Yearbook2011 / 2012

Twelve months ago I reported that 2010

had been a year to be proud of. Imagine

my delight that I can now confirm that

2011 saw even greater success.

We have been proud to receive

recognition, as a finalist in The Lawyer

Awards as Regional/National Law Firm

of the Year, and as the winner of the

Birmingham Law Society Law Firm of

the Year Award. The Law Society judges

commented that we showed a real

commitment to people – both internal

staff and external clients. That underpins

our future plans as we welcome 2012

with great optimism.

However, our success does not just

happen without careful nurturing.

Over the last few years, the partners

have prudently managed the business

to where we are now – a busy law firm

across a balanced range of departments,

operating from some of the very best

offices in the Midlands.

The uncertainty caused by the recession

has created opportunity for growth

and practice diversification and we

have taken advantage of that. We have

attracted 26 new lawyers and support

staff to join our team during the last

12 months. Higgs & Sons continues to

perform strongly and is well positioned

to meet the challenges and exploit the

opportunities ahead.

We recognise and fully appreciate

your contribution to our success and

we value the relationships we have with

you as clients, professional advisers

and service providers.

Thank you.

Ian Shovlin

Senior Partner

A year of success

“ ...a commitment to excellence and a strong focus on people, both internal staff and external clients.”Birmingham Law Society judges

Rory Daly, CPBigwood

“ Higgs provides a consistent service and excellent client care.”

Our corporate team built on

its reputation in 2011 when

it advised on the merger of

two of the region’s leading

property consultants,

Bigwood and Curry & Partners.

The merger created the

largest independent property

practice in Birmingham and

brought together Bigwood,

with its 160-year heritage,

and Curry & Partners, a

respected firm of chartered

surveyors and property

management consultants.

The merged business, known

as CPBigwood, created an

£8 million turnover firm with

125 staff and more than

£2.5 billion worth of property

under its management.

It has joint managing directors,

Rory Daly and Nigel Curry.

Our Corporate Partner

Susheel Gupta led the legal

team advising CPBigwood.

Susheel, who is a merger

and structuring specialist,

said of the deal: “Having

worked closely with Rory

and Nigel during the merger

it is clear CPBigwood

brings together two strong

management teams who

can provide the full spectrum

of property services to

their growing client base.”

Rory Daly said: “Susheel and

other members of the Higgs

team supported us over

a number of months,

providing consistent service

and excellent client care.”

Corporate team advises leading property consultants on merger

Nigel Curry, Susheel Gupta

and Rory Daly

In 2011 we were delighted

to announce a two-year

partnership with Aston

Business School to carry

out an ERDF funded

research project.

The Knowledge Transfer

Partnership will see our two

organisations join together

to research organisational

change in the context of

culture and operations.

Krishna Balthu, KTP

Associate, has been

embedded within our firm

to carry out the research.

Speaking of the partnership,

Finance Director Glyn

Morris, said: “The project will

include a review of business

processes, pricing strategy,

resourcing models and client

communication. Through

the partnership, it is hoped

that Higgs will become a role

model for the adoption of

modern operational practices

in the legal services sector.”

Learning through partnership

Glyn Morris, Finance Director

“ The project will form a platform for Higgs’ objective to offer enhanced value-adding services to clients.”

Glyn Morris,

Ben Clegg,

Carmel de Nahlik

and Krishna Balthu

Driving Innovation

Our residential property

team was kept busy during

the year both with new and

existing clients.

One long-standing client

is Phil Avey, the owner of

property company Avey &

Son. Phil approached Higgs

back in 2009 to provide legal

services for a development

of six derelict barns on

Stourbridge Road, Himley,

on which he was working in

conjunction with P Mobberley

Carpenters Limited.

Construction concluded

in 2011, when the last plot

was sold.

Speaking of the completion,

Associate Gurvinder Kehel

said: “We have worked

with Phil over many years,

handling legal work, from

the preparation of plans to

the sale of plots, wayleave

approvals in the local area

and work with utilities.

“Such was the success

of this project that we are

now working with both parties

on their next schemes.

For Phil Mobberley, we are

acting for the business in

a 13 barn development in

Kinver and for Phil Avey

we are supporting his new

project in Quarry Park Road.”

Phil Avey believes a long-

term relationship with Higgs

helps make his life simpler.

“Gurvinder is excellent to

work with, and has supported

us over many years.”

Higgs builds firm foundations with long-standing client

Phil Avey, Avey & Son

“ I work with other specialists in the firm and value the complete service on offer.”

Gurvinder Kehel and Phil Avey

A saga that stretches back

some 15 years has been

concluded successfully

by Higgs’ dispute resolution

specialists.

Property Litigation Partner

Nyree Applegarth, who

specialises in land and

property disputes, has

worked with Martin Vickers

of Halfpenny Green Vineyard

in South Staffordshire for the

last two years, to resolve

his case.

“This was a complex matter,

that involved an unlawful

charge that dated back

13 years when Mr Vickers

approached us,”

explained Nyree.

“We took on Mr Vickers’ case

and won it following a trial

in the High Court in 2010.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the

end of the matter and the

beaten party then took the

case to the Court of Appeal.

I’m delighted to say that,

once again, we won the case

for Mr Vickers although in one

final twist, the unsuccessful

party then applied for

permission to appeal to the

Supreme Court. We have

now finally had confirmation

that permission to appeal

further has been refused.”

Mr Vickers is delighted with

the outcome: “This case

has stretched on for a huge

amount of time and I cannot

tell you the stress it has

caused. I’m just relieved

that it’s now over.”

Vineyard owner raises a glass to Higgs

Martin Vickers, Halfpenny Green Vineyard

“ Nyree and her team have supported me at every stage.”

Nyree Applegarth and Martin Vickers

Douglas Houghton

and Gavin Faber

Sarah Martin

and Philip Barnsley

Sarah Cowen

and Tim Jones

Ian Shovlin

and Steven Santy

James Lowe, Catherine Junor

and David Hetherington

Richard Honick

and Peter Coleman

or prosecuted by local

authorities and government

regulatory agencies.

We expanded many of our

other specialist teams across

the firm. We welcomed Sarah

Cowen into our employment

team, Richard Honick into

commercial property, Steven

Santy into personal injury,

Sarah Martin into family

and Douglas Houghton

into dispute resolution.

The Higgs team continued

to grow in strength and depth

in 2011, as we responded to

the increasing and changing

needs of our clients.

As part of our commitment

to offer the widest and most

relevant range of services,

we introduced a new

regulatory law team in 2011.

David Hetherington and

James Lowe have brought

to us extensive national

expertise, with both having

experience of defending

companies, directors and

individuals investigated

New recruits add further skills to the Higgs team

Timothy Swallow, Rachel

Seaton, Harry Rasmussen,

James Osborne, Veronika

Ulicna and Adam Maguire

all joined Higgs in 2011 as

part of our trainee solicitor

programme.

It was our biggest graduate

intake ever. Managing Partner

Paul Hunt explained:

“As we continue to expand

the firm, we need to ensure

we are recruiting the very

best talent for the future.

“We have a proud history

of our trainees remaining with

the firm for their entire career

and indeed, I trained with the

firm myself. These graduates

represent the future of Higgs

and on behalf of everyone

at the firm, we’re delighted

to welcome them on board.”

Investing in the future

Paul Hunt, Managing Partner

“ Trainee solicitors offer the firm a fresh perspective and are a valuable asset to the teams in which they work.”

Timothy Swallow,

James Osborne,

Rachel Seaton,

Veronika Ulicna,

Adam Maguire

and Harry Rasmussen

Working in partnership with our clients

“We were particularly pleased

to successfully negotiate

a substantial settlement for

Mr Chatten-Smith.”

The firm brought together

experts from across the firm

to provide a complete

package of support.

Mr Chatten-Smith was also

advised by our private client

team, who set up a special

needs trust and prepared

a will to protect his financial

position, while our residential

property team assisted

his move to more suitable

accommodation.

Speaking of his case,

Mr Chatten-Smith said:

“It was a very emotional and

devastating time for me and

my whole family, but from

the first phone call to the final

outcome, Clare and the team

have been really supportive

and easy to deal with.”

Our dedicated clinical

negligence and personal

injury team is recognised by

The Law Society’s Clinical

Negligence Panel, the

Association of Personal Injury

Lawyers and also holds a

managerial role in the Motor

Accident Solicitors Society.

This year the team

successfully represented

David Chatten-Smith

who suffered permanent

and severe neurological

symptoms including total

blindness following a delayed

diagnosis of pneumococcal

meningitis.

Partner Clare Langford,

who led the case, explained:

“We are committed to early

rehabilitation as well as

maximum compensation for

our clients. In this case, liability

was strongly disputed all

through a High Court action. David Chatten-Smith

“ I’m really glad that I found Higgs & Sons, because with their help, my family has a very secure and bright future.”

Faye Chatten-Smith,

David Chatten-Smith

and Clare Langford

The move to our new building

in Waterfront Business

Park has allowed us more

opportunities to open our

doors to clients and contacts

to share our expertise

with them.

Seminars during 2011

included employment

and HR service updates,

wealth protection advice

delivered by our family

and private client teams,

and tenancy seminars from

our property litigation team.

We also launched a series

of accredited seminars

for fellow lawyers and other

professionals, led by our

commercial and dispute

resolution teams.

In 2012 this work will

continue with another full

and varied programme.

Future seminars include

how to deal with a health

and safety incident and

an educational event aimed

at surveyors, property owners

and developers and housing

associations.

Alongside our in-house

legal events we will also be

continuing our networking

lunches, led by Julia Lowe,

aimed at bringing together

professionals involved in

litigation in a social context

with the opportunity to

enhance contacts and

share experiences.

Sharing our knowledge

Philip Barnsley, Partner and Head of Family

“ Our aim is to use our facilities and knowledge to educate clients and fellow professionals within the region and beyond.”

Philip Barnsley

Tim Jones Julia Lowe

Peter Gosling

Supporting charity

Footballer Steve Bull also

joined us in helping to raise

thousands for LFBC.

LFBC’s co-founder

and Chairwoman,

Veronica Kumeta, said:

“For a cause that touches

so many people, the money

raised by Higgs is a huge

boost towards funding for

much needed equipment.”

Speaking of the firm’s

achievements, Ian Shovlin

said: “Every year our clients,

fellow professionals and

suppliers join forces with

us to support good causes.

We were delighted to raise

more money this year than

ever before – a wonderful

achievement in the current

economic climate.”

In 2011 we raised over

£10,000 for our charity of the

year, Ladies Fighting Breast

Cancer (LFBC).

LFBC is a Midlands-based

charity that raises funds to

provide equipment to aid

diagnosis. Run by a group

of volunteers, numerous

fundraising events are held

throughout the year.

In the summer we brought

together 200 contacts

from across the region to

play in our annual football

tournament. The event

saw 24 teams of local

professionals and clients

play 67 games of six-a-side

football.

Later in the year, the finest

brains in the Midlands

joined us for our quiz night.

“ It’s great to see how a local organisation can galvanise its employees and stakeholders to raise money for charity.”Veronica Kumeta, Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer

Veronika Ulicna,

Steve Bull and Clare Smith

Our corporate specialists

scaled mountains in 2011

to assist the management

team of Equip Outdoor

Technologies, which designs

and supplies the world-

renowned Rab range of

mountaineering clothing,

with its acquisition of

Lowe Alpine, an outdoor

clothing and rucksack brand.

Rab’s product range includes

technical, waterproof and

down clothing as well as

sleeping bags for extreme

environments.

Higgs’ Partner John Heaton

led the team that supported

Equip.

“This was a £20 million

transaction involving

investment by Matrix Private

Equity Partners and funding

by Santander. Our role was

to guide the management

team through a very

challenging process, provide

real support and to be more

than just legal advisers.”

Ryan Bennett, the group’s

Financial Director, said

“Higgs pulled out all the stops

for our management team.

John helped us through

a pivotal, and what could

have been a very stressful,

process.”

An outdoor adventure

Ryan Bennett, Equip Outdoor Technologies

“ John was part of our team and saw us through to a successful conclusion.”

John Heaton and Ryan Bennett

0845 111 5050 www.higgsandsons.co.uk