Pictured above: Robert Williams

In times of recession, as contracts become harder to perform and businesses fold, more people are inclined to pursue litigation as a means of resolving disputes. But the current lack of credit in this recession has made litigation more difficult to fund and some litigation lawyers have found themselves out of work.

One leading law firm in Shropshire, however, believes its long standing philosophy of helping clients to avoid disputes as much as helping them to win disputes in the courtroom is what has seen its civil and corporate litigation department not only survive but need to take on more lawyers.

GHP Legal, which employs around a hundred people and has offices in Oswestry, Wrexham and Llangollen, plans to recruit more litigation lawyers over coming months. Partner Robert Williams said:

"The current climate may have changed the balance of case types but it has also widened our portfolio. As companies put more work out to contract instead of doing it in-house we are being asked to advise on long-term contractual commitments and we are seeing more disputes arise. We are also dealing with more dispute resolution well before the case sees a courtroom.  This work is specialised and not all law firms are able to offer such a full service. The fact that we are taking on new people in our commercial and litigation department is testament to the increase in demand for our expertise."