An independent Midlands law firm has appointed a new CEO to help it capitalise on a record year of performance.
Talbots Law, which employs more than 280 people across its six offices in the Black Country and Worcestershire, has named Dave Hodgetts as its new chief executive officer.
The experienced commercial director and qualified accountant joins after a strong 25-year career with Taylor Wimpey and E.ON, with one of his first tasks being to put in place a significant five-year growth plan that will involve consistent organic growth, the opening of new offices and the potential for future acquisitions.
He will look to build on the company’s core values of trust, innovation and delivering expert legal advice in a way that clients understand, an approach that has seen annual fees grow by 26% during a pandemic to reach £16m by the end of 2021.
“This is a very exciting time to be joining Talbots, a law firm that dates back more than 200 years and one that boasts an excellent reputation,” said Dave. “We have emerged from the pandemic in a very strong position, with growth across all of our core areas of law, including residential property, trusts and estates, dispute resolution, commercial, family and criminal defence.
“My task is to use the operational and commercial experience gained working for two PLCs to develop a five-year plan that will build on Talbots’ strong position in the region, while naturally staying true to our core values."
Talbots Law, which has offices in Codsall, Dudley, Halesowen, Kidderminster, Stourbridge and Wolverhampton, has recruited an additional 50 staff over the last twelve months, with another 30 positions to fill between now and the end of the year.
Mary Morgan, who has handed over the role of CEO, said: “It’s fantastic that we have attracted Dave to the Talbots family, and he has come along at the right time in our development. His commercial and operational expertise is second to none having successfully expanded the operations of two national PLCs and it is this experience of bringing people together to deliver outstanding performance that really appealed to us.”
Pictured: Mary Morgan and Dave Hodgetts
