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Ince
HeadquartersLondon
No. of offices21
No. of employees700
Major practice areasGeneral Practice
Key peopleDonald Brown
(Chief Executive)[1]
Simon Howard
(Chairman)
RevenueDecrease £97.0 million (2021/22)[2]
Date founded1866
Dissolved2023
Websitewww.inceco.com/en

Ince & Co was a United Kingdom-based holding company with a core business in legal services, which was listed on the London Stock Exchange.[3] The company also offered complementary services in accounting, financial services, consulting, and pensions advice.[4] It was previously known as Ince Gordon Dadds LLP, following the acquisition of Ince & Co by Gordon Dadds Group LLP,[5] and rebranded as The Ince Group in August 2019.[6]

In 2022, The Ince Group ranked 47th in The Lawyer UK 200 list, with £100.2 million in revenue during the previous year.[6] As of 2021, the firm operated in 9 countries and had 21 offices, and employed over 700 employees worldwide, including support staff.[7] The chief executive officer was Donald Brown, while the non-executive chairman was Simon Howard.[8]

In May 2023, Axiom DWFM purchased the firm out of administration and reverted its name to Ince & Co. In August 2023, the SRA suspended three directors of Axiom Ince — Pragnesh Modhwadia, Idnan Liaqat, and Shyam Mistry — amid allegations of a £64m fraud.[9] On 3 October 2023, the Solicitors Regulation Authority intervened to close down Axiom Ince.[10] The intervention is among the largest and potentially the most expensive in SRA's history.[11]

History

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In 2017, Gordon Dadds LLP became the second law firm to list on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange, raising £20 million, two years after Gateley became the first UK law firm to have an IPO.[12][13] The Legal Services Act of 2007, which went into force in 2012, had made it possible for non-lawyers to own or invest in law firms organised as "alternative business structures".[14] In 2018, Gordon Dadds acquired Metcalfes Solicitors in Bristol.[15]

In early 2019, Gordon Dadds LLP acquired the UK and Chinese businesses of Ince & Co for an estimated £21 million in consideration,[16] creating the largest publicly traded law firm in the UK based on revenue at the time, until DWF went public in March of that year.[17][18] Both Gordon Dadds and Ince & Co were well established in the field of insurance law.[19] Gordon Dadds was known for resolving large and complex disputes in the London and international markets,[19] and had a private client and family practice,[20] while Ince & Co was a network of international commercial law firms,[19] specialising in the shipping and insurance sectors,[21] as well as energy and aviation.[6]

Six months into the merger, the firm rebranded the name of most of its legal businesses, including most of its international offices, to "Ince";[5] only its private client business then in Mayfair retained the name "Gordon Dadds".[6] For its financial year 2020, the combined firm reported an 87% increase in revenue, followed by a slowdown in growth in subsequent years.[22] On 13 March 2022, the firm's IT team shut down its servers after detecting a cyber attack;[23] in April, it was granted an injunction to deter hackers from leaking its data online.[24]

In April 2023, Ince Gordon Dadds filed for administration while Donald Brown reportedly attempted to reclaim the firm.[25] Less than one month later, the firm was purchased by Axiom DWFM and operated under the former name "Ince & Co."[26] All former Ince employees were re-hired.[26]

Notable lawyers

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References

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  1. ^ McKechnie, Holly (11 May 2023). "Steadying the ship: what's next for Ince?". Legal Business. Retrieved 8 June 2023. Donald Brown remains CEO...
  2. ^ "Ince fills managing partner hot-seat". Legal Business. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  3. ^ "INCE Group PLC". Financial Times – Equities. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Company Information – Business Description". The Ince Group plc. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Ince rebrands six months into merger". The Global Legal Post. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d "Ince Gordon Dadds – What The Lawyer Says". The Lawyer. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  7. ^ The Ince Group plc, Annual Report and Financial Statements 2021, pp. 4–5. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
  8. ^ "Board of Directors". The Ince Group plc. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  9. ^ "This is how Axiom Ince ended". LittleLaw. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  10. ^ "What has happened to Axiom Ince Ltd?". Solicitors Regulation Authority. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  11. ^ "This is how Axiom Ince ended". LittleLaw. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Dadds plans expansion after listing". The Times. 5 August 2017 – via Gale OneFile.
  13. ^ Ames, Jonathan (20 July 2017). "Gordon Dadds will be second law firm to float in London". The Times. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  14. ^ Lynch, Russell (10 October 2018). "A flight to floats: Which legal eagles will be next to join Britain's trend of lawyer listings?". The Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  15. ^ Hyde, John (24 January 2018). "Bristol firm acquired a week after it rescued collapsed neighbour". The Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  16. ^ Hyde, John (25 July 2019). "Gordon Dadds profits soar - but owners swallow £14m Ince acquisition hit". The Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  17. ^ Baker, Tom (15 March 2019). "DWF becomes UK's largest listed law firm as it completes £95m IPO". Legal Business. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  18. ^ McNicol, Hamish (29 October 2018). "Gordon Dadds to become largest listed firm with £43m acquisition of Ince". Legal Business. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  19. ^ a b c Gangcuangco, Terry (31 October 2018). "Insurance law firms in £34 million mega merger". Insurance Business Magazine. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  20. ^ Hilborne, Nick (14 December 2021). "Ince launches 'most wide-ranging' private wealth offering". Legal Futures. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  21. ^ Booth, James (29 October 2018). "Listed challenger law firm Gordon Dadds swallows 150-year-old City firm Ince & Co". City AM. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  22. ^ Baker, Tom (24 May 2022). "Cyber attack and Ukraine invasion blamed as Ince sees revenue slump 3%". Legal Business. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  23. ^ Cahill, Helen (11 April 2022). "City firms warned to prepare for cyber attacks; The recent hacking of law firm Ince Group's systems has highlighted the need for companies to be alert to the risks". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  24. ^ Rose, Neil (5 April 2022). "Ince Group granted injunction after ransomware attack". Legal Futures. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  25. ^ Hamilton, Jamie (14 April 2023). "Ince collapses and files for administration". RollOnFriday. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  26. ^ a b Hamilton, Jamie (5 May 2023). "Ince plucked from administration". RollOnFriday. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  27. ^ Rocker, Simon (18 May 2018). "The making of Marie". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 2 July 2022 – via PressReader.
  28. ^ Nair, Ajay (6 July 2018). "'Speedo diplomacy': Who is Lewis Pugh?". Sky News. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  29. ^ Shute, Joe (1 September 2018). "Jellyfish stings, plastic waste and ferocious storms: Lewis Pugh on swimming the length of the English Channel". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  30. ^ Nair, Krishnan (24 August 2018). "Keystone adds Ince competition head and ex-Addleshaws Qatar chief in 10-strong series of hires". Law.com (International ed.). Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  31. ^ Dead In The Water: Murder and Fraud in the World's Most Secretive Industry, Matthew Campbell, Kit Chellel, Atlantic Books, 2022
  32. ^ Lloyd's of London- A Reputation at Risk, Godfrey Hodgson, Allen Lane, 1984, p. 187
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