After an exceptional year, Ward Hadaway continues to strengthen its position as one of the UK's leading law firms. Growth and advancement have been acknowledged by Legal 500 for a number of specific departments within the firm, including Commercial Property, Public Sector, Environment, Corporate Tax and Personal Injury - evidence that Ward Hadaway's client-focused and solutions-orientated approach continues to achieve success. The firm now employs over 300 staff and offers expert advice from 45 partners and 62 solicitors. With such a significant pool of talent under one roof, strength in depth is now something that the firm is able to offer across all areas of the business. Malcolm Lloyd, formerly of Pinsent Curtis Biddle, now heads advice on Commercial Property. Since his arrival, the Property team has completed a number of key deals including the acquisition of 600,000 sq ft of land at Newcastle Great Park for Sage Plc and a multi-million pound acquisition for Home Group. The Company and Commercial team completed one of the country's largest sponsorship deals with the provision of £6m to the new Sage Music Centre. It has also been working closely with One NorthEast in the establishment of five centres of excellence. Specialising in specific technology sectors, these centres will create jobs through commercialising research from regional universities. Adding to an already impressive portfolio, Ward Hadaway finalised a development agreement with One NorthEast on behalf of a housing consortium (comprising Haslam Homes, Miller Homes and Yuill Homes) for the regeneration and development of the former Vane Tempest Colliery at Seaham. Later in the year, the firm was involved in another major Seaham project, this time in the multi-million pound sale of Seaham Harbour Dock Company to Plymouth-based Victoria Group. Whilst Malcolm Lloyd advised on the property aspects, recent arrival Paul Christian was able to offer additional advice on corporate tax issues, helping the Corporate Tax team into Legal 500 for the first time. Ward Hadaway's Personal Injury team also made its first appearance in the Legal 500 list, in part due to the firm's re-appointment by English Heritage to handle personal injury work on a national basis. The firm has now worked for this national organisation for over ten years. The firm's Public Sector team has also been promoted to the top tier of Legal 500 as its reputation continues to grow. Of particular note are Ward Hadaway's appointments to two NHS litigation authority panels and the fact it is the only local firm advising on the highly complex Local Improvement Finance Trust project. Ward Hadaway's Managing Partner Jamie Martin said: "The last year has been immensely successful for us and we have seen many significant developments. Appointments of key members of staff such as our head of property litigation Alan Herbert from Pinsents and Niall Head-Rapson, head of IP/IT, have brought further experience and knowledge to our already established teams. "We pride ourselves on having accessible, approachable lawyers who understand the business issues facing their clients, whichever sector they are in. This enables us to provide clients with solutions and advice that is both relevant and appropriate to helping them meet their own business objectives." | 
