Ex-Parabis lawyers find new home with Horwich Farrelly

Horwich Farrelly has bolstered its headcount with the recruitment of seven partners and 36 other lawyers and support staff from the now defunct Parabis Group.

One of the first alternative business structures, Parabis was broken up in a pre-packaged fire sale, with much of the group's defendant firm businesses being transferred to its founders.

Administrator Peter Saville of AlixPartners Services UK LLP confirmed yesterday that the administration preserving over 2,000 jobs in more than 20 separate office locations across the UK.

Over 40 ex-Parabis staff have now found a new home with Horwich Farrelly, increasing its personnel count to 660 and strengthening the firm's geographical reach, both in London and through the opening of an office in Southampton to accommodate 20 new partners and employees.

Commenting on the appointments, firm partner Ronan McCann said it was 'tremendously exciting' to bring on-board such a wealth of experience.

'We immediately gain undeniably market-leading expertise in the catastrophic personal injury area as well as significantly reinforcing our services for lower value motor and casualty claims,' he added.

Most of the new additions were previously with defendant firm Greenwoods before its merger with the Plexus Law in 2013. They include partners Malcolm Henke, Rod Evans, Jane Hall, and Chris Crook.

'On a personal level I am looking forward to leading what is now undoubtedly the largest and most experienced catastrophic and large loss team in the market, and helping Horwich Farrelly to achieve further success in this critical area for insurers,' remarked Henke who now leads a team of more than 50 as head of catastrophic injury and large loss PI at the insurance industry firm.

Merseyside firm Carpenters Law and national firm Lyons Davidson have purchased parts of the claimant division, Cogent Law, with the latter also taking home the joint venture with Saga Law.

The rest of Parabis' defendant insurance business has been acquired by its former founders trading as Plexus Law Ltd.

The firm has said it will continue to employ more than 1,000 employees across offices throughout the UK including London, Edinburgh, Leeds, and Manchester.

John van der Luit-Drummond is deputy editor for Solicitors Journal
john.vanderluit@solicitorsjournal.co.uk | @JvdLD