Senior Partner: John Webber
Managing Partner: Neil Kinsella
- Partners: 51
- Assistants : 78
- Other fee-earners: 83
THE FIRM Winner of National Law Firm of the Year 2009 at The Lawyer Magazine Awards, Russell Jones & Walker is a leading national firm of solicitors with a network of offices across England and Wales, providing a wide range of legal services to institutions, trade unions, organisations and individuals.
Founded in the 1920s, Russell Jones & Walker, with its 10 offices across England,Wales and Scotland (associate office), is unafraid to specialise in areas beyond its traditional scope. Its focus is to deliver exceptional, affordable legal services for individuals, membership organisations, unions and affinity groups, in their personal, employment and business affairs. New initiatives include: becoming the first law firm to have an accredited 24-hour contact centre; creating legal helplines to help members of affinity groups; developing the unique Executive Reps service, which provides a skilled companion for clients at workplace dispute resolution meetings and launching services for clients to buy online (www.yourlegalrights.co.uk).
PRINCIPAL AREAS OF WORK
Personal Injury: The firm handles every type of compensation claim, from RTA’s to asbestos cancer cases and medical negligence. It recently had great success with two product liability group actions – the UK’s largest, ‘toxic sofas’, and allegedly faulty Maclaren buggies.
Employment: This department is widely recognised as one of the UK’s leading employment teams for claimants and has a reputation for helping to shape the employment law landscape through its work on landmark cases. Its practice is focused on empowering individuals in the workplace by protecting their rights and the rights of those who represent them.
Business Crime & Regulation: Pre-eminent in this field, the team has significant experience of investigations and prosecutions in company compliance, FSA, health and safety, corporate manslaughter, extradition, international investigations,money laundering, price fixing, fraud, cartels and confiscation. It was involved in the ground-breaking settlement with the SFO in the first use of civil recovery powers rather than criminal prosecution, heralded as a template for future corporate enforcement actions.
Professional Discipline & Regulation: The team has significant experience in advising both regulators and individual professionals on matters of regulation, professional discipline and fitness to practice across a range of industry sectors.
Criminal & Misconduct: The firm provides a nationwide service advising and representing clients facing criminal and professional misconduct investigations and proceedings. It is experienced in employment-related criminal investigations and unrivalled in its involvement in high-profile criminal investigations and proceedings.
Media, Libel & Privacy: The firm has seen a shift away from prolonged litigation and trials to resolution of good claims at an early stage and by mediation. The team remains involved in large-scale litigation and is dedicated to protecting reputations and restoring them when they are damaged.
Parliamentary & Legal Affairs: The firm specialises in devising solutions for emerging issues and developing markets, campaigning on legal matters and improving the legal knowledge of the profession and public.
Private Client & Family Law: Advance planning and careful preparations are essential to protecting wealth. Services include wills advice, wealth structuring and tax planning, trusts and trust administration, and charities and philanthropy. Dealing with all aspects of personal law, the firm’s specialist family and private client lawyers can advise on a diverse range of services for individuals and families such as divorce and separation, pre-nuptial agreements, financial disputes, children matters, civil partnerships and cohabitation matters. The team has particular experience advising individuals with high net worth assets.
Sport: The firm is regularly consulted by sports organisations on behalf of their members, including the League Managers Association and Cyclists’ Touring Club. The firm offers specialist advice on contractual disputes, disciplinary matters, sports injuries, general employment matters and discrimination issues, as well as sponsorship or other commercial disputes.
In addition, the firm offers an experienced litigation department, specialising in commercial and professional negligence cases, and a commercial property and business services department. The firm’s role as one of the major players in the public sector employment field has led it to develop a respected administrative and constitutional law practice.
Other Offices: Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Sheffield, Wakefield, Edinburgh (associated office).
Areas of PracticePersonal Injury: 59%
Employment: 18%
Crime, Fraud, Professional Discipline & Regulation: 12%
Property, Family, Commercial Litigation, General Commercial, Sport & Media: 9%
Private Client: 1%
Parliamentary & Legal Affairs: 1%