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Law firm Hill Dickinson has announced a raft of new partners as part of the firm’s Accelerated Partner Promotion Scheme.
Fourteen legal directors across four of the firm’s 10 UK and international offices have been elevated to partner status with effect from 1 November 2022. They join the ranks of the firm’s existing partners, boosting overall partner numbers to over 150.
Hill Dickinson introduced its Accelerated Partner Promotions Scheme in the summer of 2022 in a deliberate and bold shift away from the more traditional view that partnership can normally only be attained after at least 15 years of post-qualification experience.
Instead, the scheme identifies lawyers currently working as legal directors but whose career trajectory and understanding of their chosen area of law is considered exceptional.
Welcoming the new cohort to the partnership, Hill Dickinson chief executive Peter Jackson said: 'I am delighted that we have been able to invite 14 of our legal directors to join the partnership. As in any sphere of work, there are people who rise to the top very quickly and, in a legal world that is hungry to attract and retain top talent, it is vital that we recognise and reward our potential future leading partners. Our Accelerated Partner Promotion Scheme is designed to achieve that.'
The scheme is another example of Hill Dickinson’s decision to embrace better, more inclusive and diverse ways of working, opening up access via apprenticeships for new entrants at the start of their careers and rewarding talent higher up the chain with the possibility of fast-tracked career progression including a more open and increased full equity model. Lawyers invited to become partners via the scheme will be supported with an ongoing programme of practical support and mentorship.
Explaining why the firm has introduced a fast-track option, Peter Jackson added: 'Working practices have changed and it is imperative that we review and innovate to keep pace with that. Introducing an Accelerated Partner Promotion Scheme is part of our firmwide strategy to invest in our people and has given us the tools to bring selected individuals through the ranks more quickly and ensure fresh thinking. My congratulations to this first cohort of accelerated partners. I hope they will be the first of many.'
The new partners are:
| Elan Iorwerth | Corporate | Liverpool |
| James Down | Corporate | Manchester |
| Sean Lightfoot | Corporate | Manchester |
| Jack Delaney | Corporate Commercial | London |
| Sam Hudson | Corporate Commercial | London |
| Francois De Lange | Corporate Commercial | London |
| Helen Penfold | Corporate | Liverpool |
| Kate Steele | Commercial Litigation | Liverpool |
| Helen Evans | Real Estate | Manchester |
| Rosie Goncare | Shipping | London |
| Alexander Freeman | Shipping | Piraeus |
| John McNeilly | Commodities | London |
| Tom Turner | Cargo & Logistics | London |
| Richard Allingham | Cargo & Logistics | Manchester |
