2016 has been a busy year at Farleys and what a year it has been! From fundraisers to awards, promotions to acquisitions, we’ve almost struggled to keep up with all of the latest news. In case you missed any, here is a rundown of the big Farleys news of 2016.
The biggest news of all this year came in July when we announced that Farleys had bought new premises in Preston with plans to move a number of departments to the listed property. As we speak, the finishing touches are being made and some of our solicitors have begun to settle in. Watch this space for the grand opening!
In summer Farleys launched two new legal packages aimed at providing a concise and affordable service for business start-ups and to provide dedicated HR & employment advice.
The year has seen a couple of promotions within the firm with Tom O’Neill being made Equity Partner in April, Kelly Darlington becoming Associate Partner and Head of Inquests and Damien Pickup also becoming an Associate Partner. As the firm has strengthened so have its teams, with Neil Howard recently joining the crime team and Jonathan Pollard taking up his new role in our family team.
Rachel Harrison, commercial litigation solicitor, was shortlisted for Lancashire Business View’s Young ‘Uns award while Farleys’ partner, Debbie King was shortlisted for Legal Advisor of the Year for the second year running. Earlier this year the firm was also shortlisted for the Red Rose Awards Legal Business of the Year and in subsequently winning the award became the only legal firm to win it twice.
Farleys were once again awarded a crime contract from the Legal Aid Agency, adding us to the rota for crime work and work on duty from April 2017 in both the Preston and Manchester area. We also secured our Lexcel accreditation for the fifth year running, giving assurance to clients that the practice meets high client care and business management standards.
The Legal 500 rankings were released seeing improvements and recognition for our Personal Injury, Family, Corporate and Commercial teams. Specific individuals mentioned were Paul Schofield, Jonathan Taylor, Sian Hall, Jonathan Bridge, Des Draper, Nick Molyneux, Kieran O’Connor and Antonia Love. Rankings were also released for the Chambers and Partners guide for 2017. Our Personal Injury department and Financial Crime department received excellent rankings and Jonathan Bridge, Paul Schofield and Antonia Love also received individual rankings.
Although it has been a busy year for us we’ve still had chance to fundraise for charity. As always we hosted our annual St Patrick’s Day event in aid of Cash for Kids and raised an amazing £3,250. Team Farleys took to the catwalk once again as we hosted our fourth annual fashion show at Sunday Best in Rawtenstall which raised more than £1,600 for Rosemere Cancer Foundation.
Farleys’ managing partner, Ian Liddle, commented,
“2016 has been an exciting year for the firm and we are rightly proud of all that our team have achieved. We will continue to do our best for our clients and to make Farleys a practice that our clients can be proud to be associated with. Without our clients we have nothing – a huge thank you to all of you for your support and loyalty. Let’s raise a glass for a healthy and peaceful 2017!”
Now we’re reaching the end of 2016, Farleys Solicitors would like to extend best wishes to our clients and contacts for a prosperous new year and many thanks for your support over the past year. Our offices will now be closed until Tuesday 3rd January, but if you need to get in touch with us in the meantime please complete our online enquiry form.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!