Switalskis Solicitors acquires leading Clinical Negligence, Brain and Serious Injury teams.
Switalskis Solicitors has further strengthened its position in the complex injury claims sector after acquiring the Clinical Negligence, Brain and Serious Injury team from Yorkshire-based firm, HLW Keeble Hawson. From Monday 21 November, Mark Hollinghurst and Janet Baker will join the firm as Directors, bringing with them an experienced team of 20 lawyers and support staff. Both Directors are recommended by the Legal 500 as leading lawyers and are highly respected for handling complex cases involving serious and life-changing injuries.
Mark will lead the Brain and Serious Injury team in Doncaster, whilst Janet heads the Sheffield-based Clinical Negligence team. Switalskis’ reputation for its clinical negligence expertise has flourished under the leadership of Director, Suzanne Munroe, who joined from Irwin Mitchell Solicitors in 2013. Based in Huddersfield, Suzanne has been shortlisted for Claimant Personal Injury Lawyer at this years’ national Personal Injury Awards to be announced later this month and her team also won in the category of ‘Dispute Resolution’ at the 2016 Yorkshire Legal Awards in October.
The merging of the two teams enhances the scope of serious injury services offered by Switalskis Solicitors. Combined with the national expertise provided by the firms’ Child Abuse compensation team, this deal consolidates the firms’ regional and national reputation for handling complex injury cases.
Managing Director, John Durkan has steered the firm through considerable change saying: “This latest deal follows a string of practice acquisitions over the past 4 years which will see the firm double its turnover to £15m. The rapid growth of our private client and claimant practise has also meant we’ve dramatically reduced our reliance on Legal Aid as an income stream from 75% to 25% of the firm turnover across the same period, whilst at the same maintaining our reputation and brand for providing quality legal services to individuals.”
The firm now has 259 staff and 21 Directors working out of 13 locations across Yorkshire giving them the broadest geographical high-street presence of any other law firm in the county. Those who assisted on the deal include: Yorkshire Bank – Jason Bentley; Due diligence WIP specialists – Zebra headed by Zoe Holland; and Schofield Sweeney Solicitors - Karen Crutchley.
