What services does ARMA offer and how do you differentiate from the competition?

ARMA Litigation is an independent law firm based in Leeds specialising in International Dispute Resolution, Arbitration and Commercial Transactions. We offer high quality legal services to regional, national and international clients in the UK, US, Middle East, India, Singapore and Scandinavia.

We are a cutting-edge law firm with a new legal culture - A challenger brand with an unrivalled commitment to our clients. We have a unique focus on the promotion of equality, inclusion and diversity, offering a very different experience to clients, partners and staff than other law firms.

We have developed a unique reputation for resolving complex disputes confidentially without reference to the Courts in diverse sectors ranging from international property development, global trade to National Security issues. In the UK, most of our domestic litigation is conducted in the Royal Courts of Justice, Court of Appeal, Intellectual Property Enterprise Court and the London Court of International Arbitration. Clients in crisis don’t want multiple options and we are not afraid to offer clear business-focused advice and support clients making the tough calls.

We act for businesses from start-ups to multi-billion dollar global companies. Our lawyers have a fierce reputation making us a viable alternative to City and national law firms for complex cross border disputes.

Our work includes Injunctions, Claimant Fraud and Asset Recovery, Commercial Litigation, Professional Negligence, Defendant Fraud, Mediation, and Hybrid Litigation with In-House legal teams.

ARMA serves the wider community by making specialist services available to people who would not easily access them. Through an in-house pro bono programme, the firm specifically takes on cases where it believes the outcome will have a positive impact on society, and which it funds through a unique no win no fee arrangement.

Can you please describe ARMA's milestones to get to where it is today from its inception?

When establishing ARMA Litigation, our focus has always been on fighting for our clients’ rights and winning their commercial disputes. We have since achieved a strong track record in taking on and beating major City law firms and know how to stand up to big business. As a specialist boutique law firm, our aim is to provide clients with a high level of legal advice with a much more personalised service. This is at the core of everything we do. Our disputes resolution team is recognised as agile, relentless and tenacious, offering a unique legal proposition with the expertise and experience to win complex business disputes.  

We are strong believers in giving something back to society and will always seek ways to do this. We are committed to help those that need access to justice and to defend those that cannot defend themselves. We are structured so that up to 30% of our legal business is focused on helping others at no cost. We then look to recover the costs from our opponent, and will ask the Court to make an order to pay the costs we have recovered to the Access to Justice foundation. In addition, we have chosen charities we support including Leeds Children’s Charity, The Howarth Foundation and Feel Good Factor, and have been supporting and advising a former Royal Marine Commando, Mike Bates who, in December 2022, set off to row the 3000 mile Talisker Atlantic Challenge single handed to raise funds for Leeds Children’s Hospital. Corporate & Social Responsibility is fundamental to us and we believe this is not an add-on or a nice to have – it is key to what we believe and how we build our firm. We do not tick the box. We create the box.

We are particularly keen on employing individuals who have had to fight in life, overcome personal challenges or come from disadvantaged backgrounds. It is both the right thing to do and in our experience, such people make great lawyers. We do not accept discrimination or oppressive practices on any level. Our commitment to breaking down traditional diversity barriers is evident as 44% of the workforce, including 66% of the leadership team, are from minority ethnic backgrounds, whilst 55% are female.

What are the advantages of being a new entry into the industry?

Our partners are highly experienced commercial lawyers and ARMA welcomes the greater flexibility in choosing a more innovative business model including how we run our firm and taking the right steps for a more visible contribution to a better society. For example, we chose the name ARMA to reflect our overall business ethos and core values, and the protection of clients’ interests through an equality of arms in everything we do together. We made the decision to adopt a no-nonsense style when litigating against companies that may throw their weight around, to giving access to high-level legal expertise to sectors of society that would not normally be able to access it.

We have been able to very quickly introduce a range of new initiatives as outlined above. Our brand values have a unique focus on the promotion of equality, inclusion and diversity, offering a very different experience to clients, partners and staff. ARMA Litigation was launched as a firm without hierarchies and with an open door policy where everyone’s voice is heard.

Can you tell me more about the legal industry in Yorkshire and how does the future look like for the industry at local and national level? 

We are cautiously optimistic given the tight economic conditions the country now faces.

On a personal level, we have seen good recovery after the Coronavirus pandemic and are looking to invest in our infrastructure (tech & gigabit connectivity) to future proof us over the coming years.

The arrival of Channel 4 in Leeds highlights the appeal of the city, with yet more high quality names set to gravitate to the area. Leeds is also the UK’s fastest growing city, with forecasts putting its economic growth at 21% over the next 10 years, and financial and business services responsible for over half that growth. The above clearly indicates the potential in the market, given the fact that Leeds is one of the largest legal hubs outside of London.

Nationally, the biggest threat to the industry, as in many other sectors, is the tightness in the labour market. Firms, irrespective of size, are unable to fill vacancies and, as such, the focus has shifted to retaining talent, which has seen salaries move wildly ahead of where they were a year ago. Given this, we and other firms are creatively looking to meet the talent gap and we hope that the solicitor apprenticeship scheme we offer will become more prominent as a route to qualification.

We believe that the drive to be a more diverse and inclusive industry must continue. Firms must make braver decisions to be more representative at all levels of their hierarchies.

It will also be important for firms to invest in and embrace technology that supports agile working. Post pandemic, firms will likely be leaner and more resilient, and therefore prepared for any worst case economic scenario.