Square One Law, the commercial law firm based in the northeast, has moved into Yorkshire with a new presence in Leeds.
Matthew Thompson has joined Square One Law as partner to lead its new Leeds operation. Most recently the head of a property team at a national firm in the city, he will work closely with senior partner Ian Gilthorpe and managing partner Gill Hall.
Commenting on Square One Law’s expansion into Yorkshire, Gilthorpe said: “Leeds has been of interest to the firm for some time and Matthew is a class act, so I am delighted that he has joined us to support our growth strategy. We believe the government will deliver on its commitment to invest more into northern regions, which will create further opportunities.”
“Our property team already acts for clients such as Highbridge, Muse Developments, Landid, Marrico, Home Group and Persimmon, so having offices in Newcastle, Teesside and Leeds will allow us to support our clients from three key areas across the north.”
The move into Leeds marks Square One Law’s second significant expansion since it was founded in Newcastle in 2011. A second office in Tees Valley followed in 2018.
Thompson said of his appointment: “In recent years, I have aspired to be part of an entrepreneurial legal practice that differentiates itself from its competitors and holds the client and their needs at the centre of its business.”
“I have been impressed with the excellent reputation Square One Law has built up and, with our synergy of approach, we will be able to grow our offering within Yorkshire and provide clients with the bespoke service and business relationships they desire. I am looking forward to the challenge of growing a Leeds office for Square One Law as a fully integrated part of the firm.”
Hall added: “These are challenging times and now more than ever, management teams need to adapt to these new circumstances. We have a strong, committed senior leadership team, which has previously successfully managed through periods of great uncertainty.”
“Technology, supporting high levels of service delivery, has been the cornerstone of our strategy, so we are now seeing the benefit of having heavily invested in new, secure cloud-based Microsoft technologies that allow us to work in a more flexible, efficient and responsive way.”
“This has been demonstrated by our ability to react quickly to the Covid-19 crisis, remain fully operational with our whole team working remotely, maintain high levels of service to clients and also integrate Matthew and our new Leeds presence seamlessly into our business.”