‘Inflated’ timesheets leads to strike off

A former senior associate at Irwin Mitchell has been struck off after submitting “inaccurate, misleading, and inflated” timesheets — including one day where she recorded nearly 23 hours of chargeable work.

Natasha Janet Dionne Fairs, who joined the national firm in 2007 and became a senior associate in 2022, admitted to dishonest billing over several years, according to a ruling by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).

The tribunal heard that Fairs often allocated extra time to complex cases where bills had already been finalised, or to fixed-fee files where additional hours would be written off. Although clients were not directly harmed, the SDT said her actions had “a significant impact on both her colleagues and the firm”.

“Those working on the same cases as the respondent received a smaller share of fees than they were entitled to, as costs were allocated among fee-earners based on recorded time,” the ruling explained. “Additionally, the firm relied on time recording to assess staffing needs, track work in progress, and forecast future fee income, all of which were adversely affected by the respondent’s misconduct.”

Concerns raised by two colleagues in May 2023 prompted a review of Fairs’ billing. The investigation uncovered several instances of extreme over-recording, including 20 hours and 24 minutes logged on a single day in April 2020, 22.9 hours on a day in April 2022, and 18.1 hours on a day in April 2023.

The review found examples where Fairs logged just five, six-minute units on the case file, but entered five hours of work against the same matter in the time-recording system

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) noted:

“This could be perceived as a genuine error or that the Respondent had accidentally confused her hours with her units. However, the pattern and frequency of this apparent error led the Firm to conclude that it was a calculated practice by the Respondent which she could claim was an error if she were questioned about it.”

Fairs, who qualified in 2003, apologised and accepted full responsibility for her actions both at the firm and before the SDT. She said she had been dealing with “significant personal and professional pressures”, including the serious illness and death of her mother, homeschooling during the pandemic, and a “high-volume and low-value” caseload.

In mitigation — which the SRA did not agree with — Fairs claimed her supervisor had been aware of her difficulties but was led to believe that “support was either unavailable or not typically provided in such circumstances”. She also said that meeting time targets was “a strong focus within the firm” and claimed “limited attention given to how those targets were achieved”.

The tribunal struck Fairs off the roll and ordered her to pay £5,200 in costs.

48 out of 53

National law firm Irwin Mitchell has announced a 91% retention rate, with 48 of its 53 trainees qualifying as solicitors this year.

The latest cohort of 36 trainees completed their training contracts this summer, joining 12 others who qualified earlier in the year to take up permanent roles across the firm’s UK offices.

The fresh batch of newly qualified (NQ) solicitors will spread across a range of practice areas, including 14 in the business services group, 12 in medical negligence, nine in court of protection and public law & human rights, eight in the private client group, four in personal injury, and one in the general counsel team.

Amy Scott, head of talent at Irwin Mitchell, said:

“A massive congratulations to our newly qualified solicitors. Qualifying as a solicitor is not just a milestone, but an exciting and significant achievement in their career. It highlights the hard work, commitment, and tenacity that each of them has shown over the last two years.”

The Legal Cheek Firms Most List shows that NQs in London start on salaries between £59,500 and £78,000, depending on their practice area, while those in regional offices earn between £45,000 and £57,000 upon qualification.

Trainee retention rates: the story so far…

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Financial results season continues

Irwin Mitchell and Walker Morris have both posted record-breaking financial results for the past year, continuing the trend of strong performances across leading law firms.

Irwin Mitchell achieved record revenue of £329.3 million for the year ending 30 April 2025, marking an 8% rise on the previous year’s £304.3 million. Total profit before tax increased 13% to £24.6 million. The firm also reported a strong year-end cash position of £69.2 million and remains debt-free.

The firm’s international revenue surged by 50% to £16.2 million, buoyed by membership in several global legal networks. Over the past three years, IM’s streamlined core legal services offering has grown by around 25%, following the sale of its volume personal injury and asset management arms.

The past financial year saw strategic moves including a new office opening in Nottingham, investment in Scottish firm Davidson Chalmers Stewart via Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie, and the June acquisition of specialist immigration team Carter Thomas.

Craig Marshall, group chief executive, commented:

“FY25 was another strong year for Irwin Mitchell proving that our strategy is working and the market is responding… We made several important decisions during the year, such as the sale of our asset management business, which simplifies our client service portfolio and allows us to invest more in our core legal services, our colleagues and technology, setting us up for future growth.”

Leeds-based Walker Morris also reported record revenue of £84.3 million — a 14% increase on last year’s £74 million and over 50% growth in the past five years. Net profit rose 11% to £37.5 million, with profit per equity partner (PEP) up 18%, although the firm did not disclose the exact figure.

The firm continues to target its ‘Ambition 27’ goal of surpassing £100 million in revenue by 2027.

Jeanette Burgess, who completed her first year as managing partner in May 2025, said:

“Delivering double-digit revenue and profit growth in an unpredictable climate is very pleasing and the result of us bringing even greater value to our client relationships… 25% of our income is generated outside of the UK and so the ongoing confidence clients have in us to deliver for them anywhere in the world is critical.”

Tribunal urges lawyers to seek help before matters ‘spiral out of control’

A former associate at Irwin Mitchell has avoided a career-ending strike-off after deleting a chain of emails in a “moment of madness”, as the disciplinary tribunal urged lawyers who find themselves in similar difficulties to seek appropriate help before matters “spiral out of their control”.

The disciplinary proceedings against Heather Roberts came after a client who was involved in a will validity dispute, complained that particulars of claim (PoC) had been substantially amended without their barrister’s approval.

After a partner at the firm asked Roberts for a full breakdown of the PoC history, the SRA alleged that she deleted five email chains from the case management system. These emails showed her involvement in the PoC and included correspondence between her and a colleague she was supervising.

The deleted emails were easily recovered from the client file’s recycle bin, leading the tribunal to conclude that this was not a “sophisticated attempt” to conceal her involvement.

She denied all the allegations against her.

Roberts, who qualified in 2007, did not dispute deleting the emails but said she didn’t remember doing so, as she had been in a “haze” caused by deteriorating health due to the firm’s “demanding” working conditions.

The solicitor said she had trusted a colleague to send the changes to the barrister for approval but hadn’t “ensured” this had actually happened.

Other issues had apparently arisen with the same colleague’s files, and she told the tribunal “this was ‘the last straw’”.

Roberts was signed off with stress in January 2022, and the firm reported her to the regulator the following month. She left Irwin Mitchell in February 2022 “by mutual agreement”.

The tribunal found the allegations proven but chose not to strike Roberts from the roll, accepting that it was a “moment of madness”. While she had been dishonest on this occasion, the tribunal held that this did not make her a dishonest person.

The tribunal opted instead to impose 12 month suspension and ordered her to pay nearly £25,000 in costs.

“The character evidence pointed completely to the reverse and in all other respects she was a highly regarded solicitor,” the tribunal said. “It was hoped that the respondent would be able to pick up her career once the period of suspension ended.”

The tribunal also took the opportunity to urge “people in similar circumstances to ensure that they sought appropriate help before matters spiralled out of their control”.

Irwin Mitchell partner Emma Rush talks making a difference, the road to partnership and her advice for students

“Acting for clients who have suffered life-changing injuries, and seeing the positive impact our work has on that individual, is incredibly rewarding,” says Emma Rush, medical negligence partner at Irwin Mitchell. She recalls acting for a client who had had an above-knee amputation following a failure to diagnose an underlying medical issue, “We were able to secure an admission of liability from the defendant which meant our client received interim payments and could buy a prosthetic limb and go on to rehabilitation. I really saw the impact my work was having on that person’s quality of life.”

A first-generation university graduate, Rush studied law at the University of Birmingham where she met Irwin Mitchell at a careers talk. She completed a vacation placement at the firm, alongside placements at two other larger corporate law firms. “The culture at IM aligned with what I was looking for,” she recalls, “This really shone through during my work experience. It was quite different from the larger corporate firms I did placements with.”

Following this work experience, Rush’s interest in medical negligence was beginning to form. “I already knew that my area of interest was in providing legal advice to individuals rather than an entity,” she says. “In particular I was interested in acting for individuals who had been injured, having seen from my work experience the impact this kind of work can have.” Rush sat in serious injury, uninsured loss recovery and medical negligence during her training contract. She stayed on in the medical negligence team for a fourth seat and qualified into the team in 2009. “What I loved was the interplay between learning about medicine as well as law,” Rush recalls. She also discovered a surprising love of litigation, “At uni, I thought I would be all for non-contentious law because I don’t really like arguing!” she laughs. “But actually, one of my favourite parts of the job is liaising with the other side.”

I am interested to hear about some of the complex work Irwin Mitchell’s medical negligence team works on. “I have a particular interest in acting for babies who have suffered hypoxic injuries at birth or had complications in the neonatal period which have resulted in cerebral palsy,” Rush tells me. “Those cases are really quite challenging. If parents come to us when their babies are quite young, it can be very difficult to look forward and predict what support they will need as an adult,” she explains. This means that in some cases, court proceedings are put on hold until a clearer medical assessment of the child’s condition can be made. “I had a case recently where we stayed proceedings for nearly 10 years,” Rush says. “It was impossible to determine what the child’s cognitive function would look like until her executive skills had developed around age 12.” Cases like these are long and complex, but they can be valuable training opportunities for Irwin Mitchell’s rookies: “I have trainees working with me on cases like these and making important contributions. At IM you get exposure to complexity really early on.”

So, what are the skills junior lawyers will need to thrive in this practice area? “The first thing would be empathy,” Rush tells me. “Clients often come to you in a dire situation.” However, it is essential that this empathy is productive:

“The ability to be empathetic but still removed from the situation is important. Clients need you to remain objective and provide appropriate legal advice. You will inevitably build relationships with your clients and it is important to provide this support while maintaining an element of separation.”

Rush also stresses the importance of organisation and proactively managing cases. Acknowledging that this is relevant in every area of law she says, “This is especially important in medical negligence as you have to react to unpredictable medical developments. You might need to make an urgent application to the court for an interim payment because your client’s needs have changed.” To cope well with situations like these, good work management skills are essential.

Another skill for aspiring medical negligence lawyers to brush up on is communication. “Because we deal with complex medical issues alongside complex legal issues, it’s particularly important to break these topics down into clear, non-jargon language when speaking to your client,” Rush explains. “Being able to speak in a straightforward way is really key.”

Rush is Irwin Mitchell’s training principal, taking responsibility for the firm’s trainees across all their offices and liaising with the early careers team as well as making strategic decisions about the firm’s training contracts. I ask Rush what inspired her to take on this role. “I was a trainee here myself,” she responds. “Now that I am in a senior position in the firm, I wanted to give back by investing in our junior talent.” She reflects on her journey from trainee to partner at Irwin Mitchell: “IM is a firm which is serious about homegrown talent. I have stayed on at the firm because they’ve invested in me and I’m proud to be an ambassador for our business today.”

I am curious to hear about Rush’s journey to partnership at Irwin Mitchell and her advice for those considering a similar path. “You definitely get out what you put in,” she tells me. “If you are committed to IM as a business, the firm puts the same commitment back into you.” She continues:

“When I was more junior, I made a real effort to throw myself into as many things as possible, particularly things which were outside my comfort zone. I also worked hard and I enjoy what I do. This was met with a lot of support from the firm. My supervisors gave me valuable advice on how to improve my skills to get to the next stage of my career.”

To wrap up our discussion, I ask Rush for one piece of careers advice she thinks everyone should hear. “Don’t be frightened,” she responds. “Immerse yourself in the law, if that’s what you’re interested in, and don’t be frightened to give things a go. It’s important to be able to make mistakes and learn from them. That’s what will make you a great lawyer at the end of the day.”

Emma Rush will be speaking at ‘The Big Commercial Awareness Themes of 2024-25 — with DWF, Goodwin Procter, Irwin Mitchell, Lewis Silkin, Morrison Foerster, TLT and ULaw’, taking place virtually on Tuesday 12 November. Apply now to attend.

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84%

National law firm Irwin Mitchell has retained 27 of its 32 qualifying trainees this year, scoring a retention rate of 84%.

The outfit confirmed 15 newly qualified (NQ) associates will join its business services group, which includes teams focused on employment, banking and finance, intellectual property, real estate, and corporate law. Seven new associates will qualifying into the complex personal injury group, which specialises in areas such as medical negligence, serious injury, and workplace injury or illness.

The court of protection and public law and human rights team has taken on three newly qualified associates, while the family law and wills, trusts, and estate disputes teams have each welcomed one new recruit.

The NQs will be based in Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Chichester, Gatwick, Leeds, London, Manchester and Southampton.

The Legal Cheek Firms Most List 2024 shows the Irwin Mitchell recruits around 50 trainees each year on starting salary of between £31,000 and £43,000 depending on location.

Marissa Sanders, head of early careers at Irwin Mitchell, said:

“Congratulations to all our trainees and their supervisors who have all worked extremely hard over the past two years. It’s great to see so many staying with us post-qualification and I am sure they will go on to be very successful lawyers.”

She continued: “Our Trainees represent an integral part of our early careers strategy and many of our partners began their legal careers as trainees at Irwin Mitchell. We look forward to seeing our latest trainees following in their footsteps and wish them every success in their future careers.”

Eversheds Sutherland and Irwin Mitchell also post results

DWF has reported a 14% increase in revenues, some 10 months after it delisted from the London Stock Exchange following a buyout by a private equity firm.

DWF, the largest law firm to float on the stock exchange in 2019, saw its revenues increase from £380 million to £435 million for the year ending April 2024.

The firm delisted in October 2023 after accepting an all-cash offer from Inflexion, a private equity firm that also holds a stake in legal rankings company Chambers & Partners.

Sir Nigel Knowles, chief executive officer of DWF, said:

“This is an excellent performance for our business and provides further evidence that our integrated legal management approach is helping us win with our clients. We have achieved continued profitable growth despite macroeconomic uncertainty, which is testament to the exceptional service our colleagues provide, and the trust placed in them by our clients.”

The results come a little over a month after DWF appointed Steve Varley, the former head of EY in the UK and Ireland, as its independent non-executive chair. Varley served as chair and managing partner of EY in the UK and Ireland from 2011 to 2020, and as global vice-chair of sustainability at EY Global from 2020 to 2023.

Meanwhile, Irwin Mitchell saw its revenues surpass the £300 million barrier for the first time thanks to 10% uplift from £276.4 million. They now sit at £304.3 million for the year ending 30 April 2024.

Profit before tax, which is after all colleagues and partners have been paid, climbed from £15 million to £21.7 million, a whopping uptick of 45%. IM did not provide a figure for its profit per equity partner (PEP)

Craig Marshall, group chief executive at Irwin Mitchell, said:

“Despite a year of significant change in the business we’ve demonstrated remarkable resilience to deliver a strong performance. We have a strong balance sheet and head into the new year with positive momentum as we focus on becoming a more agile and dynamic business for the future delivering sustainable and profitable growth.”

He continued: “Our client and colleague experience continues to stand out from the crowd and our latest results are testament to the hard work of our colleagues throughout the year.”

Finally, Eversheds Sutherland saw revenues climb a muted 3% to £749.4 million while net profit remained flat at £175.1 million. PEP rose just 1% to £1.3 million.

“Against the backdrop of more challenging economic conditions in many of our international markets, we have delivered a solid set of results,” said chief executive Lee Ranson. “We have continued to invest in people, infrastructure and technology. With signs of improving activity in the transactional markets, I believe that we are well placed to continue to drive our global strategy forward.”

Irwin Mitchell’s Padma Tadi-Booth talks key skills and flexible working

“One of my career highlights would be acting for a large public company in successfully defending claims by individuals who were challenging their employment status,” says Irwin Mitchell employment partner Padma Tadi-Booth, when I ask her about a particularly interesting matter she’s worked on. The case had a years-long journey traversing the country as it progressed through various tribunals and eventually concluding in the Court of Appeal. “The claim’s success would have impacted nearly 2,000 individuals and would have entailed ramifications amounting to millions of pounds for my client,” explains Tadi-Booth.

She goes on to reveal that the chance to deal with, what was at the time, an area which was evolving, made the case particularly rewarding. “Not only did we succeed in getting a favourable result for our client, but the case actually clarified some legal tests which applied  — these have then gone on to be considered and used in other cases when considering employment status,” Tadi-Booth says.

Speaking more generally about her practice, she tells me that some of her other work involves supporting Irwin Mitchell’s corporate team with M&A transactions, and that this can also be very satisfying. “You have the opportunity to work with clients who may have acquired a company, for instance. It’s about working with them to complete due diligence into what they are acquiring and how then to merge the cultures and develop their people and operations to maximise the potential of what they’ve acquired,” Tadi-Booth explains.

I was curious to hear Tadi-Booth’s perspective on flexible working – something that’s rocketed in popularity in the wake of the pandemic. Despite a host of law firms mandating a four day in-office week, she explains that Irwin Mitchell’s ‘flexible by choice’ offers something a bit different. “What this means is that flexibility is not just about working at home or in the office, but also in relation to hours. We recognise that some people might need to start and finish a bit earlier, or later, depending on other responsibilities they have,” she says. “Our approach is focused around delivering for our clients, so as long as that is met, we are quite agile when it comes to working.” While coming into the office is certainly beneficial when it comes to supervision and team building, the firm steers away from a prescriptive approach to this and leaves it up to what works best for individuals and their team, explains Tadi-Booth.

“In terms of where I see the future of flexible working across industries more generally, I think it will need to be a hybrid approach, where the role allows. You’re going to have a certain element, for which you need to be physically present, whether that’s meeting clients, team building or developing goals and strategies,” she says. “But ultimately, the focus needs to be on what you are there to deliver and how best to do that given what works best for you and the company. This is something the pandemic really shone a light on.” With Tadi-Booth herself juggling nursery runs and pickups every day alongside her role as partner at Irwin Mitchell, her perspective is informed by a valuable personal angle, having recently returned from maternity leave.

On her transition from senior associate to partner, Tadi-Booth tells me that her journey was slightly unconventional. “I got made partner, and then also went off to have a baby,” she says chuckling. “In most law firms, for any promotion, you have to show that you’re already operating at that higher level to a certain degree. There’s certainly not an overnight shift, but over time, there’s gradually more expectations around team management and finances, business development (BD) and future pipelines. So, it’s that people management, BD and involvement in the firm’s overall strategy that marks the difference,” she explains.

I went on to ask Tadi-Booth about how she managed her new partner role and motherhood, simultaneously. She notes that while it sounds daunting to start off with, it doesn’t necessarily have to be in practice. She refers again to the benefits of the firm’s ‘flexible by choice’ policy and advises that it’s all about being organised, having a strong group around you personally and professionally on whom you can rely and understanding your boundaries. “You need to know what’s when, so that you know what you can move if needed, and what is an absolute must-do. That way you can navigate those priorities and deliver client and personal needs.” Communication is also key: “making sure your team know where you are and when they can reach you, and equally, having that dialogue with your clients, is crucial, “she explains.

Discussing the particularly people-centric focus of employment law, and the possibility of navigating emotionally-charged situations, Tadi-Booth also discussed some of the key skills needed to be successful as an employment lawyer. “The main skills are around empathy and adaptability. When you’re dealing with individuals, you will often have two cases that are exactly the same, but you’ll need to give different advice, because you’re dealing with different characters. So, you need to be flexible and think outside the box, looking beyond just the technical legal knowledge — taking into account a particular person’s situation, the company they’re in and any background personal circumstances triggering their reactions, for instance.” To summarise, it’s about drawing together commercial awareness and people awareness, she tells me.

On the topic of commercial awareness, I asked Tadi-Booth on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in employment law, and whether it has applications in procedural aspects like due diligence. “With AI as it currently is, probably not. For instance, there’s a case where a company used AI to sift through CVs — it was heavily biased on account of how it was programmed. So, it was filtering out people who probably wouldn’t have been if the process was done through human interaction”, she explains. While she notes that with development of these technologies, she can foresee employment lawyers and their clients looking to incorporate them, for now, the people-focused nature of employment law necessitates a human element.

Tadi-Booth also spoke about her time at Irwin Mitchell over the past 14 years and why she decided to build her career in Leeds. She tells me that the stand-out features of the firm are its people and its agility.

“The firm is not afraid to test boundaries and is always looking to progress, learn and develop,” she says. “For instance, when we became an Alternative Business Structure (ABS) a few years ago, we were one of the first few firms in the market to do that — the firm is very forward-thinking in how it wants to develop as a business. There’s a lot of investment into the firm so that we can grow and develop, and that’s not just for us, but so that we can serve our clients better.”

Finishing up our interview, Tadi-Booth explains that Leeds is a fantastic legal hub – in fact, more so now more than when she began her career. “Leeds is home, so I always wanted to come back here after uni. But it’s also a market that’s receiving a lot of investment, from top law firms, who are all seeking to establish their presence here, so you’re not compromising on the quality of work you can get — the kind of work that is traditionally associated with London, blue-chip clients, for example.”

Padma Tadi-Booth of Irwin Mitchell LLP will be speaking at ‘The Big Commercial Awareness Themes of 2023-24 — with DWF, Goodwin Procter, Gowling WLG, Lewis Silkin, Squire Patton Boggs and ULaw’, a virtual student event taking place on 6 November. Apply now to attend.