15 lose jobs as law firm is split and sold

FIFTEEN workers have lost their jobs after an Oldham law firm went into administration and was sold to four other law firms, administrators have said.

Mellor Hargreaves, based at King Street, specialised in the highly competitive area of personal injury claims with a focus on former coal miners.

Mellor Hargreaves has been sold by administrators based at Manchester-based Leonard Curtis Recovery (LCR) to four other regional law firms including one called Mellor Hargreaves Limited.

The Oldham Evening Chronicle approached Mellor Hargreaves Limited for comment but no spokesperson or statement was available at the time of going to press.

Administrators say Mellor Hargreaves entered administration on July 7 and its sales details were circulated to 1,500 interested parties by LCR and Greystone Transformation Services.

Sales were made before and upon administration to Mellor Hargreaves Limited along with Michael W Halsalls Solicitors, Clear Law and Simpson Sisson & Brooke.

Administrators said each firm bought certain assigned cases without risk of any subsequent intervention by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. On the day that the cases were transferred, Mellor Hargreaves' 15 employees were made redundant.

Julien Irving, a joint administrator at Leonard Curtis Recovery, said: "To avoid any Solicitors Regulation Authority intervention, it was necessary to undertake a sale of the business prior to and upon our appointment. This enabled client files to be transferred to other regulated firms which are able to progress the cases.

"Unfortunately the firm has been another casualty of the personal injury sector. Key to avoiding intervention was the early advice taken by the partners to ensure continuity of client matters to the SRA's satisfaction."