Clarion aims to be top of the criminal legal practice pile

Managing partner Mark Burns also believes that Clarion can become a top 150 law firm by 2017, at a time when the legal sector is being squeezed by increased competition.

Mr Burns said: “We want to change the world’s view of lawyers, one client at a time.”

Clarion was created in February 2007, when one of Yorkshire’s best-known lawyers, Peter McCormick, sold his Leeds-based practice to a team of lawyers at the firm.

Mr McCormick and his two longest-serving partners transferred to the firm’s Harrogate practice, which has continued to trade, and grow, as McCormicks.

Clarion marked a milestone in its growth in June, when it moved to a larger head office in Elizabeth House, in Queen Street, Leeds, from its original base in nearby Oxford Place.

Mr Burns has big plans for Clarion’s criminal practice, which was formed in 2010 and recently changed its name from Clarion Advocates to ABR Solicitors.

Led by Rob Rode, the practice has 18 criminal lawyers, and plans to grow rapidly.

“So far ABR has got offices in Leeds, Harrogate and Liverpool,’’ said Mr Burns.

“We will soon be opening an operation in Huddersfield and our aim is to become the number one criminal law firm in the north of England within three years. There could possibly be 80 to 90 people working in ABR by then.”

ABR Solicitors offers a range of fraud crime and regulatory services. It also advises businesses about regulatory compliance so they can avoid prosecutions.

Mr Burns said: “We want to become a top 150 law firm in five years, which means our turnover will have to rise from £8.5m to £15m.

“We’ve got 100 staff and plan to keep Clarion on a single site in Leeds – we can serve an international client base from an office in Leeds. We already have clients in 30 plus countries.” Clarion has been a long-standing supporter of the Leeds 10K corporate challenge.

The Leeds 10k, which attracts thousands of runners every year, was established by the late Jane Tomlinson, whose epic fundraising on behalf of fellow cancer sufferers inspired tributes from the Queen and Sir Elton John. Despite being terminally ill, she took part in a large number of gruelling charity challenges, including a sponsored bicycle ride across America.

Mr Burns added: “We’ve raised collectively £1m for charity over the last five years. Two out of 60 Court of Protection Deputies in the UK work at Clarion. That shows that we know how to look after people when they are at their most vulnerable.”

As part of Clarion’s growth plans, the firm has established Clarion Counsel, which aims to add value to a business with timely advice.

Mr Burns said: “With good advice, you can add 10 to 15 per cent of the value of a business when it is sold.” Over the last year, Clarion has recruited 33 new staff members and now has 18 partners. The firm has taken out a 15-year lease on the Elizabeth House offices, which are owned by Sheffield-based developer JF Finnegan,