Allan Wright

Tees Solicitors is an agile and responsive legal practice with a strong East Anglian presence. It has offices surrounding Stansted airport and in Cambridge, and also provides advice to London-based clients. It attracts and develops talented people and offers a client-centric, service-led range of legal services. It has strongly weathered the recession both financially and culturally, and is well set for the next stage in its development being lead by its first CEO, Paul Stothard, formerly of Shoosmiths, who brings extensive experience and a track record of effective growth to ensure the business builds on its success to date.

The firm: Based on responsiveness to client needs Tees Solicitors has a reputation for excellence, and a commitment to providing the highest service levels in all aspects of its operation. It is approachable, continuing to attract many new clients by its friendly and client-focused attitude. Investment in advanced technology and innovative management place it at the forefront of modern legal practice. Training and development at all levels is an important feature of the firm and it recruits experienced specialists with proven track records. It is viewed as a centre for training excellence with up to eight high-quality graduates in development at any one time. Growth has been driven by strategic mergers and it continues to search for suitable opportunities. Geographically, Tees Solicitors benefits from accessible locations close to Stansted Airport and in Cambridge with fast connections to the M25, the Midlands and East Anglia. As a full-service practice, Tees Solicitors offers cross-disciplinary support to clients in all categories, from private individuals and independent businesses, through to professional partnerships and national corporations and institutions. Post-recession has seen a committed group of people across the firm, supported by strong partner cohesion, achieve a year of consolidation in its core business, especially private client work with an annual turnover approaching £11m.

Types of work undertaken: The firm is renowned for its specialist private client team, working in conjunction with the financial advice and asset management division Tee Financial plc (under separate authorisation and regulation by the FSA). They provide overall private client advice within wealth management, tax planning, inheritance and trust services. The firm provides the whole range of complementary private client services to individuals with high-quality advice in family, litigation, property, ‘Streamline’ conveyancing and regulatory areas.

The family department is gaining increasing recognition in its spread and excellence of work, specialising in high-value claims, including those involving foreign property and cross-border or cross-jurisdictional issues.

The firm has an excellent reputation in its work for farmers in all aspects of agricultural law, providing advice on structuring farm enterprises for inheritance tax and capital gains purposes, Supporting Essex, Hertfordshire and Suffolk it is one of just 16 legal practices upon the national NFU panel. The firm continues to act for farming and land-owning clients in contracting the acquisition and sale of farmland for development. The firm’s real estate work in the region is driven by proactive government policy for the creation of new housing in the eastern counties and M11 corridor, allied with the continuing expansion of Stansted Airport.

The commercial team has expanded, and deals with business sales and acquisitions and structured shareholder agreements. The growth in Cambridge is a key step in the continuing development of the firm’s commercial division. Cambridge is also home to one of the foremost groups of clinical negligence solicitors in the region, with a team of three experts specialising in brain injury, cancer, psychiatric injury, obstetric and gynaecology cases. Tee France is a specialist division of the firm that includes two qualified French avocats, and is dedicated to helping and guiding clients through the complexities of French property purchase and supporting them in a range of French law services.

In litigation the firm also specialises in tailored claims solutions, within liability and commercial claims. The firm has a strong and solution- producing commercial litigation team.

Tees Solicitors is a trading name of Stanley Tee LLP