Ince Group has promoted senior partner Julian Clark to manage its worldwide operations as it pursues further international business.
The UK-headquartered law firm, bought by law group Gordon Dadds in 2018, has revised its management structure to reflect aggressive expansion overseas in recent months.
Global senior partner Clark will work with new UK managing partner Mark Tantam, who is also global head of consulting, and Alex Janes, who has been appointed international managing partner.
Janes was previously head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Clark is tasked with building the market profile of the group internationally and "breaking down silos between offices and service lines", Ince said.
He is establishing a small number of groups to build cooperation and increase revenue, the company added.
More hires needed
Tantam and Janes will be looking to recruit more lawyers to grow the business.
Ince has been busy adding staff in the UK, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Gibraltar and Cyprus this year.
"We continue to look for suitable opportunities to expand the teams in all of our offices largely through lateral and team hires," the company said.
The international offices' revenue increased in the six months to 30 September, "reflecting re-invigoration with new partners and continued expansion of services", the law firm said.
Net profit in the period was £1.47m ($1.96m), compared to a loss of £1.91m in 2019.
Group revenue was up 6% to £48.2m. Net debt stood at £8.3m, down from £9m at the end of March.
Group chief executive Adrian Biles called the results "exceptional" in a time of pandemic.
Worth the wait
"Lateral recruitment has taken time to expand the service lines offered in the overseas offices, but the results are beginning to be felt and I am particularly pleased with the performance of the international offices in this period," he added.
Ince is not paying a dividend, but Biles said the group is in a position to deliver future growth and should be able to pay out to investors after its annual results.
In the UK, which represented 57% of revenue in the period, Ince said shipping and dispute resolution performed solidly in the half-year.
But as new lawyers have joined, the number of fee earners and support staff has been cut "where the medium term prospects of business sectors or support needs would not justify their retention," Ince revealed.
The group has also sold White & Black, which specialises in technology and corporate law, to part of the management team for £500,000.
Its transaction business fell off in the first half, Ince said.
