Record number of promotions made at Manchester’s leading full-service law firm
JMW makes 75 promotions across the firm as the business continues to reinforce its culture and values as a best-in-class employer
Leading full-service law firm JMW has announced a record number of promotions across its Manchester, London and Liverpool offices, including appointing to the Board 35-year-old Megan Christie-Copeland, an appointment made while she was on maternity leave with her first child.
Also appointed to the Board as equity partners are Mark Jones, head of Commercial Litigation, and Andrew Lilley and Gordon Cartwright, both of whom are joint heads of the firm’s Personal Injury department.
In total, there have been 75 promotions made across the firm, the highest number in JMW’s history. In addition to the four equity partners, 32 have been made associates, 24 made senior associates, 12 have been made salaried partners, and three fixed share equity partners.
Megan joined JMW in 2020 from Linder Myers, bringing her team and caseload with her and merging the two Court of Protection teams during lockdown, whilst taking over the role of Head of Court of Protection from the retiring ‘W’ of JMW, Ged Wilson. The 2020 team of 28 with 350 cases has now grown to 63 people managing a caseload in excess of 900. Megan was named both Lawyer of the Year and the recipient of the discretionary Chairman’s Rising Star Award by the Made in Manchester Awards 2022; in the same year, she and her team won the Private Client Team of the Year Award in the Manchester Legal Awards.
Mark, who has practised commercial and construction law for more than 25 years, is described in the prestigious Legal 500 directory as a “very experienced and commercially savvy litigator.” He joined the firm 11 years ago and has a wide and varied client base, from acting for elite professional athletes to nationally known banks and construction companies. Mark is extremely popular within the firm and his promotion to the Board has been welcomed hugely by the many people who have worked directly alongside him.
Gordon Cartwright joined JMW as a trainee in 2001 and has specialised in catastrophic injury work since qualifying as a solicitor in 2003. A Special Ambassador for the Child Brain Injury Trust, he has a particular interest in paediatric brain injury claims and amputation cases, regularly securing seven figure settlements on behalf of his clients, including a settlement of £5m for a child who suffered a brain injury in a road traffic accident and £1.6m for a claimant who suffered an above the elbow amputation as a result of an accident at work. To see him rise right through the ranks from trainee to Board member provides an extremely positive example of JMW’s developing talent.
Andrew Lilley, who came to JMW in 1999, is a Director of Headway Central Lancashire and the firm’s appointed representative for both Headway and the Spinal Injuries Association. He runs a significant caseload of challenging brain and spinal injury and is renowned for his ability to take on and win the most technically testing “problem” cases from other firms, in recent years winning his clients over £20 million in cases transferred to him from other solicitors.
Said Megan: “I’m honoured to be promoted to the Board, and in my opinion, it taking place whilst I was on maternity leave demonstrates JMW’s holistic approach to career development. There are no barriers to success here: in my own team we have made 18 promotions this year. Ours is a highly specialist, experienced team, dealing sensitively and empathetically with some of the most vulnerable of people and their families, friends and carers. Our person-centred approach is one that has been developed over many years and I look forward to our continued success.”
Gordon added: “I’m absolutely delighted to become an equity partner especially as this is such an exciting period of growth for the firm. I’ve been with JMW for my entire career so this really is a special honour for me. I would also say that I am particularly proud of the work carried out by my team in the field of catastrophic injury and I hope to see all those involved continuing to climb the career ladder themselves in the coming years.”
Mark said: “The JMW Commercial Litigation team is over 60 strong and widely recognised in the industry for its market-leading work advising on multiple types of litigation issues, and I take pride in our collective achievements as we have developed our practice. As an equity partner, I’m now looking forward to ensuring the continued success of the team whilst working with the Board to continue the further improvement of our client offering. In doing so JMW remain committed to its people and clients.”
Andrew Lilley said of his new appointment: “I am extremely pleased to be appointed to the Board and I look forward to working closely with my fellow equity partners. I’ve been with JMW for 25 years and over that period of time I’ve seen the firm grow not just in terms of numbers but in stature and reputation, all the while never losing sight of our mission to deliver the very best legal services to our clients at every level.”
Marc Yaffe, managing partner at JMW, said: “We are happy to announce the highest number of promotions in the firm’s 46-year history. This firm is blessed with brilliant people with drive, determination and a commitment to our clients, their colleagues and the firm’s overall development.
“We will not rest on our laurels and our focus for 2024-25 is to make every aspect of what we do better, so that we continually improve on our past achievements. From recruiting smarter and retaining the best talent, to managing and developing our people in meaningful and more engaging ways, and continually improving systems and technology, we will always look to the future as a way of enhancing what has been built here whilst staying true to the culture and values which remain the beating heart of our business.”
l-r Andrew Lilley, Meghan Christie-Copeland, Gordon Cartwright and Mark Jones, JMW.