Ison Harrison, one of Yorkshire’s top law firms, is setting its sights on making 2025 the most successful year in its 47-year history.
The Leeds-based firm celebrated its best-ever trading year in 2024, achieving a record turnover of over £27 million—a 23% increase from the previous year. This milestone marked the most profitable year since the firm’s founding.
Over the past five years, Ison Harrison has more than doubled its turnover and expects continued growth in 2025. Key contributors to this success include the acquisition of Cohen Cramer Solicitors and the expansion of multiple departments. Notably, the firm saw impressive growth in its property, family, and commercial law teams in 2024, with turnover rising by 33%, 29%, and 20%, respectively.
Employing over 350 staff across the region, Ison Harrison is also marking the third anniversary of its transition to employee ownership. Employees have shared in the firm’s financial success, with those serving over one year receiving a tax-free profit distribution of £4,000 each for the second consecutive year, approved by the Board of Trustees.
Ison Harrison became one of the first regional law firms in the UK to become a 100% employee-owned business in January 2022 after the three main shareholder directors agreed to sell the business to an Employee Ownership Trust. The successful transition to an EOT was cemented when the firm was shortlisted as a finalist in the Employee-Owned Business of the Year category at the UK Employee Ownership Awards 2024. The firm was the only law firm to be nominated.
Managing Director Jonathan Wearing, commented: “Last year proved to be the most successful year in our history and following our transition to full employee ownership, the firm continues to go from strength to strength. The efforts of the entire team helped deliver a record year for the firm last year which has put us in a great position to ensure that 2025 will be even more successful and eventful.
“The move to employee ownership was a defining moment for us. As the firm continues to expand its significant presence across Yorkshire, the flexible structure that employee ownership provides offers the ideal platform for future growth, attracting fresh talent and providing stability for existing staff. In 2025, we can build on the outstanding achievements of 2024, boosting our presence and visibility in the region by opening more offices and increasing the employee headcount. I’m immensely proud of the great strides made in 2024 and look forward to building on this in 2025 and beyond.”
The firm opened two new branch offices last year in Queensbury and Selby, increasing the firm’s branch network to 20 with further office openings across the region planned for the first quarter of 2025.
Additional notable achievements by the firm in 2024 included renewed Lexcel accreditation, the approved legal industry quality mark for client care, compliance and practice management. The firm was also a double winner at the Yorkshire Legal Awards winning in the residential property and personal injury and clinical negligence categories.
Ison Harrison employs more than 350 staff across Yorkshire, offering the broadest range of legal services in the region.
The firm has over 10 Law Society accreditations including Lexcel, Clinical Negligence, Family Law, Immigration & Asylum, Conveyancing Quality and SRA Higher Courts Rights – civil and criminal.