Hugh James (law firm)

Hugh James (and its sister company Hugh James Involegal) is a British law firm. It is the largest Welsh-headquartered law firm.[4]

Hugh James /
Hugh James Involegal
HeadquartersTwo Central Square,
Central Square,
Cardiff,
Wales
United Kingdom
CF1 0AD
No. of offices2 in 2 countries
No. of lawyersPartners: approximately 60 Associates: approximately 182[1]
No. of employeesapproximately 700
Major practice areasGeneral practice
Key people
  • Wim Dejonghe (senior​ partner)
  • Andrew Ballheimer​ (managing partner)
Revenue£38.5 million (US$51.33 million) (2018/2019)[2]
Date founded1 January 1960 (1 January 1960)
FounderHugh James[3]
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websitewww.hughjames.com

In 2018 Hugh James moved to a new office at Central Square, which in 2019 was named the best corporate workplace in England and Wales (south).[5]

History

Hugh James was founded in 1960 by Hugh James, a Welsh litigation specialist.[6]

It has a reputation for medical negligence claim work, particularly in the field of defective medical devices and implants. It formed its sister division, Involegal, in 2010, which focusses on volume legal service for corporate clients including banks and insurers.

Hugh James acted on a range of transactions as part of the regeneration of Cardiff Bay in 1987. The site was developed as a mixed use site of housing, retail, leisure, and industry, acting for Nippon Electric Gas among other investor clients. The firm's work was praised at the time for its handling of the complex issues of toxic material contamination linked to the site's former use as an industrial dockland, finishing the legal work on the project in four months.

The firm was also involved in property deals at the now-rejected Circuit of Wales at Ebbw Vale, the International Conference Centre in Newport, and the on-hold Swansea tidal lagoon project, deals valued at up to more than £1.2bn.

Hugh James is closely involved in the political issues of Welsh law, for example contributing to debate on the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, as well as the debate over devolution of legal powers from the current national jurisdiction shared by England and Wales.

Involegal

Hugh James Involegal is the specialist volume services division of the firm, which serves as a subsidiary of the firm. It accounts for 200 of the firm's 700 staff, including a particular reliance on software developers, business analysts, and project managers.

It was a major player in the 1990s growth of the volume legal services sector, and today acts for major banks, insurers, and investors on scale projects that involve volume conveyancing and customer service provision.[7]

Offices
2 Central Square in March 2020

Hugh James has two offices.

Cardiff

Hugh James, Two Central Square, Cardiff CF10 1FS

Hugh James is headquartered in the Welsh capital Cardiff, at its new build office at Two Central Square. It moved to the premises in October 2018, and shares the building with the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies. There are approximately 152 lawyers and thirty partners based at the Cardiff office.

City of London

Hugh James, 99 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7NG

Following a series of mergers with London based firms, Hugh James moved to a new office on Gresham Street in the City of London in February 2018.[8] Based at the office are approximately thirty lawyers and six partners.

Recognition

The table below sets out Hugh James' and its lawyers’ rankings in directories:

Year Number of lawyers ranked in Chambers & Partners Number of ranked categories in Legal 500
2019 34[9] 26[10]

Leadership

The table below sets out a history of Hugh James' leadership:

Year Managing partner
1999-2011[11] Matthew Tossell
2011-present[12] Alun Jones

References
  1. "The Legal 500 - Hugh James - Cardiff, WALES - What we say". Legal 500.
  2. "The Lawyer's top 200 UK law firms revealed". The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  3. "Hugh James". 30 October 2018. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  4. "Hugh James extends law firm network". Legal Futures. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  5. Barry, Sion (13 May 2019). "A Cardiff office has been named one of the best working spaces in the UK". walesonline. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  6. "Hugh James". 30 October 2018. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  7. January 2018, Jonathan Rayner8. "Interview: Matthew Tossell, Hugh James". Law Gazette. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  8. www.uprisevsi.co.uk, upriseVSI. "Our London office has relocated to 99 Gresham Street". Hugh James. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  9. "Hugh James, UK | Chambers Rankings". chambers.com. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  10. HOUSE, Hugh James Cardiff LONDON HODGE; Street, 114-116 St Mary. "The Legal 500 > Hugh James > Cardiff, WALES > Lawyer profiles". www.legal500.com. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  11. January 2018, Jonathan Rayner8. "Interview: Matthew Tossell, Hugh James". Law Gazette. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  12. www.uprisevsi.co.uk, upriseVSI. "Alun Jones". Hugh James. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
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