Niche employment practice becomes ABS

A niche employment practice, Signet Partners, is to become an ABS on March 1. It is understood to be first firm of its kind to take the step.

Louse Hobbs, formerly head of employment at Boodle Hatfield, founded the firm in May 2011 with two members of her team, Simon McMenemy and Sarah Gudgin. It is based in the City.

Hobbs, who will be the COLP and COFA, said this afternoon that the “primary purpose” of applying to be licensed as an ABS was to allow accountant Nick Temple to become an equity partner.

Temple, currently described as ‘director’, helped found the firm with the three solicitor partners and was chief executive of Boodle Hatfield from 2004 to 2008. Hobbs said that until now he has had consultant status.

She said that becoming an ABS would allow Signet Partners to “respond to any opportunities which presented themselves”, though some of them the partners had “not even begun to explore”.

Hobbs added Signet Partners was mainly “employer-focussed”, though it also acts for individuals.

The firm aims to operate flexibly “and is able to offer other law firms (which don’t have employment law capabilities in London or which refer work owing to conflicts) expertise in advising their corporate clients in relation to employment law”.

In a separate development, the SRA is inviting tenders for its litigation panel, when the current contracts expire at the end of May this year. The appointments are for an initial term of three years, renewable for a further two years at the regulator’s discretion.