Wilkin Chapman Rollits: Meet the boss who is proud to lead a new legal giant

"The cultures of our two firms are very similar,’’ he said. “Our values are very much the same and our client bases are complementary. We at Wilkin Chapman initiated the discussion about the merger in early 2024. We spent that period getting to know each other better and conducting due diligence on both sides, which has been an enjoyable part of the process.

"Our aim is to be the leading law firm in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Rollitts and Wilkin Chapman know each other really well. Both firms have been around a long time and we've worked together on various cases and deals over the years,’’ he added. “Once we started talking to each other it became very clear that not only does the merger fit with our vision and strategy, there is also a great synergy between the two firms.”

No redundancies are planned as part of the merger, and Mr Simmonds will draw on his earlier experience as a junior rugby coach to pull the teams together.

“My coaching philosophy focused on communicating a clear game plan, akin to a strategy in business, and then ensuring the players had the skills to be able to perform their roles on the pitch to the best of their ability,’’ said Mr Simmonds, who also has an MBA from Henley Business School.

"The other key piece of the jigsaw was creating the environment where they were trusted to perform and enjoy what they were doing. I use a similar approach in my role as CEO.”

Mr Simmonds’ career journey provides him with a global perspective. He has broad experience of managing legal operations in the UK, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the US and Asia-Pacific, which included a six year stint as director of operations for Africa for the law firm Baker McKenzie.

"I spent a lot of time in some of the bigger African economies, such as Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Kenya, Angola and Ethiopia, which were growing at a rapid rate at that time,’’ he recalled.

"One of the most interesting things about that role was adapting to the cultural differences, whether they were legal or more esoteric cultural differences.

"That was a great challenge and great fun as well,’’ he said. “I went to some really interesting places. Lagos in Nigeria is an incredible place for example; it's an enormous, bustling city with great energy and entrepreneurship. It has some big successful law firms there. I had a great time growing the Baker McKenzie business there, whether there are any synergies between those markets and some of ours in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire I'm not sure!”

Over the last century, both Wilkin Chapman and Rollits have forged strong ties with the communities they serve. These relationships will help the new combined firm grow during a period of economic uncertainty.

"All our offices are in strong local economies, often driven by local entrepreneurs and national businesses that have a significant presence locally; that very much fits with our ethos,’’ he added.

"Post merger we're going to be a big regional law firm but at the heart of that we've got offices staffed by people who understand the local economy and local markets.”

"While the markets we serve are different, they all have the same positive aspects,’’ he added. "The York market, for example, is particularly exciting for us because we've got a relatively small presence there post merger of between 15 and 20 people, but we think the potential to grow that office is very significant indeed. We're looking forward to expanding that office and creating something exciting.”

In the long term, Mr Simmonds, hopes the merged firm will become the leading law firm in York.

"We will be looking at all options to expand our operations in York,’’ he added. "Historically, we've grown our locations through a mixture of organic growth and acquisition activity. The first thing we need to do is better understand the market and that will inform how we go about it but I anticipate it will be a combination of those tactics.

"In one of our other locations, Beverley, we've grown the office to around 60 people from a standing start in a relatively short period of time. It is entirely feasible that we could grow York to something similar in the short to medium term.”

As part of the build up to the merger announcement, both firms spoke to a number of their commercial clients who have declared themselves “very supportive” of the move.

"We're a full service law firm with a sector focus and we see opportunity for growth in all areas as a merged firm,’’ he added.

"There's definitely scope to grow our corporate law offering as well as our private client offering. As a bigger firm, we will continue to be able to recruit the best talent in the region and in the market.

"We will also be able to provide broader and greater career opportunities. The most exciting thing for me is putting a strategy in place and aligning a group of 500 people behind a plan and then getting on and delivering it. It's that people element that is particularly rewarding; it's recruiting the people, developing them, mentoring them and helping them to be the best they can be.

"If you get those things right as a CEO, the results almost take care of themselves and flow from that."