As the legal sector continues to suffer at the hands of the recession, one law firm is offering an alternative to the widespread gloom.

Deborah Johnson finds out how Sintons is weathering the storm and is wellplaced for the eventual upturn.

IN the midst of a recession which has stunted growth, thwarted expansion plans and forced the cutback of thousands of firms in numerous industries, the legal sector has certainly been no exception.

Almost all law firms, both nationally and in the North-East, have been hit hard by the downturn, particularly in commercial property and construction.

But while times continue to be challenging, Sintons has been something of a contrast to the general doom and gloom seen in the sector.

With a turnover of £9m last year, and the recruitment of four staff to its team, the firm has positioned itself well for the upturn.

As a firm born and bred in Newcastle, where it has been based since its inception in 1896, it is fiercely proud of its North-East heritage. Its home is the distictive glass-fronted building The Cube, opposite St James’ Park, probably one of the most recognisable and stunning buildings occupied by a law firm in the region.

But interestingly, although Sintons is one of the leading firms of its kind, it has refrained from following the example of many of its rivals by opening a second office, either elsewhere in the region or beyond.

Christopher Welch, partner and joint head of the company and commercial department at Sintons, stresses that this has been no barrier to its success. On inspection of its client-base and recent transactions, there can be no doubt about that – along with major clients in and around its hometown city, the firm has a strong presence on Teesside, works in London, and extensively in Yorkshire, Cumbria and Manchester, and has become the UK’s only member of the esteemed International Jurists global legal network.

“The history of the firm and what we have achieved has shown that working from one office has been no barrier to what we do and quite often a real benefit. We are a tight knit, very partner-led firm. We believe in a high level of contact and forming long-term relationships with clients. The partners here are very hands-on and deeply involved in client work, and we think that is a big differential between us and other firms. We believe that is what clients value about Sintons,” he said.

“While you can of course never say never, by expanding and looking at opening other offices, and then having people in multiple locations, there is the risk of not retaining that personal touch. There is always the chance of diluting the ethos that Sintons is known for, and that is not something we would ever want to do.”

The scale and complexity of deals Sintons works on reinforces its standing as one of the leading commercial law firms in the region.

Among the major transactions the firm’s 35-strong commercial group has recently advised on are two property deals for the Church Commissioners – one worth £18m in St Albans, in Hertfordshire, and another valued at £65m for its headquarters on London’s Milbank, which was sold to the House of Lords.

The completion of two major deals within three days, with a combined value of more than £50m, including the sale of Heighley Gate garden centre to Wyevale Group, highlights the size and complexity of deals the commercial group is capable of handling. Charles Penn, marketing manager at Sintons, said that the firm is proud of its record, which is something on which it is keen to build.

“We are an ambitious firm and a confident firm, which stems from our depth, width and breadth of experience,” he said.

“We serve a wide range of businesses from start-ups to plc’s, from individuals to the public sector. Our relationships are often built up over a number of years, and even over generations. We are proud of our approach, and of the expertise we have here.”

Indeed, the firm is already building on the success it has achieved so far, by bolstering its team even despite the downturn.

Despite the tough times, Sintons has taken on four key people to add to its already well-recognised expertise – Keith Land as a specialist employment law partner; banking and insolvency expert Matt Collen as a partner in the corporate finance team; construction specialist Jamie Corcoran; and commercial property lawyer Alok Loomba.

Strengthening a commercial property department – probably one of the worst-hit areas in the recession – is unusual in itself at present, but Sintons insists that its lawyers, across all disciplines remain very busy.

As well as its headline sectors of commercial, personal injury and private client specialisms, the firm also has three specialist sector groups in healthcare, leisure and energy and waste, which Sintons believes is key to its strength and depth. It believes its structure brings focus, knowledge and market awareness, and bringing together the expertise within the firm into dedicated groups has helped its growth and gain of a bigger share in the legal market.

The expertise, recognised nationally, at Sintons is undoubted.

In healthcare, commercial lawyer Amanda Maskery has become established as one of the leading dental specialists both regionally and nationally – she is the only North-East lawyer in the Association of Specialist Providers to Dentists. In the area of leisure services, joint heads of licensing Lucy Winskell and Sarah Smith have achieved a similar feat of amassing a regional and nationwide reputation. In energy and waste, the firm represents a significant portfolio of environmental clients, with commercial property lawyers Paul Liddle – who oversaw the Church Commissioners deals – and construction specialist Mr Corcoran – who began his career in the construction sector as a fully qualified surveyor, and is set to become one of only a few lawyers who hold membership of the Chartered Institute of Building – being two of the key figures. Mr Corcoran’s construction expertise is an area on which Sintons is keen to expand on.

Mr Penn said: “We have a strong set up here. As clients continue to be more demanding of their legal advisors and the additional value they create for their businesses, our core values and approach seem to be appreciated and viewed as being rather different. Despite the challenging times, we remain confident in going forward.”

While the past few months for the legal sector have been traumatic, when that economic resurgence does eventually come, given the confidence, the professionalism, and most importantly the expertise and strong financial performance, there can be few firms better prepared to take advantage of the opportunities than Sintons.