Farrer & Co

Farrer & Co is a British law firm headquartered in London, England serving private individuals, charitable institutions and corporations. They have, over their more than three hundred years of operation, acted for many of the Kings and Queens of England and later Great Britain and the United Kingdom, including Queen Elizabeth II, as well as many leading public figures.[6][7][8]

Farrer & Co LLP
Headquarters66 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, United Kingdom[1]
No. of offices1
No. of lawyers77 partners[2]
No. of employees400[3]
Major practice areasPrivate wealth; Businesses; Financial services; Not-for-profit; Education [4]
RevenueIncrease £80m[5]
Date founded1701 (via the Tempest Slingers' practice)
FounderTempest Slinger
Company typeLimited Liability Partnership
Websitewww.farrer.co.uk

The firm operates across five main sectors: private wealth, businesses, financial services, not-for-profit, and education.[9]

History

The firm was started in 1701 by Tempest Slinger and his nephew, also named Tempest Slinger. In 1759, Oliver Farrer joined the firm, becoming a partner and the sole proprietor by 1769, and the name Farrer was added to the firm's name. From then until 1999, there was always at least one Farrer, and often several, working at the firm.[6]

Clientele

In 1885, the solicitor Frederic Ouvry was headhunted through Coutts. He represented and developed a close friendship with Charles Dickens, and became President of the Law Society in 1871.[6]

The firm established itself as advisors to the Royal Family in the 1930s. Leslie Farrer (later Sir Leslie) was the personal advisor to the Duke of York (later George VI) and was involved in the negotiations over the abdication of Edward VIII (later the Duke of Windsor). The firm continued to serve members of the Royal Family, including Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, throughout the 20th century.[6]

The firm converted to a limited liability partnership (LLP) in 2006 and now employs around 400 people, including 77 partners.[10][6]

Controversy

The company was used by Rupert Murdoch's News International during the News International phone hacking scandal. Farrer's partner, Ben Beabey, left in 2011 to join News International.[11] In 2012, Julian Pike, head of Farrer's Reputation Management practice, told a House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee that he had advised News International to carry out surveillance of the phone-hacking victims' lawyers, Charlotte Harris and Mark Lewis.[12] News International has since admitted that the surveillance was "deeply inappropriate".[13]

In 2017, Pike was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.[14]

The firm was named in the Panama Papers.[15]

References
  1. "Lex 100 - Farrer & Co". Archived from the original on 17 November 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  2. "Partner announcements at Farrers - 71 percent of partner promotions over the last three years have been women". Farrer.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  3. "Farrer & Co People". Farrer.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  4. "Farrer & Co - Our Clients & Sectors". Farrer & Co. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  5. "UK 200". Thelawyer.com. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  6. "Farrer & Co, History". Farrer & Co. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  7. "Phone hacking: Will the Queen drop scandal solictors Farrer & Co? - Telegraph". Archived from the original on 19 December 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  8. "Case study: Farrer & Co - Legal Week". LegalWeek.com. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  9. "Farrer & Co: our clients & sectors". Farrer & Co. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  10. "The Lawyer - UK 200: Top 100". Thelawyer.com. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  11. "Farrers partner heads for News Group - The Lawyer - Legal News and Jobs - Advancing the business of law". Thelawyer.com. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  12. "Phone hacking: Victims' lawyers under surveillance". BBC News. 8 November 2011.
  13. O'Carroll, Lisa (22 May 2012). "Surveillance of phone-hacking victims' solicitors was justified, says lawyer". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  14. "SDT throws out surveillance allegations against News of the World solicitor - Legal Futures". Legal Futures. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  15. "Queen's lawyers acted for politician now accused by US prosecutors". The Guardian. 6 October 2021.
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