Home Appointments & Contracts Leeds legal team achieves national recognition

Leeds legal team achieves national recognition

Leeds-based team of legal experts – with a difference – has been highlighted as one of the most outstanding employment law firms in the country.

ESP Law has been shortlisted in the Excellence in Client Service category of the Law Society’s prestigious 2018 Excellence Awards – the highest accolade for law firms in England and Wales. With more than 9,000 practices and 140,000 solicitors across these two nations, this is no mean feat.

Winners will be announced at the Law Society’s Excellence Awards ceremony in London on 17 October.

The news comes in the same week that ESP Law learned it is one of only five UK organisations on the finalist roll call for Employment Law Firm of the Year, as part of the prestigious Personnel Today Awards. And all eyes are now on the ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on 21 November, when the nation’s number one practice will be announced.


This shortlist achievement follows a judging panel’s scrutiny of the team’s performance, innovation and customer service levels over the past 12 months. The size of the firm does not play a part, but a commitment to standards certainly does.

Commenting on the success to date, Pete Byrne, founder, said: “Awards schemes are now common throughout virtually every strand of business, but when it comes to the world that we operate in, these are two that you want to be recognised by.

“When we started up in 2003, our mission was to create a very different kind of employment law firm and HR consultancy business. Some would argue we took a risk by establishing ourselves as an Alternative Business Structure (ABS) law firm back in 2015, but this finalist recognition is evidence that our passion for transforming market expectations is paying off.

“We’re delighted to represent ABS organisations nationally and hope that this success reinforces the extent to which we’re helping busy HR professionals make a real commercial difference to their organisations.”

With a base in both Leeds and Woking, ESP Law has secured a 98% client retention rate and grown the business by 50% over the past 24 months. This success has led to the further strengthening of the firm’s legal team, as the quest for additional 50% year on year growth continues.

Pete concluded: “We set out to deliver a game-changing approach to how HR teams and employment lawyers work together. To scoop one or both of these trophies would be the ultimate confirmation that our new model law firm delivers exactly what visionary HR leaders are looking for.”