– Express Solicitors finds itself ranking among the elite law firms in the UK
– The Manchester law firms counter-flows and breaks into the top 100
It’s official: the 2022 Lawyer Top 200 UK Law Firms ranking list has been officially announced and the Manchester based Express Solicitors, which has met significant growth, secured its ranking in the top 100 for the first time in their 22-year history.
Remarkably jumping up the ranks, Express Solicitors was placed at number 93 – a whole 13 point increase from 2021.
Though the Manchester based Express Solicitors have consistently developed and grown over the years, it was in 2017 that they truly met their success boom, with the firm’s turnover increasing from £17.7M in 2017 to £42M in 2022 – a rise of over 130% in 5 years.
Despite rapid growth, the firm shows no sign of stopping and has recruited 241 employees in the past 12 months alone, with 7 at Partner level.
Keen to keep the momentum going, Express Solicitors promoted over 10% of its workforce as of September 2022. Its ambition to become the UK’s largest provider of training contracts is well underway, with 62 trainees currently working within the firm and 45 new training contracts recently being awarded last year.
Express Solicitors stands out amongst the other law firms in the Top 100 ranking as one of only a few firms specialising in personal injury claims.
Where large sections of the legal sector are struggling with pressure on costs, reductions in fees, and an over-reliance on traditional marketing methods, Express Solicitors are bucking the trend and showing that it is possible to build a thriving, fast growing personal injury law firm.
Express Solicitors has made a series of acquisitions, including McKay Solicitors, Manchester based Lavin Copitch, and the caseload of Ashfields Solicitors in a pre-pack deal. The firm is working on further significant acquisition opportunities.
The data released by The Lawyer paints a rosy picture of profitability for the two Equity Partners, Mr Maxey and Mr Slade. However the success enjoyed by Express Solicitors is boosted in no small part by the commitment to re-investing the profits into the sustained growth of the firm rather than taking cash out of the business as drawings.
James Maxey, Managing Partner said:
‘Breaking the top 100 UK law firm rankings has been a long-held ambition of ours here at Express. This could have not been achieved without our dedicated staff, from the new client team to our fantastic lawyers putting in the hard work, day after day.’
Daniel Slade, Senior Partner said:
‘Since joining the firm in its infancy back in 2003, Express Solicitors has gone from strength to strength. We have benefitted from developing departments of specialist lawyers working with the best medical experts and barristers available so that we are recognised for the highest quality of service to our clients. We are pleased to have built a solid reputation within the personal injury industry.’
Express Solicitors first entered the Top 200 rankings in 2013, steadily working its way up to 106th position in 2021. James Maxey has previously been quoted stating that his philosophy of embracing change and moving with the times has allowed him to keep driving growth.
‘We are constantly evaluating opportunities for growing the business, whether that’s through purchasing smaller PI firms who are struggling to adapt to the changing legal landscape, or just looking to exit and sell their WIP.’ Said Maxey.
‘We’ve also understood the importance of building our own brand and invested significantly in digital marketing in order that we can generate cost-effective work over the long term.’
