Walker Morris

Walker Morris is an independent commercial law firm run from its head office on Wellington Street in Leeds. It acts for corporates, banks and alternative lenders, developers, residential builders, private equity houses, manufacturers, food and drink companies, retail and leisure operators and sports clubs. Its practice spans corporate, real estate, litigation, employment and immigration, tax and building safety work, and the firm says it handles international work through relationships with independent law firms abroad.

Jeanette Burgess is managing partner, with overall responsibility for the firm. She has sat on its board for 10 years and built her own practice in retail finance and consumer law, data protection and anti-money laundering.

Double-digit growth on filed figures

Consolidated turnover rose 14% from £74m to £84.3m in the year to April 2025, according to the group accounts filed at Companies House. The average number of staff, excluding members, rose from 423 to 434, made up of 261 fee earners and 173 support staff. The LLP had 59 members on average, 30 of them equity members.

The firm’s own results for the year to April 2026 put fee revenue at £90.2m, up 11% on £81m and its first year above £90m. It said net profit rose 11% at a margin of 46%, and that revenue has grown 65% since 2020/21. Headcount rose 7% in 12 months to more than 530 people.

Promotions, hires and a revenue target

The 2026 round brought 26 promotions, among them three new partners in employment, construction and engineering, and planning and environment. The firm also hired three directors from outside, in pensions, infrastructure and energy, and planning and environment. It reported its lowest staff turnover in six years, staff engagement of 88% and said 64% of its people use AI tools in their work.

Burgess said the revenue milestone had been “driven by increasing market share in the areas we have prioritised”, and that the firm is advising on more complex, higher-value regulatory and cross-border matters. The corporate team had its strongest year on record, according to the firm.

Walker Morris works to a plan it calls Ambition 27, which sets a target of more than £100m in revenue. It entered the final year of that plan with fee revenue of £90.2m.