End of an era as law firm senior partner retires

A Leeds-based law firm is preparing for a major transition as a long-serving senior partner announces his retirement.

Morrish Solicitors LLP will bid farewell to Tom Morrish this month, marking the end of a legal career spanning over three decades. 

Having led the firm’s wills and estates team for 20 years, Tom has been instrumental in the firm’s growth and community presence. 

Tom said: “It’s been a privilege to work at Morrish Solicitors during such a successful period in its history. 

“I’ve endeavoured to maintain the high standards set by my forebears and, with the current partners and staff, am delighted that the firm is in a strong position for the future. 

“I leave the firm in good hands.”

Partner Emma Garfitt will take over leadership of the wills and estates team from April.

Founded in 1882, the firm which takes Tom’s family name has been privately owned from its base in Leeds ever since, with a Morrish at the helm since 1919, when Eric Morrish, whose legal studies had been interrupted by the First World War, joined forces with sole practitioner Harold James, forming HB James & Morrish.

Tom’s uncle John then joined the firm in the late 1940s, followed by his father Richard in the late 1950s. 

David Sorensen, managing partner at Morrish Solicitors, added: “We’d like to thank Tom for all the years of hard work and dedication he has put into the firm. 

“Morrish Solicitors has changed immeasurably since he joined, and Tom's commitment over 30 years has been essential to the successes we have achieved. 

“The partners, the whole team, and I wish Tom all the best in his well-earned retirement.”

Morrish Solicitors – as it became known in 2009 – now has a staff of almost 70 working from four offices in West Yorkshire, having become a renowned trade union law firm with 34 union and associations’ clients nationally.

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