‘Very much business as usual,’ Samantha Palmer replied when asked about Ince & Co’s future following its acquisition by Axiom. Palmer, a finance and projects partner at Pinsent Masons, is the appointed solicitor manager for Ince’s administration and is overseeing all regulatory aspects of the acquisition.
The sale was completed on 28 April, just over two weeks after the Ince Group, the listed parent company of Ince, was placed into administration following a tumultuous year.
Pinsents has advised Ince throughout the administration process. ‘The senior management team [Ince] reached out as part of the wider financial assurance offering when the firm was encountering financial difficulties,’ said Palmer. Her colleague, restructuring partner Steven Cottee, and his team provided restructuring advice to the joint administrators, Andrew Hosking and Sean Bucknall of Quantuma Advisory, following the administration.
In her role as solicitor manager, an SRA approved role, Palmer said that: ‘The key thing is to provide and ensure the safe and secure transfer of client files with informed client consents, valuable client documents and obviously client monies across to Axiom.’
Given the highly public nature of the collapse, communicating to existing clients throughout the acquisition was key. Palmer and her team are manning a specific email account that Ince clients can contact 24/7 if they have any queries or anxieties. Palmer explained: ‘No client was left behind and no client’s interests were prejudiced. There were a lot of communications from the firm that was Ince Gordon Dadds LLP out to clients in advance of the transaction and then immediately afterwards. Everybody was migrated securely and safely across to Axiom Ince.’
Following the acquisition, Ince fee earners can return to progressing live client matters.
As well as ensuring the smooth transfer of client matters, the acquisition has safeguarded jobs. All remaining partners and staff, including fee earners, business services staff, and support staff have transferred to Axiom Ince. Palmer confirmed: ‘All the salaries were paid and the drawings were paid up till the end of April. So, there were no redundancies caused by the transaction.’
Following the acquisition Ince will operate as a separate entity of Axiom. As such, it will be managed independently as a separately branded legal services business. Donald Brown remains CEO and Jennette Newman will continue as managing partner.
In a press release, Ince referred to the transaction as ‘partner-driven’. Client Q&As, available on the Ince website, state: ‘The new structure and ethos came out of widespread partner expressions of concern and dissatisfaction with the old model, which was not supporting the law firm, its clients, their teams, or the culture in which they wanted to practice.’
The client Q&As further claim: ‘This is an opportunity for us to reinforce the firm’s core focus as a highly respected legal business, without the noise and distractions of the corporate structure.’
Despite the separation of Ince as a legal entity, Axiom, formerly Axiom DWFM, has changed its company name to Axiom Ince. The name change was registered at Companies House on 5 May, shortly after the acquisition was completed.
Axiom is a full-service law firm, with offices in London, Bristol, Swindon, and Birmingham. In 2021, Axiom Stone and DWFM Beckham merged to form Axiom DWFM. The firm is ranked in tier 5 in Commercial Litigation: Mid-Market, Family, and Property Litigation in the latest Legal 500 UK guide. Its residential property practice is included in the Legal 500’s Firms To Watch.
Its practices include corporate and commercial, employment, dispute resolution, media, family and private client. Although, much like Gordon Dadds before it, it does not have a dedicated shipping practice.
Ince, however, is keen to draw a distinction between the 2019 administration and the present administration. Its client Q&As state succinctly: ‘That is a matter for those involved at the time.’
While time will tell if Ince is truly in calmer waters, the acquisition means that for now job losses have been avoided and client matters have been safely handed over to its new iteration. The challenge for Ince, in this new ‘partner-driven’ model, will be to rebuild its brand reputation and develop a firmer grip on the firm’s governance to avoid repeating past mistakes.
holly.mckechnie@legalease.co.uk
