Commercial law firm Square One Law picked up not one BUT two awards at the recent Northern Law Awards.
This was the first ever Northern Law Awards, created by the organisers of the North East Accountancy Awards and designed to celebrate the great wealth of legal talent and success within the region. It was hosted by the BBC’s Colin Briggs at the Biscuit Factory in Newcastle.
The entrepreneurial firm, set up four years ago, was named Law Firm of the Year and Corporate / Commercial Team of the Year and was the only firm in the region to be shortlisted for four awards; Firm of the Year, Corporate/Commercial Team of the Year, Property Team of the Year and Lawyer of the Year – Barney Frith.
Managing partner, Alan Fletcher said of the win: “We are absolutely delighted to come away with two Northern Law Awards as it shows how far we have come. Four years ago, Ian Gilthorpe and I saw an opportunity to challenge the way legal services are delivered, but when we set up Square One Law, we had no idea it would grow so quickly and be able to attract such high quality clients and talented people to the firm.
“The main people we have to thank are our clients for trusting us with their work. We’ve been involved with some great projects in the region and nationally working with clients such as Able, Shepherd Offshore, The Vardy group, Utilitywise plc and Highbridge Properties.
“This award is for the whole Square One Law team because a main part of our differentiation is the energy we bring to projects and our service delivery. You can only do that with exceptional people.
“To be named Firm of the Year, Corporate/Commercial Team of the year and Insider Dealmakers Corporate Law Firm of the Year 2014 is a huge achievement for the firm and shows the impact we have had in such a short period of time. The marketplace has been saying we are the one to watch and last night’s success proves it!”
Corporate partner James Bryce said: “The Corporate/Commercial team has successfully completed a large number of deals this year, both large, complex transactions and smaller projects on behalf of our clients. We have one of the largest Co/Comm teams in the region that is working on some of the biggest profile deals such as the recent Utilitywise acquisition of t-mac technologies and the sale of Norchem to Lexon Pharmaceuticals. This award is fantastic recognition for the team and its hard work over the year.”
Michael Smith of Tait Walker, who presented the Corporate/Commercial Team of the Year award said: “This team is a real cornerstone of the firm. It has managed to grow substantially over the last four years and attract top lawyers thanks to its team based approach, agility and strength of client feedback.”
Jeff Dean of Ben Hoare Bell said: “The firms shortlisted for Law Firm of the Year represent the diversity of specialist skills and business models in the region. We were really impressed by this firm’s fresh and enthusiastic approach. Square One Law has shown real client focus and has built a solid platform for future growth.”
