Manchester-based law firm, Slater Heelis, is in line for a Law Firm of the Year trophy having made the shortlist of the Modern Law Awards 2023.
Facing tough competition from nine other firms in the hotly-contested category, Slater Heelis hopes that a number of recent successes will stand it in good stead.
Marking its 250th anniversary this year, the practice recently achieved its largest ever workforce, with a year-on-year rise in the number of fee-earning solicitors taking its employee base over the 200 mark.
Having been recognised with listings in the Legal 500 and Chambers UK rankings, it is also predicting a 13 per cent rise in turnover for the 2022/23 financial year.
To coincide with the anniversary, the firm has moved to a shared ownership model in the form of a Share Incentive Plan and also launched the Slater Heelis Academy, an initiative offering access to more than 100 training and development programmes.
Beyond this, having become the first law firm in the UK to become accredited as an official partner of the LGBT Foundation it has appointed 10 LGBT champions within the business. Additionally, Slater Heelis continues to support the communities within which it operates through a number of initiatives with HOME, the Greater Manchester Youth Network, local foodbanks, and regeneration projects.
Chris Bishop, managing partner at Slater Heelis, said: “We’ve had a tremendous 12 months and that is solely down to the performance, resilience and collective success of our people.
“Slater Heelis wouldn’t be anything without our workforce and, regardless of the result on the night, I’d like to dedicate this award recognition to them.
“Marking a 250th anniversary is no mean feat and something we are incredibly proud of, so to win this trophy in our milestone year would be the icing on the cake.”
Organised by Access Legal and in its ninth year, the ambition of the Modern Law Awards is to identify and celebrate the very greatest talent and success stories in the UK legal sector.
With a total of 17 categories, winners will be announced on Thursday 2nd March 2023 at the Hurlingham Club in London.
