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Lancashire Times
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8:35 AM 26th November 2020
business

Hall Brown Continues Forward Momentum With "Statement" Appointment

 
(l-r)Sam Hall, Senior Partner and co-founder, Hall Brown; Alison Fernandes, Head of Hall Brown Sheffield; Martin Loxley; and James Brown, co-founder and Managing Partner, Hall Brown.
(l-r)Sam Hall, Senior Partner and co-founder, Hall Brown; Alison Fernandes, Head of Hall Brown Sheffield; Martin Loxley; and James Brown, co-founder and Managing Partner, Hall Brown.
Hall Brown Family Law has recruited Martin Loxley as a consultant to continue the rapid growth of its Sheffield office.

A renowned legal commentator, lecturer and family law arbitrator, Mr Loxley joins after three decades in charge of the family department at Irwin Mitchell.

During that time, it was transformed in terms of size and reputation from a Sheffield-based practice into one of the largest such teams in the UK.

Senior Partner and co-founder Sam Hall said that Mr Loxley's arrival was further evidence of Hall Brown's ability to attract family lawyers of the very highest calibre.

"It's no exaggeration to say that Martin has been widely acknowledged for some time as one of the most accomplished and influential family lawyers in England and Wales.

"To secure the services of someone like him is testament to the progress which we have made to date as well as a statement of our ambition to take the firm much further.

"It should also provide great reassurance to our clients that we can provide the kind of experience and knowledge able to assist them no matter what challenges they face.

"We are particularly delighted to have Martin in Sheffield, his home city and an area in which he has already built such a substantial reputation.

"In only a few months, our decision to open in South Yorkshire has been thoroughly vindicated. The fact that Martin and Alison Fernandes, who heads our Sheffield office, know each other well and have worked together so effectively in the past bodes well for the future too."

Prior to moving to Hall Brown's premises at The Balance development on Leopold Square in the city in April, Ms Fernandes had spent a total of 15 years working in the Irwin Mitchell family team led by Mr Loxley.

It became the firm's newest base, adding to headquarters at the Grade II-listed Ship Canal House in Manchester and a London office at Lincoln's Inn Fields.

Mr Hall explained that performance in Sheffield so far had greatly exceeded expectations.

An expansion in caseload has been matched by an increase in staff numbers with a brace of appointments - that of Zoe Barker as office manager and Edward Davison as a Paralegal - coming in September.

However, it's the recruitment of Mr Loxley which promises to raise eyebrows and expectations.

During his time with Irwin Mitchell, he specialised in resolving complex financial divorce disputes nationwide on behalf of high-profile entrepreneurs, sportsmen and women, academics and members of the judiciary.

He joins a buoyant Hall Brown which, in recent months, has cemented its place among the country's most in-demand family law practices.

Having seen turnover top £4.3 million during the last financial year - an increase of £800,000 on the previous 12 months - it has retained its top ranking in two of the most prestigious legal industry rankings.

It was dubbed "simply the best in the North West" by Legal 500 and saw four of its lawyers - Mr Hall and his co-founder James Brown and partners Beth Wilkins and Andrew Newbury - named as Leading Individuals, more than any other firm in the region.

In addition to being named as a Band 1 firm by the Chambers and Partners' guide, Hall Brown also saw a number of its team, including Ms Fernandes, singled out for praise as Band 1 family lawyers in their own right.