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Interesting selling points

  • Walker Morris is the UK’s largest independent law firm outside of London.
  • The firm is known for its work involving banks, football clubs and commercial developers, with interesting, high profile clients such as Santander, Huddersfield Town ACF and BGF. 
  • The firm carries out a broad range of sports law work, including day-to-day advice, plus advice relating to sports employment, litigation, commercial agreements and technology (see here)
  • Chambers and Partners has awarded the firm Band 1 rankings for its Professional Negligence, Social Housing, Banking & Finance, Corporate/M&A: £25 million and above, Litigation, Planning, Real Estate and Restructuring departments.
  • Uniquely flexible training contract, with trainees undertaking six four-month seats (rather than the usual four six-month seats). 
  • Works with earlier stage fast-growth technology companies (see here) as well as larger banks and corporates. Also advises both investors and investee businesses.
  • Trainees have ample opportunities to apply for client secondment opportunities (although these are not guaranteed), including with notable businesses like Starbucks, Ugg, Foot Locker, Yorkshire Water, Capita and Drax. 

We cover these selling points in more detail below, alongside other relevant firm facts and characteristics. 

Practice areas / services

Walker Morris is a full-service commercial law firm offering the following services: 

  • Banking & finance 
  • Commercial 
  • Competition 
  • Construction & engineering 
  • Corporate 
  • Dispute resolution 
  • Employment & immigration
  • Infrastructure & energy 
  • Intellectual Property, trade marks & designs 
  • International trade
  • Pensions 
  • Planning & environment 
  • Real estate 
  • Regulatory & compliance 
  • Restructuring & insolvency 
  • Sport 
  • Tax 
  • Technology & digital 

Chambers and Partners, a leading analyst of the legal market, has awarded Walker Morris its highest ‘Band 1’ ranking for the following departments:  Professional Negligence, Social Housing, Banking & Finance, Corporate/M&A: £25 million and above, Litigation, Planning, Real Estate and Restructuring. See here for more information

Key sectors / industries

Walker Morris has a number of clients but its most high-profile operate in the following sectors:

In addition, the firm also operates in the following sectors: Energy, Waste & Infrastructure Companies, Food & Drink Companies, Manufacturing Companies, Private Equity, Residential Builders & Operators and Retail & Leisure Companies. 

Work

The firm has worked with the following clients: 

  • Huddersfield Town A.F.C: the firm advised Dean Hoyle on his acquisition of 75% of the shares in Huddersfield Town A.F.C. This transaction made Mr Hoyle the sole owner of the club. 
  • BGF: Walker Morris advised growth capital investor, BGF, on its £8.25 million investment in the Leeds-headquartered healthcare specialist, Primary Care Physio Ltd (PCP). 
  • Santander: the firm advised Santander on its partial funding of Leeds-based HubRx’s acquisition of The Pharmacy Group. HubRx is developing the UK’s first state of the art automated prescription assembly facility, purpose built for independently owned community pharmacies in Leeds. 
  • Homes England: the firm advised Home England on a planning appeal which helped the organisation to secure permission for up to 370 houses in Whitehaven.
  • Uggs: Deckers Outdoor Corporation, the owner of the iconic Uggs brand, was advised by Walker Morris in connection with its action against Paradox after Paradox allegedly attempted to import a large consignment of boots which infringed Deckers' registered design rights and trade mark rights.

Offices / global footprint / expansion

Headquarters: Leeds, 33 Wellington Street. 

Offices: The firm only has one office, its headquarters in Leeds. 

Insights, internships and other opportunities

Walker Morris offers around 50 one-week vacation placements. The placements are held in April and June. Attendees undertake a few group and written exercises during the placement, whilst spending time within a department carrying out day to day work. Also included within the placement is a firm introduction, an office tour, networking opportunities, social events, and an informal chat with the Grad Recruitment team. 

Attendees of the placement may be offered a training contract (either way, all attendees can expect individual feedback after finishing the placement). Alongside the vacation placements, the firm also holds insight days at its office, regularly attends law fairs in the North and virtually, and runs a mentoring scheme. 

Training contract

Walker Morris recruits around 38 trainees each year. Trainees begin their training contract with a week of induction training. Trainees at Walker Morris undertake six four-month seats rather than the usual four six-month seats, as the firm believes this gives trainees a good grounding. Trainees also benefit, at the start of their second year, from a tailored in-house 4-day training course covering presentation and communication skills, as well as a business simulation workshop. Throughout their training contracts, trainees benefit from partner mentors. 

Secondments

Trainees can apply for a client secondment depending on client need. Client secondments have included stints at Starbucks, Ugg, Foot Locker, Yorkshire Water, Capita and Drax. 

Technology and innovation

The firm focuses on providing insights and developments relating to the technology sector. Examples include: 

  • Factory of the Future: the firm launched a dedicated Factory of the Future microsite, which was developed to provide advice and expertise that manufacturers need to leverage the benefits of smart technology and embrace robot revolutions. 
  • #WMTechTalk: Walker Morris’ Technology & Digital Group produces content focusing on topical legal issues which its clients encounter in relation to the development, implementation and operation of technically innovative services and products. 
  • Digital adoption: The transformative power of in-house legal teams whitepaper: the Technology and Digital team at Walker Morris drafted a whitepaper inspired by comments made at the World Economic Forum. It discusses ideas regarding which technologies in-house lawyers need to know about, which technologies to prioritise, and where to start, as well as legal challenges and the firm’s top tips for a successful digital transformation. 

Corporate social responsibility

The firm likes to take ‘a hands-on approach to making a difference’, an ethos which is reflected in various pro bono initiatives including: 

  • Growing Zone Project: the Walker Morris Regulatory Team provided free legal advice to the Growing Zone, an allotment garden project based in West Yorkshire. The team drafted waivers and visitor sign in sheets for the Growing Zone, helping the project to deliver its services to the wider community. 
  • Sunshine & Smiles: Real Estate lawyers at the firm provided Sunshine & Smiles (a Leeds based charity that provides support for children and young people who have Down syndrome and their families) with free legal advice on a lease for its café development, Café 21. 
  • Emmaus Potteries: the firm provided advice to Emmaus Potteries, a charity that supports people who have experienced homelessness. The firm assisted the charity with the real estate aspects of its acquisitions of the assets of Furniture Mine, a recycling charity based in Staffordshire.  

Diversity and inclusion

Walker Morris aims to have ‘balanced representation across the firm’ and states that the ‘individuality that people bring is the lifeblood’ of the firm’s business. As such, its diversity and inclusion initiatives include: 

  • Stronger Together Leeds City Region: the firm is a member of the Stronger Together network in Leeds, which is a network of professional services firms in the Leeds City Region aimed at creating peer to peer and role model relationships to encourage more people from Black and other ethnic minority communities to join and remain in professions in the Yorkshire region. It sees a collaboration between the Big 4 accounting firms and the largest six law firms in Leeds. 
  • Horizon: Horizon is Walker Morris’ internal LGBTQ+ committee, which aims to increase the visibility of LGBTQ+ employees and raise awareness of issues affecting the community. The committee also works with the local community and has partnered with Out Together, a charity which unites LGBTQ+ generations across Yorkshire. 
  • Rare Contextual Recruitment System (CMS): since 2022, the firm has implemented the Rare Contextual Recruitment System, which allows the firm’s trained assessors to review contextual data and helps the firm to identify diverse and exceptional talent from the beginning.
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