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12
Nov
Administrators give update on Harrogate law firm Berwins
Administrators have given an update on a Harrogate law firm, which went into liquidation last week.
The Stray Ferret revealed on October 27 that Berwins, founded by Paul Berwin in 1986, was on the brink of administration.
We subsequently reported on November 5 that the firm was to close.
The move affected Berwins staff and caused uncertainty among clients.
Today (November 12), the firm appointed to handle the administration spoke about the situation.
Sean Bucknall of Quantuma Advisory Limited and Marco Piacquadio of FTS Recovery were appointed joint administrators on November 5 following the sale of client files to a number of acquirers.
In a statement today, the joint administrators said they have appointed Samantha Palmer, head of the regulatory department at London law firm Child & Child, as solicitor manager.
Ms Palmer will oversee the transfer of client files, assets and monies to new firms in accordance with client instructions.
She will also work alongside the joint administrators to ensure the Solicitors Regulatory Authority is regularly appraised on the ongoing position.
Mr Bucknall said "thin profit margins, the high costs" contributed to Berwins' demise.
He said:
The deteriorating position at Berwins was well documented in the lead up to it filing a notice to appoint administrators.
The firm had traded successfully for 40 years, however, a combination of thin profit margins, the high costs associated with the renewal of its professional indemnity insurance and the withdrawal of funding support meant that it was not in a position to continue to trade.
400 cases transferred
Ridley and Hall, a law firm with offices in Huddersfield, Leeds, Pontefract and Barnsley, has taken on more than 400 family and property cases from Berwins.
It has also recruited six members of Berwins staff to head up a new Harrogate office in WorkWell at Copthall Bridge.
The former Berwins employees are residential property specialists Michelle Crowhurst, Rachael Fell, Alice Hoyle and Jenny Spence, and family law experts Danielle Day and Rachael Lyon.
Based on North Park Road in Harrogate, Berwins initially specialised in residential conveyancing — the legal work involved in buying and selling property — before expanding to offer a wider range of legal services to individuals, families and businesses.
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