Trowers & Hamlins

Trowers & Hamlins is a curious firm in that it has an unorthodox practice mix and geographic footprint. It has traditional strengths in property, social housing, local government and international M&A.

To support this the firm has UK offices in London, Manchester, Exeter and Birmingham, and an international presence in the Middle East: it opened in Oman in 1980, Dubai in 1991 (a result of the first Gulf War, when the firm saw an opportunity in Kuwait but settled on Dubai as a safer option) Abu Dhabi in 1993 and Bahrain in 1998. A Malaysian office marks its only foray into East Asia to date.

This unusual ‘pillars of strength’ strategy was tested after the global financial crisis. In the early 2000s as firms piled into the Middle East, Trowers & Hamlins’ early investment in the region was seen as prescient; after the crash, its focus on the region looked worrying, as did its reliance on the public sector at a time of swingeing government cuts. The firm’s Jeddah office, opened in 2010, lasted only a year, and it closed in Cairo at the end of 2013. It also saw a steady exodus of lawyers from its offices in Dubai and Riyadh.

Nevertheless, the law firm came through this period and has been on a more even keel as the market has gradually recovered.

Jennie Gubbins led the firm as senior partner between 2013 and 2021. She immediately commissioned two consultancies to tackle two issues: how to alter the perception of Trowers & Hamlins’ real estate work and how to overhaul its support staff offering. She has established five practice groups to span the firm’s UK offices; previously the firm operated as distinct offices, accounted for and led as separate units. She also overhauled Trowers & Hamlins’ international strategy.

Sara Bailey, who had been the firm’s co-managing partner since 2013, took over from Gubbins in 2021.

	Managing partners	Senior partner
2000		Jonathan Adlington
2013	Sara Bailey & Adrian Carter	Jennie Gubbins
2021	Adrian Carter & Paul Marco	Sara Bailey