Schofield Sweeney and Mills & Reeve celebrate 20-year and 10-year anniversaries

Two Leeds firms are celebrating significant milestones this year, with Schofield Sweeney commemorating its 20th anniversary and Mills & Reeve marking a decade since it set up in the city.

Schofield Sweeney launched in 1998 under the leadership of Chris Schofield and Martin Sweeney in Bradford. The firm now has more than 160 members of staff across its offices in Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield.

The firm has enjoyed consistent and profitable growth since it was established and now has revenues of approximately £11 million. The first quarter of 2018 saw strong levels of business, with the firm’s corporate team seeing an increase of 60% in deal activity

Schofield said of the event: “Our 20th anniversary is a milestone for me and the firm. Over the last 20 years, I think that we have kept our focus on providing Yorkshire SMEs and their managers with a specialist, modern, high quality service at an appropriate price.”

“We have always tried to get to know our clients and we invest time in them. This is a core value of our business. I’m very proud that our clients keep coming back to us and that we are regarded as trusted advisers who can add value.”

The Leeds office of Mills & Reeve opened in 2008, making this year its 10th in the city. It is predicting another stellar 12 months of growth after seeing fee income increase by 50% in 2017.

The Leeds team was formed when family lawyers Philip Way and David Salter left Addleshaw Goddard to join Mills & Reeve.

From its beginnings as a family law team, it has grown into a full-service office following several high-profile partner hires, including Neil Howes (insurance), Julia Rangecroft and Andrew Playle (private client), Simon Sherwood (real estate), Paul Johnson (corporate), Stuart Craig (employment), Mark Pearce (intellectual property), Simon Pedley (commercial disputes), and Martin Priestley (education).

The Leeds office, which now has 10 partners, has picked up a number of awards along the way, including Private Client Team of the Year 2017 and Commercial Property Team of the Year 2014 at the Yorkshire Legal Awards.

Philip Way, head of the Leeds office at Mills & Reeve, said: “It has been a tremendous 10 years and we have seen great changes both at the office and in the city. We opened in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis, however, that did not dampen our ambitions. On the contrary we set about building a full-service offering and are delighted to have achieved our goals.”

“The last couple of years have been transformational and our investment in lateral hires, all of whom have a wealth of expertise and experience in their sectors, is bearing fruit. We have won many high-profile clients across both the commercial and private client teams.”

“However, we do not intend to rest on our laurels. We are ploughing ahead with our ambitious expansion plans and look forward to announcing further appointments and another stellar performance in terms of fee income in the coming months.”