For 33 years, The Legal 500 has been analysing the capabilities of law firms across the world, with a comprehensive research programme revised and updated every year to bring the most up-to-date vision of the global legal market.  

With over 17,000 clients nationwide across all sectors, Ellis Whittam has one of the largest and most experienced Employment Law departments in the North West. Established in 2004 by leading solicitor Mark Ellis, whose goal was to combine the quality of a traditional law firm with the cost certainty of fixed fees, Ellis Whittam has grown into a business with a national reputation for providing pragmatic, commercial advice and exceptional service. 

Now, 16 years on, we are delighted to have joined The Legal 500 for the first time. 

We spoke to our Employment Law Director, James Tamm, about our inaugural listing in the prestigious index. 

For those who aren’t familiar with The Legal 500, what does it mean to be recognised as a ‘leading firm’? 

The Legal 500 assesses the strengths of law firms in over 150 jurisdictions, the results of which can be viewed online. The rankings are based on a series of criteria, highlighting the practice area teams who are providing the most cutting edge and innovative advice. Their research is based on feedback from clients, submissions from law firms and interviews with leading private practice lawyers, and a team of researchers who have unrivalled experience in the legal market. 

This isn’t an accreditation you can buy; it is only given on merit. I’m immensely proud that the consistent effort of our team to support our clients has been recognised by a highly respected analyst. It’s a big badge of honour and really reflects the quality and quantity of the work that we do.

“Highly specialised employer-focused firm Ellis Whittam is particularly active in complex litigation, trade union issues and TUPE… advises an assortment of large, medium and small businesses, predominantly those in the retail, manufacturing, hospitality, professional services and education sectors.”

The Legal 500

What were the stand-out points from Ellis Whittam’s application that secured this title? 

Each client gets its own small team of dedicated employment lawyers. We give as much help as clients require, dealing with the full range of employment law issues from disciplinary and grievances to whistleblowing, collective redundancy and discrimination. However, we have a particular specialisation in areas of complex litigation, trade union issues and TUPE. We build a personal relationship with each client and become fully embedded with them, a trusted part of the client’s team. In the past 12 months, we have carried out over 50,000 individual employee relations cases on behalf of our clients which gives an idea of the size and breadth of our practice. 

We also have a large and thriving Litigation Team. In 2019, we received 156 new claims from our clients. As well as being extensive, our litigation practice is also incredibly effective. During 2019, 30 of the cases we dealt with ran to a full Tribunal hearing and we successfully defended 26 of them, a win rate of 86%. Given that the we advised at the early stages of each of those claims, those numbers are a testament to the quality of advice we provide to our clients.

“This is an extremely responsive and cohesive team that provides excellent instructions and deals with problems head-on in a no-nonsense manner. They are very client focused and that means they are assiduous and conscientious in everything they do.”

EW client

See our ranking and find out more about our key clients and work highlights on The Legal 500.