At the start of September 2015, Ison Harrison merged with Castleford and Pontefract firm, Maurice Smiths.
Maurice Smiths, that was established in 1933, and with staff of over 20 people, specialised in Residential and Commercial Conveyancing, Wills & Probate, Crime and Family Law. Having now merged with Ison Harrison, both offices are able to offer their clients a greater breadth of service to clients and Richard Pinto, former Partner at Maurice Smiths and now Partner at Ison Harrison, was enthused by this prospect stating “We can now offer the fullest range of legal services to the people of Castleford and Pontefract”.
Managing Partner at Ison Harrison said that the merger reflects a continuation of an expansion plan that the Leeds firm have been following for the last 6 years. “We believe that you have to understand the markets that you move into and that you have to know what the public want from a law firm.”
Partner and Head of Private Client Dominic Mackenzie added “the type of work that Maurice Smiths have done successfully for many decades complements the services that we provide. We also need to be comfortable that a merger will work for us and our clients in terms of both size and geography. We have long established branches, for example, in nearby Garforth and Crossgates. These offices are very similar to the Maurice Smiths offices as well as collectively giving us a very large presence to the South and East of Leeds.”
The merger has also given a number of Ison Harrison staff the opportunity to return to an area they know well. Dominic himself trained and spent the formative years of his career in Castleford, and in addition, Employment Lawyer Yunus Lunat and Family Lawyer Sarah Hubery both worked for a nu
mber of years in the area.
