Birketts opens new office in Sevenoaks following merger with Batchelors Solicitors

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Birketts LLP, a UK Top 50 law firm, has completed its planned merger with Batchelors Solicitors.

The merger has increased the firm’s headcount to more than 1,000 people, indicating the next step in Birketts’ exciting growth trajectory.

The firm has achieved consistent year-on-year growth in the past four years. The acquisition of Batchelors has strengthened the firm’s London team and extended its reach further into the South East, having acquired Batchelors' Kent and London-based offices.

Birketts announced that a mark of this expansion is “the news that Birketts has now opened its sixth office based in Sevenoaks”. The new “grade A” building will accommodate 32 colleagues and has been fully prepared with open co-working areas and the latest technology.

Chief executive at Birketts, Jonathan Agar, said: “We’re delighted to have completed our merger with Batchelors Solicitors. The Batchelors team has slotted seamlessly into the firm, and we are excited about what the future holds as we work together to offer our full-service brand of legal expertise to an ever-increasing client base.”

He later added: “Just as exciting is the opening of our sixth office in Sevenoaks. This new base is a pivotal moment in the firm’s history, enabling the expansion of our reach across the South East.”

Birketts’ new office in Sevenoaks will initially offer services in the following practice areas:

• property (commercial property, residential property and conveyancing, housebuilders, and social housing);
• construction;
• corporate and commercial;
• employment;
• dispute resolution and litigation (property litigation, contentious trust and probate);
• agriculture and landed estates; and
• public sector.

Jeanette Wheeler, partner and head of employment and immigration at Birketts, is leading the firm’s expansion into the South East. Wheeler commented on the news: “I’m excited to be bringing our client-centric, professional and collaborative brand of legal advice to the people and businesses of Kent and beyond.”

There are plans to expand capability in the new Sevenoaks office across several areas during the year, including services for banking and finance.