Putting people first

We operate in a highly competitive market place and the ability to recruit and retain graduates and skilled people will be hugely influenced by our employer brand strategy.

We have made considerable progress on reviewing and re-evaluating our employment offer and how we can differentiate ourselves from our competitors. We are investing in agile/mobile technology and processes to ensure we can offer improved flexible working. We believe that our people should not be constrained because of their location. Currently, 21% of the workforce works flexibly within their contractual terms (this includes home working; compressed, part-time and shift hours; and job sharing) and 18% of fee earners work flexibly within contractual terms. We think we have an opportunity to increase this and are looking to review it in 2016/2017.

Trainees form a critical part of the firm’s workforce and this year we revamped our summer vacation scheme to provide potential trainees with the opportunity to undertake meaningful work while learning more about our markets and sectors and the firm’s culture. The scheme has been extended to two weeks and, for the first time, covers our London and Exeter offices as well as Birmingham and Nottingham. Candidates are assessed during their time with us, with the potential of being offered a training contract on completion. Demand this year has been high and we hosted 32 candidates for the assessment day and offered 14 student placements.

2016/2017 will also see the launch of a number of development initiatives and pilots designed to build capability in our business. We commenced a pilot partner development programme in June, a first line leadership pilot in July, and revamped our trainee development framework under the remit of our new Head of Learning, Claire Stripp. We are also undertaking a review of our career structures across legal and other professional teams to understand how we can best deliver clear and accessible progression and career development and ensure that we retain our best people.

We are increasing our legal training to align it to a tailored legal competence framework which incorporates the SRA’s solicitor competence requirements. We are also developing the firm’s knowledge management strategy to improve how our information, experience and know-how is collated, organised and presented for easy and timely access and then leveraged to add value for our clients.

Forging strong partnerships has also been one of the key pillars of our long term training and retention strategy. For example, we have established strong links with Nottingham University, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham Business School and Nottingham Law School to help develop mentoring programmes and shape our legal training. In January we launched a mentoring scheme for students studying for their law degree in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). The scheme was set up after establishing a shared view on how we could work together to make a difference to social mobility in the legal profession.

Students applied to be considered for the mentoring programme, with their applications judged against a range of criteria. The ten successful applicants were matched up with mentors from Browne Jacobson. A key goal in MMU’s teaching for their LLB students is developing educational confidence by focusing on improving self-belief and self-confidence. Both organisations hope that the mentoring process will enhance this, and help the students identify, reflect upon, and build confidence in their overall skills development. The scheme has been extremely well regarded by mentees and mentors alike and will be run again next year – with more mentor volunteers from Browne Jacobson.

Partner Nichola Evans launching the mentoring scheme with Manchester Metropolitan University


“Getting it right ensures we have people who not only have the skills we need but also share our culture, vision, reputation and business values. This, in turn, leads to increased levels of engagement, higher rates of retention and greater productivity.”

Lynne FarrageHR Director+44 (0)115 976 [email protected]


associate promotions11

4.6%headcount growth

5 partner promotions

8new lateral partners/senior managers

109partners

lawyers

823people

442

our people... at a glance

Trainee juice-a-thon - Nottingham

what our people think...It has been a supportive environment from the day I walked in the door where the work you do and contribution you make is recognised by all. I came here to develop myself further in my finance career and I was keen to work for a much bigger firm. My ambitions are to qualify as an accountant and the firm’s commitment to career development means it is the kind of place where you want to stay for a long time.

Adam Douglas, Junior Analyst, Finance team

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There has been a marked change in attitude with regards to flexible working in recent years. It is great to think that, as an employer, you recognise that people have multiple commitments and demands on their time that they need to juggle. It is a great way of maintaining talent.

Hannah Rice, Solicitor, Insurance team

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Browne Jacobson provides an environment in which people are encouraged to take ownership of their careers and the development of their practices. I joined two years ago from a larger City firm and have really enjoyed being part of a culture that encourages its people to build and evolve skills across the full spectrum of legal practice and business development, whilst also ultimately being supportive of that process.

Nick Sulman, Associate, Commercial Dispute Resolution team

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page | 16Our year 2015/16 | International growth

Internationalgrowth

In 2015/16 we continued to build and invest in established and new relationships, particularly in North America and France.

That investment saw an increase in work from clients located outside of the UK – generating growth of over 10% on the previous year.

The Madoff litigation remains the ‘jewel in our crown’ as far as revenue is concerned. We continue to act as the main advisor (outside of the US) for the US-based Trustee in bankruptcy, and work alongside lead counsel, Baker Hostetler, with several of our lawyers working periodically in New York as the case enters its fifth year under our watch.

We have continued to increase the revenue that we earn from other high-profile overseas clients, in particular working for numerous international luxury retailers on property, commercial, and trade mark litigation matters. We also acted on a number of significant patent litigation matters for Californian-based Rapiscan (OSI Systems), the organisation behind most of the security and scanning system technologies used in the worlds’ busiest airports.

It has also been a great year for us in terms of handling significant cross-border transactions, including the $482m buy-out of Cromwell Tools by a US-listed corporation and the sale of Insure The Box to a Gibraltar-domiciled company. Our commercial group is also involved in advising the likes of PZ Cussons (a FTSE 250 company) on complex international distribution networks.

We had five Browne Jacobson representatives at the annual Pangea Net AGM, an international network of like-minded law firms, which we co-founded in 2009. Our new head of data and privacy, Mark Gleeson, spoke at the AGM on the new GDPR. 2015/16 also saw our lawyers attend and speak at events in Boston, Brazil, Chicago, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Diego, Singapore and Washington D.C.

page | 17Our year 2015/16 | International growth

Declan CushleyPartner, IP+44 (0)20 7337 [email protected]

In Spring 2016 we hosted another very successful event at the annual INTA conference in Orlando attended by over 150 delegates as well as attending the 2016 iTechLaw World Conference in Miami. The event also provided us with an opportunity for partners to undertake joint BD activities in Boston, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington D.C.

We have recently hosted our first dedicated financial services conference in Jersey and Guernsey with over 150 delegates. This event involved a close collaboration with Baker Hostetler and Carey Olsen, with lawyers from all the firms speaking on a joint platform.

In the coming year we will continue with our regular visits to the US and Europe to build on our existing relationships and forge new ones, supporting further growth and diversification in our international client base.

Financial services conference - Guernsey

Richard CoxPartner, Corporate+44 (0)115 976 [email protected]

Sectorspecialists

We have continued to develop our understanding of our clients’ markets through out dedicated sector expertise and teams.

In 2015/16 we continued to build and invest in our well established technology team with particular growth in London following a strong recruitment drive.

Under the stewardship of partner Anthony Nagle, we continue to advise on highly complex IT projects for major government organisations such as the Cabinet Office, Crown Prosecution Office, National Audit Office, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Department of Energy & Climate Change, and Debt Management Office as well as large private sector clients such as Itelligence and the DPD Group.

This year has seen the introduction of a new strategic focus on FinTech, an emergent sector with significant growth potential. We have already achieved a number of client wins including Chicken Financial, Chip In, SweatCoin and OnlyPolicy. We have also had significant instructions from Euronext (part of the New York Stock Exchange group NYSE Euronext) in relation to a new collateral trading platform. With five events scheduled with NewFinance, a global FinTech professional network, in the coming months, this is only the beginning for this exciting sub-sector.

Our patent litigation practice, headed by partner Mark Daniels, advises some of the UK’s best-known companies. A highlight this year was representing OSI Systems Inc and its UK subsidiary (Rapiscan Systems Limited) in patent disputes in the High Court and Intellectual Property Office.

technology

page | 18Our year 2015/16 | Sector specialists

They have a clear understanding of the underlying technology and how legal matters relate to it, and are very helpful too at keeping us up to date with legislative changes… they really are top notch.

Chambers & Partners 2016

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Mark Gleeson Joe O’CallaghanKathleen Fox Murphy


Our recruitment also continued apace. We welcomed patent litigation and patent strategy expert Kathleen Fox Murphy (Taylor Wessing), data protection and cyber security specialist Mark Gleeson (Squire Patton Boggs) – both at partner level - and the former senior counsel at Burberry, Joe O’Callaghan, as an associate in the London office focusing on technology matters with a particular interest in the retail and financial services sectors. Similar to FinTech, Joe is further developing our strategy for ‘RetailTech’ and has already been advising our retail clients on tech-related matters. We expect this to continue to be a significant growth sector for the team in the next two years.

We are able to offer clients end-to-end solutions that span everything from the commercials to advice on the technology itself, within a sector and with the necessary regulatory advice wrap. We are convinced that this will make our technology offering more attractive than ever before to our clients and we expect to be reaping the benefits of this strategy immediately in the year ahead.


Anthony NaglePartner, IT+44 (0)20 7871 [email protected]

Mark DanielsPartner, IP+44 (0)121 237 [email protected]


Drawing on our deep sector knowledge and understanding, we advise across the broad range of our clients’ legal requirements with the empathy, commerciality and collaboration required to provide cost-effective solutions to a broad range of client challenges, whether simple or complex, short or long term.

We have seen considerable financial growth in 2015/16, further developing our domestic and international contentious and advisory work for financial institutions (including challenger banks), investors (including corporates), insolvency practitioners, insurers and individuals. We continued our international work in our role as principal English and strategic Commonwealth and European advisors to the Trustee of the substantively consolidated SIPA Liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, and the estate of Bernard L. Madoff. This led us all the way to the Privy Council in December 2015, where we helped shape the law on cross-border financial fraud and insolvency. Over the last 12 months we were also active as panel speakers at conferences both domestically and abroad, including international conferences in America, Brazil and Switzerland.

The firm has continued its ambitious but sustainable investment in this sector, appointing Nick Pontt as a partner in the financial services litigation team, and making strong lateral associate hires including Nick Sulman and John Adams (litigation) and Catriona Lothian (financial services regulation), among others. These lawyers join an already impressive line-up led chiefly by partners Derek Bambury, Dominic Offord, and Jonathan Newbold.

Together we comprise a team focused on excellent client service and thought leadership in this field, delivering regular updates on key developments to online and journal publications and through sector-focused seminars.

financial services

Jonathan NewboldPartner, Professional Negligence+44 (0)115 976 [email protected]

Nick PonttPartner, Financial Services+44 (0)20 7871 [email protected]

Our financial services group draws together a team of experienced and multi-disciplinary lawyers who provide contentious and non-contentious advice and support to the sector.

A commercial and thorough approach with a strong eye for detail and good client handling skills… they fight hard for their clients in an efficient, well prepared manner.


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Our year 20415/16 | Sector specialists page | 21


regional markets

Mark AldrichPartner, Property Litigation+44 (0)115 976 [email protected]

Gavin CummingsPartner, Corporate+44 (0)115 976 [email protected]

Our specialist and local teams of lawyers are passionate about helping our clients; whether you are an ambitious start up, high net worth individual, a growing private business, a FTSE 100 company, a multi-national business, an NHS Trust or a local authority. Our team will work alongside you to understand your aims and objectives and the challenges you face so that we can consistently deliver the right results for you and your business.

During 2015/16, our regional markets focused teams grew their client base substantially. Our corporate team enjoyed considerable success which culminated in them entering Experian’s top 20 deal advisor table in quarter 1 of 2016 and the team also secured ‘legal team of the year’ and ‘deal of the year’ at the East Midlands Dealmaker awards. Key highlights included working on deals involving Cromwell Tools, Insure the Box, in the management team of Gala Bingo, Source BioScience and Macintosh Retail Group.

Elsewhere, our property, employment, construction, regulatory, litigation and commercial teams have gone from strength to strength, working for long established regional businesses such as North Midland Construction and Eurocell but also winning new work and establishing themselves as key advisors to the likes of British Gas and the EE Franchise Association and generating new work from Trebor Developments and Wm Morrison.

Innovations in client service and product development are high on the agenda and in the last year we have produced a number of new products, with more planned for the coming year including a new asset tracker product which we are aiming to provide to all clients as part of our standard offering. An Account Executive pilot has been successfully concluded in Nottingham and we are recruiting a full time specialist in this area to ensure we continue to deliver the very highest levels of service to our clients.

We are working closely with the CBI across the East Midlands, West Midlands and Manchester on a number of initiatives, including sponsorship of MSB-club activity in all three of these regions. We also continued with our headline sponsorship of the Nottingham Post Business Awards, where we sponsor the Company of the Year. The judging process threw up some fantastic local companies, all of whom had big plans for the future. We are replicating this sponsorship with the Birmingham Post, where we are sponsors of the business entrepreneur of the year award in 2016.


Trainee Solicitor Faye McConnell at our New Year, New Networks event - Birmingham

Highlights from this year

• Assisting Triumph Motorcycles, the UK’s most iconic motorcycle brand, in relation to their sponsorship of their world land-speed record attempt, and with a very high-profile co-branding and marketing arrangement described as ‘taking advertising to the next level’. The campaign involved a co-branding arrangement with the clothing brand Belstaff and a film involving David Beckham, Harvey Keitel and Liv Tyler.

• Continuing to act as exclusive provider of legal services to PZ Cussons Beauty (owner of the St Tropez, Sanctuary Spa and Charles Worthington brands) including advice on IP infringement, ownership and brand strategy. As well as a broad spectrum of commercial contracts work for PZ Cussons Beauty, including advising on celebrity endorsement and brand ambassador agreements with Kate Moss, Charles Worthington, BAFTA, the Brit Awards and London Fashion Week, Alex Watt also regularly advises their marketing team on consumer competitions, product claims clearance, and other advertising and marketing issues.

• Supporting Lloyds Bank on a number of matters to tackle instances of UK and non-UK third parties unfairly exploiting their prestigious brand and iconic black horse trade mark, protecting the group’s customers from any confusion that could be caused by infringing the group’s intellectual property.

• Acting for Moët Hennessy Champagne Services and Moët Hennessy UK to protect their Veuve Clicquot brand. Giles Parsons continues to advise on the prosecution of a trade mark infringement and passing off claim against a clothing manufacturer who used our clients’ brand to promote its own goods. The case is listed for trial in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court in October 2016.

• Acting for The London Taxi Company on numerous matters, including on significant collaboration agreements and brand enforcement work, particularly the ongoing trade mark and passing off litigation against Frazer Nash Research Ltd. That case concerns the shape of the quintessentially British London taxi and, as far as we are aware, the trial in November last year was the first since the Trade Marks Act 1994 in which both infringement and the validity of a 3D trade mark were considered together. The case is currently on appeal to the Court of Appeal.

• Advising our long-standing client, The National Trust (the iconic British brand and the second biggest landowner in the UK), on branding matters, including trade mark licensing, domain name cybersquatting, brand collaboration agreements with large UK brands and advertising compliance issues.

brandsOur well established brands and IP team - which is now one of the largest in the country – continues to work with clients on their brand strategy, brand portfolios, experiential advertising, brand enforcement and high end regulatory compliance work.


The team’s extensive legal knowledge is backed by powerful technical and industry experience… often has the edge on more established players thanks to its sophisticated commercial mindset and meticulous approach.

World Trademark Review 2016

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Pangea Net and IP practice group - London


We also hosted the first meeting of our international network Pangea Net’s tech and IP practice group (chaired by our experienced brands litigator Bonita Trimmer). This practice group has a particular focus on brands issues which impact our increasingly international client base, with the first meeting focusing on issues surrounding the counterfeiting of luxury brands.

Alex WattPartner, IP+44 (0)20 7337 [email protected]

Bonita TrimmerAssociate, IP+44 (0)121 296 [email protected]


Caroline GreenPartner, Property+44 (0)20 7337 [email protected]

Sarah ParkinsonPartner, Property+44 (0)115 976 [email protected]

retailWithin the retail sector we have national and international reach and reputation. We have a market-leading luxury practice, boasting some of the world’s leading luxury brands and are known as the ‘go to’ firm in this area, whether for brands with an existing presence in the UK or new entrants.

We are also renowned for our retail experience outside the luxury sector, acting for an extensive number of household name retailers such as Paperchase, Joules and Wm. Morrisons. We also continue to attract new brands to our portfolio. This year our new clients included House of Fraser, Bvlgari, Goyard, and Papa Johns.

Our expertise in the retail sector is recognised by invitations to speak at major retail conferences in the UK and overseas and we are known for our specialist experience in omni-channel retailing. This strength is reflected in our fees from the sector, which showed steady growth over the year.

Our highly acclaimed annual brands, advertising and marketing events are designed for those responsible for their retail promotion and protection. We cover a range of topics including our latest update on Advertising Standards Authority decisions as well as intellectual property developments. Caroline Green was a panellist at Retail Week’s first General Counsel Summit on the ‘threats and opportunities of trading in a complex global marketplace’, while Sarah Parkinson spoke at the Property Managers Association annual conference for leading estates surveyors on the effects of omni-channel retailing on lease agreements.

We are consistently praised by clients for our high quality service and people. Our retail team is not purely focused on real estate work like so many of our competitors and we offer a full range of services to our clients including advertising, marketing, commercial contracts, IP, distribution, franchising, pricing policies, competition law, corporate M&A, equity and debt financing, employment and environmental. We have a dedicated retail portal with access to free legal resources and regularly provide in house training, secondments and workshops for our clients.


“I have always felt in the safest of hands with prompt and considered responses.”



health2015/16 was another exceptional year for our health team with revenue growth of over 15% across the sector.

Our claims team saw growth of over 20%, handling cases for both the NHS LA and the Medical Protection Society. The team has been involved in a number of high profile trial wins and continues to be ranked nationally as one of the UK’s leading defendant clinical negligence teams.

We also saw very healthy revenue growth of over 35% in our independent health sector team. This has included new instructions for clients such as Nuffield Health, BUPA, The Priory Group and Raphael Healthcare. The team continues to provide a uniquely broad range of work to the sector, ranging from advice on regulatory matters through to some of the most significant corporate deals within the sector, most recently winning ‘deal of the year’ at the East Midlands Dealmakers Awards for their work advising PCT Healthcare on its acquisition of WR Evans (Chemist) Ltd, which has led to it becoming the third largest independent pharmacy chain in the UK. The team also won the ‘legal advisor of the year’ award at the LaingBuisson Independent Healthcare Awards 2015.

The growth of the team included the recruitment of partner Clare Auty, formerly in-house counsel at St Andrew’s Healthcare. Alongside this, Simon Charlton joins the firm’s health and social care team in Birmingham, his broad legal experience of working with various NHS bodies, local authorities and the private sector will be a real benefit to the firm and will be significant in supporting the needs of our health and social care clients in the West Midlands and nationally.

Our mental health and health advisory teams also saw the recruitment of new partner, Rebecca Fitzpatrick, into our Manchester office. Rebecca is ranked in the top tier for mental health law by Chambers & Partners UK, and brings a wealth of experience to this rapidly growing part of our practice. The team received instructions from an incredible 91 different clients, including mental health trusts, care providers, local authorities, commissioners and acute hospital trusts.

Rebecca Fitzpatrick

Clare Auty


Simon Charlton


Simon TaitPartner, Health+44 (0)115 976 [email protected]

The HealthInvestor roundtable discussion - London

2015/16 also saw us continue to establish a truly national presence – this has included receiving high profile instructions in our traditional base in the Midlands, where we are acting for Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust on its merger with Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which will create the largest NHS hospital trust outside London. Our national footprint is well illustrated by new clients ranging from Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust and Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Trust in the south east, South Devon & Torbay CCG, South West Ambulance Service, Torbay & South Devon NHS Foundation Trust in the south west, through to Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust and Barnsley Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

They are knowledgeable, broad based and have a particular strength within inquests.


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These developments, along with the subsequent political U-turn, have provoked considerable uncertainty within the sector and our team has been very busy acting as key strategic advisors to education providers nationally, as well as winning major new clients such as E-ACT, Reach4 Academy Trust and The Co-operative College.

In February 2016 we were instructed on our 1,000th academy project nationally, confirming the firm as the clear market leader in advising in this area. In addition, throughout the year we supported clients on a wide range of important legal and HR advisory matters. As a result the education team have posted their best ever year for revenue at £5.3m, showing growth of 16% on the last financial year.

educationSince the general election, education has featured prominently in the new Government’s agenda, firstly in terms of the introduction of extensive new powers of school intervention in the form of the Education and Adoption Act then, more recently, the white paper ‘Educational Excellence Everywhere’ grabbed headlines with its proposal for the total academisation of the state school sector by 2022.


Our education rountable thought leadership event - London

Browne Jacobson LLP’s ‘excellent’ team, led by the ‘exceptional’ Mark Blois, provides ‘confidence-building advice’.

Legal 500

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Once again the team have been ranked in band one nationally by both Chambers and Legal 500 and, alongside this, Mark Blois was named as a National Leader of Governance by the NCTL, who cited his extensive experience in the sector. Strategic partnerships have been maintained with the National Governors’ Association and the National Association of School Business Management, while we have also now joined with the Freedom & Autonomy for Schools (National Association) as official partners. Additionally, we have continued to work closely with the National Association of Head Teachers and the Association of School & College Leaders, supporting many events and engaging in joint thought leadership including our fourth annual school leaders survey in the autumn of 2015, with over 1,300 school leaders contributing to this research, and the exceptionally well received guidance document ‘forming or joining a group of schools: staying in control of your school’s destiny’ which was launched at the House of Commons in the autumn of 2015.

Mark BloisPartner, Education+44 (0)115 976 [email protected]


Partner Nick MacKenzie at our education rountable thought leadership event - London

Against a backdrop of austerity for both local and central government our public sector practice grew by 10% year on year – this was achieved through an increase in new instructions from our existing clients and new client wins which, alongside our existing portfolio of over 200 local authorities and 15 central government bodies, included NPS Wales, the North West Legal Consortium and the Department for Work and Pensions, amongst others.

The recruitment of Anita Bradley has boosted the public sector team. Anita joined the administrative, planning and environmental law team after being head of legal and monitoring officer at a local authority, where she was also a member of the corporate leadership board.

The team have attended, spoken or exhibited at over 65 seminars, conferences and exhibitions throughout 2015/16, where they have been busy updating people on areas including regeneration, state aid and planning to name a few.

public sector

During the year we have helped Shropshire Council establish a new university, set up Inspire Nottinghamshire and entered into a co-sourcing arrangement with the legal team at London Borough of Enfield. We also advised the Homes & Communities Agency on two key developments at the Advanced Manufacturing Hub in Birmingham – the sale of land to German precision cutting tool manufacturer Guhring and a speculative development by Trebor Developments known as ‘Apollo’.

Looking ahead, there is a very strong pipeline of exciting new work for our teams, not least being the procurement of a new leisure provider to run Rufford Park, advising Guildford Borough Council on their Slyfield area regeneration project and Leicestershire County Council on the realisation of a major housing development at Lutterworth.

Anita Bradley


Partner Richard Barlow at our second public sector roundtable discussion on devolution - London


Richard BarlowPartner, Environmental & Administration Law+44 (0)115 976 [email protected]

Our second roundtable discussion brought together a diverse and knowledgeable group of stakeholders to identify the realities of devolution and austerity and to look at practical ways in which the potential challenges could be overcome, including: accountability, sharing services and finance and funding issues. Based on our research, experience and discussion at the roundtable, a report was produced which addressed the key questions and themes in more detail and makes recommendations for local and central decision makers who are involved in devolution.

Our roundtable discussion - ‘Our changing state: the realities of austerity and devolution’ - London

They are an excellent legal firm, very focused on the customer; they put a lot of effort into knowing your business and what you do.


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In responding to these challenges we have developed practical solutions to support clients to navigate through the complex maze of issues that face the market. Those solutions include delivering an outsourced policy wordings service which, in addition to dealing with day-to-day endorsement referrals, has amended over 700 policy wordings to ensure they are ‘Insurance Act ready’. We have also provided an innovative pre-risk support service for financial lines underwriters to help identify and manage potentially problem risks before they are underwritten.

Where claims do arise, our deep sector knowledge and market understanding has led to strategic claims management models where reduction of overall indemnity spend is the focus of our activity. This includes harnessing the power of meaningful management information to analyse our own performance, the detailed causes of claims and feeding that back into the underwriting and claims process which ensures continuous improvement for our clients and for us.

Our non-contentious insurance practice – which includes ex FCA lawyers amongst their number - has also developed strongly, particularly in relation to helping our clients ensure the contractual frameworks and governance around their delegated authority arrangements are sufficiently robust.

Our long–established public risk insurance and advisory group has its history steeped in strong and enduring relationships with its local authority client base. Our increasing work with government bodies including the Environment Agency, Natural England and the Risk Pooling Arrangement for Academies has enabled us to deepen our footprint in public sector claims.

insuranceOur commercial insurer clients have faced another challenging year as the soft insurance market continues with no apparent end in sight. The pressures have been increased by the significant impact and uncertainty generated by the Insurance Act 2015, which came into force on 12 August 2016.


The view from our London office

The public risk teams’ focus this year has been on promoting our specialisms drawing on, in particular, the unrivalled reputation of our social care practice and our disease and highways law expertise which has seen us working on the revised Code of Practice. This has enabled us to channel our breadth of knowledge and experience into strategic advisory and thought leadership initiatives. Our year ended with an acclaimed thought leadership campaign on the devolution of powers from central to local government, putting us at the heart of discussions with key public and private sector stakeholders and embedding us as acknowledged experts in our field.

During the year we have also added a significant amount of content on our on-line insurance portal at www.brownejacobson.com/insurance which includes a useful Insurance Act toolkit, together with a library of other resources which provide practical guidance on topical issues.

Derek BamburySenior Partner+44 (0)20 7337 [email protected]

Susan MabbottPartner, Insurance+44 (0)115 976 [email protected]

Bridget TathamPartner, Insurance+44 (0)121 237 [email protected]


They go out of their way to understand their clients’ issues to ensure that a true working partnership is developed to the mutual benefit of the parties involved.


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All our teams recognise the importance of exceptional client service (ECS) for the firm – we know that many of our peers also consider client service as a point of differentiation, which means we have to work even harder to ensure we really are delivering on our promises.

Clients now have a greater choice in terms of which law firm (or legal provider) to work with, putting an even greater emphasis on us getting our client service right. Our focus on ECS gathered pace throughout the year - from a very successful client panel session at our partner & senior manager conference in September 2015, where we were given some very open and honest feedback from our clients, to us undertaking net promoter surveys (NPS) for two groups of clients throughout the year. Our average NPS across those two groups was 73.6% which is testament to the importance all of our people put on understanding our clients’ strategic objectives, their sector and how we can make their lives easier through the advice we give.

Our ECS monthly award has been incredibly well supported again this year, with almost 100 nominations being received across the firm. Our ECS champions group met to shortlist nominations for the annual award from the monthly winners and the whole firm were given the opportunity to vote at our summer event in June 2016. We were delighted to see Dipesh Mistry , a team co-ordinator in our Business Operations team and Gemma Steele, an associate in our employment team, being awarded the Iain Patterson annual award for ECS following that vote. Huge congratulations also to Terri-Louise Murphy, who won the ‘best client service’ award at the Legal Support Awards in recognition of the outstanding video engagement service she provides to our legal teams and, more recently to and for our clients.

Our year 2015/16 | Exceptional client service page | 36

Exceptional clientservice

Delighting our clients and driving our quality agenda continues to form the bedrock of everything that the firm stands for – it is ingrained in how we do business with and for our clients.

Winning the ‘Best Client Service’ award is a proud moment personally and for our team - as marketing professionals, finding new ways to enhance client experience is second nature and we truly enjoy what we do. All our awards demonstrate that ‘exceptional client service’ isn’t just a buzz word on our website, it really is at the core of everything we do.

Terri-Louise Murphy, Online Engagement Manager, Browne Jacobson

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“We have seen some fantastic examples of ECS throughout the firm this year and it is great to see these achievements recognised externally – be that through direct feedback from satisfied clients, our excellent NPS results or the awards we have gained for client service.”

Jackie CarterHead of BD & Client Care+ 44 (0)115 908 [email protected]

Our ongoing strategic review has a heavy emphasis on our clients and we took the opportunity to gather feedback about what ECS means to over 650 of our people at our summer event. We are taking the key messages from this into more detailed workshops and client visits over the summer to gain an even better understanding of what our clients want and need from us – listening to these messages is vital if we are serious about improving how we work – both with and for our clients.

In the coming year we will be undertaking further net promoter surveys with our clients and repeating our IIC accreditation. We are also working on a more detailed key account management programme, which we are designing and refining via workshops with client partners and ultimately, with our clients.

Terri-Louise Murphy won ‘best client service’ award at the Legal Support Awards



Gemma Steele and Dipesh Mistry, the winners of our annual ECS award for exceptional client service

Quick responses from Declan, Tim, Michael Sadler and the team which make our lives easier as they understand the nature of our business.

Anna Smyth, Solicitor, Mace Group

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High quality and very responsive, with leading client service.

James Pilgrim-Morris, Head of non-marine casualty claims, Hiscox

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I was honoured to be nominated and delighted to receive the award. In terms of how I deliver ECS, I listen to my client and then I work out a solution that will help them make their job easier.

Dipesh Mistry, Team co-ordinator, Browne Jacobson

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I was thrilled to be nominated and then win the annual award, particularly when it is dedicated to Iain, a lawyer who truly embodied ECS. For me, ECS is about going above and beyond for your clients and constantly challenging expectations.

Gemma Steele, Associate, Browne Jacobson

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exceptional client service...

Entertaining clients at the regional markets barbeque - Nottingham


We have always been involved in activities which fall within this definition, but last November the decision was made to review our current CR contribution and create a more coordinated, synergistic approach to our activities so we can have an even bigger impact.

Our vision is to be recognised as a leader in the CR field, supporting our clients, our communities and our people in making a positive and profitable contribution through our business.

To help us do this we have identified three ‘pillars’:

• supporting our communities – reflecting our charitable commitments and our ability to make a difference in our local communities

• being a good global citizen – focusing on environmental sustainability and our broader social impact

• being a great place to work – making sure our people feel engaged and included in the workplace, and encouraging others to join us.

Our ambition is to weave CR into the very fabric of our culture, making it a key tenet in delivering our strategy.

In the heart of our community

At Browne Jacobson, ‘corporate responsibility’ (CR) is our commitment to operate in an ethical manner and contribute in a positive way to society and the environment, whilst maintaining a financially robust, sustainable business and allowing us to fulfil our responsibilities to our clients and our people.

Our year 2015/16 | In the heart of our community page | 40

mentoring partnershipsOur Manchester office has been working on a bespoke mentoring scheme with Manchester Metropolitan University’s Business & Law School. Many students who attend MMU come from a socio-economic background where they are the first in the family to attend university and have no connections at all with the legal profession. Following a really successful launch event in 2015, we are now mentoring 10 students, who may otherwise have considered that the profession was not open to them. The scheme is a great success and we recently presented at a breakfast meeting of Pro-Manchester on our successes and to encourage others to consider getting involved in mentoring.

“A really inspirational presentation today at the Pro-Manchester event. I know that from the comments from people at the end of the event, you have lit a fire about mentoring!”

MMU attendee


greenejacobsonFollowing last year’s completion of the Environmental Opportunity and Saving Scheme (ESOS) activity and our carbon footprint reporting (through our membership of the Legal Sustainability Alliance), we have a solid baseline against which to measure the progress of the initiatives we are implementing to reduce the carbon that we currently produce. These reviews also highlighted some areas where we need to improve the quality of the data we accrue, so our focus in the next year will be on refining our measurement processes to ensure we have consistent and accurate information, enabling us to report more effectively.

Robust policies support the delivery of any implementation of great practice. We have been busy reviewing our environmental, waste management and business travel policies to ensure they continue to be fit for purpose in a world where expectations, both from our own people and those we interact with externally, are ever more demanding.

We have been re-evaluating the recycling provisions available in each office and making adjustments where we can to increase the amount reused and recycled, reducing the amount to landfill. We have also been looking into our energy usage to find inventive ways to reduce our consumption and increase efficiencies. For example, all printer settings have been changed to reduce the amount of paper used.

All in all, it’s been a busy year, but it is only just the beginning of the constant process of planning, implementing, monitoring and reviewing. We are well on our way to creating a solid platform for the future and making Browne Jacobson’s ‘greene’ credentials ones to be proud of.

Our summer event - Belvoir Castle

Our footprint

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Total carbon emissions

1,380 tonnes C0Tonnes C0 per employee

1.70 tonnes

Largest carbon contribution

purchased electricity


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All our offices choose their own ‘Charity of the Year’ from nominations from individuals within that office. Each nomination has to have a local Browne Jacobson office link, relating to its people, its clients or its communities. Preference is given to small charities who we can partner and engage with and understand their needs so that we can really make a difference. As a result, there is a real sense of commitment within each office for its chosen charity. A great example of this is the charity which the Nottingham office supported during 2015/16 – ‘Let’s talk about William’.

The charity was set up by Emma King, one of our own people, and her husband Doug, after the devastating experience of the stillbirth of their first son, William. The aim of the charity, established in William’s honour, is to raise awareness of stillbirths and neo-natal deaths, and provide support to those families going through the tragic loss of their child.

Nottingham office raised a magnificent £14,350, making a real difference to a small but incredibly worthwhile charity. Our work culminated in a small celebration to recognise the achievement of both the fundraisers and the King family in setting up the charity.

making a difference

“ On behalf of the King family, I just wanted to say a massive thank you for your amazing support over the past 16 months. With your help things have been changed for future families. We will never be able to take away the pain but we are providing comfort to those on their darkest days, and we are so proud of our little boy for helping so many.

Emma King, Solicitor,Browne Jacobson

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And thewinner is...

Being shortlisted for and winning awards and accolades is also an important barometer of the progress we have made as a firm as it enables us to benchmark our achievements against the very best law firms in the country.

The past 12 months have demonstrated just how much the firm has accomplished in a relatively short space of time.

The year could not have got off to a better start when it was revealed that we had been ranked as a Top 50 law firm for the first time by two of the UK’s leading legal publications, The Lawyer and Legal Week. It is important to remember that we are the first firm to have entered the Top 50 UK rankings in recent years through organic growth alone, which makes this achievement all the more impressive.

This was followed by the firm being named ‘best managed national firm’ at the 14th Annual MPF Awards. The award was the culmination of three years of hard work by all our people in delivering our ‘drive for quality’ strategy, which is focussed on delivering quality in three core areas – people, sector knowledge and client service.

Our year 2015/16 | And the winner is... page | 44

Strong organic growth has helped the firm to break into the UK Top 50 and develop from a strong regional player into a truly national firm. The implementation of the firm’s strategy was structured, comprehensive and well planned and included heavy investment in the firm’s professional management team and the establishment of a Programme Management Office.

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Judges from the 14th Annual MPF Awards”

The firm’s sector strength shone through with the publication of Chambers & Partners UK and Legal 500. Chambers UK ranked the firm first or second in 17 key areas which included new or enhanced rankings for our tax, banking & finance, employment and IT sector teams in the Midlands. The firm also maintained its first tier national ranking for its Court of Protection and education sector work. The latest directory also identified 53 of the firm’s lawyers as ‘leading individuals’. Legal 500 ranked us first in 28 areas and second in a further 13 areas. Nine of the firm’s lawyers were rated ‘leading individuals’ in their field, with a further 79 lawyers ‘recommended’. We were also listed in Managing Intellectual Property’s IP Stars guide and named as one of the world’s leading trade mark experts in the latest World Trademark Review 100 rankings, in which Declan Cushley and Alex Watt were singled out for praise.

Our sector strength and commitment to exceptional client service was evident when the firm’s corporate finance team was awarded ‘legal team of the year’ at the East Midlands Dealmakers Awards 2016. The team’s role in advising PCT Healthcare on its £80m acquisition of WR Evans’ chemists was also applauded when it was awarded ‘deal of the year’.

In addition, our independent healthcare team was presented with the ‘legal advisor of the year’ award at the LaingBuisson Independent Healthcare Awards 2015 whilst Sally Swift picked up the ‘practice/operations manager of the year’ at the Eclipse Proclaim Personal Injury Awards and Terri-Louse Murphy scooped the ‘best client service’ accolade at The Legal Support Awards.


Our 2015/16 awards


© Browne Jacobson LLP 2016 – The information contained within this report is and shall remain the property of Browne Jacobson. This document may not be reproduced without the prior consent of Browne Jacobson.

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Browne Jacobson LLP Annual Review 2015/16

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Transcript of Browne Jacobson LLP Annual Review 2015/16