User:Samhudd/Smith partnership

Smith Partnership is a full service law firm. It has 8 offices spread across the midlands with its head office in Derby. Other operational centres are in Burton upon Trent, Leicester, Swadlincote and Longton, Stoke on Trent.

Profile
Smith Partnership services commercial, private client, and criminal clients, with roughly a third of its turnover deriving from each.

The firm has in the region of 230 employees, with the highest concentration (approximately half) in its Derby office.

Smith Partnership was originally founded on the basis of its criminal law expertise, and has amongst its staff higher court advocates and was in 2008 admitted to the Legal Services Commission panel authorised to carry out very high cost criminal cases.

The firm diversified and now has a large presence in both commercial law and providing services to private clients. The large team of specialist commercial lawyers has a nationwide clientele and has contributed significantly to the growth of Smith Partnership in recent years.

In the Private Client field, the firm is part of the following accreditation schemes:
 * Children Panel Accreditation Scheme - Children representative
 * Family Law Accreditation Scheme Advanced member
 * Family Law Accreditation Scheme member
 * Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme member
 * Accredited mediator

The publicly funded family practice of Flint Bishop was taken on in 2008, and the family law department, as well as the other private client departments, have continued to prosper.

The largest of the commercial departments in terms of personnel are Commercial Property, and Commercial Litigation (including Debt Recovery). Company and Commercial and Employment both continue to grow.

History
Smith Partnership is the result of 26 years growth, mainly organic, but also incorporating a number of strategic mergers and acquisitions with firms in the region.

It originated as a breakaway from a longstanding law firm based in Derby with a substantial practice in criminal law. A small branch of the practice was established by Peter Smith in Burton upon Trent, and this ‘demerged’ to become Smith and Co in 1985.

In 1985 Smith and Co opened a branch office in Swadlincote, Derbyshire. Graham Dean and Stephen Chittenden joined Smith and Co in 1986, becoming equal partners and bringing with them a number of staff. The firm was renamed ‘Smith Dean and Chittenden’ and continued to practise in Burton and Swadlincote.

Also in 1986, Martin Brealey, also previously of the same firm as Graham Dean and Stephen Chittenden, set up a new firm in Derby, joined by Steven Mann. The new firm had the name Brealey Mann.

On October 1 1987, Brealey Mann and Smith Dean and Chittenden merged to become The Smith Partnership. This new venture now had 4 offices with the office in Derby, serving existing clients of Brealey Mann, the largest.

In September 1988 4 new members of staff joined from a Stoke on Trent firm to form the nucleus of the Longton branch of Smith Partnership.

In 1990, in an effort to build on the amount of instructions received from commercial clients, a new office in Derby was acquired. The new commercial office was situated in College Chambers on Uttoxeter Road. One of the firm’s founding partners, Peter Smith, now headed the Commercial operations of the firm. A period of rapid organic growth took place in subsequent year with the firm acting for a number of 'household name' clients.

Seeing the opportunity to develop the practice in another East Midlands city, Leicester firm Millhouse and Rumble merged with Smith Partnership in 1998. Millhouse and Rumble’s existing Halford Street base was retained, and added to in 2001 with the Leicester Criminal department moving to offices in Pocklington’s Walk.

In 2000, the College Chambers office and some other elements of the firm moved to new offices in Heritage Gate, Derby, originally occupying only the sixth floor. After a number of years’ growth, 2 floors of the large complex are now occupied by Smith Partnership.

In 2004, the Leicester office on Halford Street was deemed surplus to requirements, as a new office, still in the City Centre, was opened. The modern building situated on York Road now houses all the firm's non-criminal practise areas serving Leicestershire.

Growth continued fuelled by further acquisitions. Firstly, in 2007 a large proportion of a major Burton firm (Goodger Auden, who ceased to practise) was acquired. The long-established Burton firm of Drewry & Newbold was also acquired by Smith Partnership a year later in 2008. A total of 10 new personnel were brought into the firm as a result of that deal.

Practice areas
Smith Partnership has specialist lawyers in the following areas:

Commercial

 * Business Defence
 * The Care Sector
 * Commercial Property
 * Company & Commercial
 * Dispute Resolution/Litigation
 * Employment

Private Client

 * Children
 * Crime
 * Employment
 * Family
 * Medical Negligence
 * Personal Injury
 * Residential Property
 * Wills & Inheritance

Location
Smith Partnership has a total of 8 offices in the Midlands region:
 * Celtic House, Derby
 * Wardwick, Derby
 * York Road, Leicester
 * Pocklington’s Walk, Leicester
 * 45 High Street, Burton upon Trent
 * 158 High Street, Burton upon Trent
 * High Street, Swadlincote (Derbyshire)
 * The Strand, Longton, Stoke on Trent