Harding Evans Solicitors has promoted five partners to equity, marking a new era for leadership in the South Wales law firm.
The new partners – many of whom have trained together at the firm – are: Head of Commercial Litigation, Ben Jenkins; Head of Wills & Probate, Laura Selby; Joint Heads of Clinical Negligence, Lauren Watkins and Sara Haf Uren; and Head of Children Law, Siobhan Downes. The five new partners joined current partners, Chairman Ken Thomas and Head of Residential Conveyancing, Wyn Williams as owners of the firm on 1st November 2024.
Ben Jenkins, Lauren Watkins, Sara Haf Uren and Siobhan Downes all joined Harding Evans at the very start of their legal careers, with all four completing their training contracts with the firm, prior to progressing through the ‘Pathway to Partnership’.
Laura Selby joined the firm more recently, taking on the role of Head of Department very early into her career with Harding Evans. Under her stewardship, the Wills & Probate team have experienced significant growth, and established a presence in Cardiff.
At the signing of the new partners last week, Ken Thomas said:
“I am delighted to welcome Ben, Laura, Lauren, Sara and Siobhan as Equity partners. Their loyalty and commitment to the firm over the years has been outstanding and I congratulate them all.”
Ken added that ‘it’s rare for a high street law firm to have such a cohort of practitioners who have grown and developed in unison, to reach equity together’, and added:
“Not all firms get succession right but we can evidence that we can keep our people and nurture them, to offer partnership and ensure that leadership isn’t a closed shop.”
He explained that by increasing the owner group, ‘there is also more scope for diversity of thought, and a greater number of voices, more female representation and more ears. This helps us as equity partners to come up with fresh ideas and, importantly, to share the load’.
Laura Selby explained that this succession planning ‘had been on the agenda for a long time’, and added that ‘what’s happened today is fantastic; we leave a trail of footprints for others to come in alongside us in the future’.
Ken added that the additional numbers in the partnership has also helped bring back locally-based leaders in Newport:
“Historically, the equity partners have all lived in Cardiff but our head office is in Newport. Many of the newly appointed partners live in or closer to Newport which is great for creating wider the local community and in-house connections.”
Ben Jenkins noted how this grass roots connection has explicitly bolstered a ‘whole firm’ approach. He said:
“We have ‘grown up’ together professionally; we understand each other’s work and cross refer effectively, whilst ensuring this culture is shared across firm.”
He added that recent investments into creating a bespoke, commercial offering is also paying dividends.
“We are supporting an even greater number of clients with complex commercial matters and the team has been ranked highly in the Chambers UK and Legal 500 Guides – helping us to attract more talent into the team.”
Ken paid tribute to Mike Jenkins, who has chosen to step away from the equity partnership after twenty-seven years, but remains with the firm as a non-equity partner and will work with the commercial team. He said:
“It has been a pleasure to work so closely with Mike as Equity partners. Over the last 27 years, the firm has welcomed new colleagues, improved processes, introduced new practice areas and opened a new office, and Mike’s contribution has been central to that.”
With regards to growth of the 104-strong team across South Wales, Lauren Watkins explained:
“There’s a lot of enthusiasm for momentum and growth and we’re all looking forward to bringing our insight and ideas to add to our continued expansion and recognition.”
Siobhan Downes added that the culture of Harding Evans has always been strong, as has its internal communications and culture of accessibility. She said:
“We feel we can advocate for junior members of the team – we still remember what it’s like to be new – we’ve been there at the coal face and take our juniors with us to hone their skills from an early stage.”
All agreed that mentoring both within the firm and with local schools helps to understand what the next generation of lawyers and clients are looking for in their law firm. They said that high street firms with specialist areas ‘are able to be more flexible in how they tackle some of the common challenges facing the legal sector’, such as succession planning, retention and wellbeing, as well as being able to connect more effectively with local communities.
As for the future, the law firm will continue to offer new partner opportunities and is always considering potential acquisitions as part of its future growth ambitions, as Ken stated:
“As a firm, we are keen to develop the practice with people who we have invested in and going forward, as we continue to grow, we are keen to add further Equity partners.”
Harding Evans Solicitors is a full-service law firm, covering all areas of the law from its headquarters in Newport and also in Whitchurch, Cardiff.
