LAW
Tees reach – Muckle lawyers, including Libbie Henderson and Adam Aston, are growing their client base in the Tees region.
We’ ve always been one of the biggest law firms in the North- East and had a strong focus on Teesside. the type of specialist legal work we offer from big city firms in London, or that they have to go to Manchester or Leeds – but we can do all the work those firms do.
“ For example, we have specialisms in real estate and construction but also all the ancillary functions like banking and real estate finance.
“ It’ s that wraparound service that the scale and size of the developments in Teesside really need now and we can offer it without clients having to go out of the region.”
As a partner in the real estate team, Libbie Henderson has worked with many of those big names mentioned. And she says that increasingly, clients don’ t just require one area of commercial law advice.
She said:“ What clients need more and more is an all-encompassing service that covers areas such as real estate, construction, banking and real estate finance – all those facets you’ re going to get in a development project.
“ We put our skills together to help manage that project, guide the client through it and highlight areas where there might be a bump in the road. And we’ ve got great contacts that we can put them in touch with.
“ I had a recent example where it was necessary for the client to take good accountancy and project management advice, so I put them in touch with a number of the types of firm we’ ve worked with in the past and it seems to be helping them enormously.
“ It’ s certainly made them think about what they’ re doing in a slightly different way, which assisted them to progress their project.”
Recently, a seconded post at Tees Valley Combined Authority worked well and further strengthened Muckle’ s Tees links.
And to enhance its Teesside offering and grow its private client portfolio, Leah Duffield, born and bred in Middlesbrough, is the latest appointment to the private client team.
Muckle also recently joined Middlesbrough FC Business Club, so more links with smaller Tees businesses may well follow.
In 2024, Muckle LLP became the first Certified B Corporation law firm in the North-East and Cumbria and joined a growing global community of more than 7,800 purpose-led organisations, using business as a force for good.
Linked to that, for the last 23 years,
Muckle has donated one per cent of its annual profits to the Muckle Fund at the Community Foundation, helping hundreds of local charities and organisations with grants totalling more than £ 720,000 – including Tees Valley recipients such as Clean Slate Solutions, Tees Valley Women’ s Centre, Redcar and Cleveland Mind and Three13 Training and Enterprise.
In short, for a Tyneside-based company, its business in, and connections with, Teesside are healthy, long-established and continue to grow.
Managing partner Anthony Evans said:“ With many longstanding clients in Teesside, we are committed to expanding our services throughout the region and growing our links with local communities and charities.”
And while at 200 people, Muckle is fairly large for a North-East law firm, it’ s not massive – and that, says Libbie, has big advantages.
She explained:“ Having been at bigger firms, I remember working with people I’ d never actually met.
“ It was difficult to communicate with them effectively because I didn’ t know them as people, whereas here, we’ re a great team because we all know each other and that ensures we can provide a joined-up, personal service.
“ People respond and we’ re all respectful to each other, which helps to get things done.”
She added:“ As a business, Muckle is very concerned about service level, ensuring we deliver for clients, are responsive and deal with work quickly, efficiently, on time and on budget.
“ And we’ re doing more and more in Tees Valley – we’ ve had some brilliant work already and we’ re building on that.”
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