Managing Partner Nik White to serve third term as Brabners sets out future ambitions

Nik White has been re-elected as our Managing Partner following an uncontested election. 

Nik — who was recently named ‘Management Partner of the Year’ at The Legal 500 Northern Powerhouse Awards — will serve a third three-year term to start on 1 May 2024. As he nears the 30th year of his career with Brabners, Nik will continue to lead our purpose-led firm alongside CEO Robert White, who joined in 2017.

Nik’s re-election comes as we celebrate a sixth successive year of sustainable, profitable growth, as well as being independently recognised as the UK’s ‘Best Law Firm to Work For’ by Best Companies. During Nik's first two terms, we have grown to more than 500 colleagues and a now 86-strong partnership. We also entered the Yorkshire market with the launch of our office in Leeds and have invested significantly in new workspaces in Manchester and Lancashire — with Liverpool to follow soon — while also becoming the first law firm outside of London to achieve B Corp certification.

Alongside our involvement in the high-profile ‘Wagatha Christie’ case, we have continued to make the difference for our clients in recent years — playing a significant role in large-scale Northern regeneration projects such as the Liverpool Waters and Oldham town centre regeneration schemes and Eden Project North in Morecambe, as well as acting for a nationwide portfolio of major corporates, consumer brands, elite sports organisations, charities and private individuals. 

As a firm with a national reach that is proudly anchored in the North, we have set out our intention to continue the momentum of the past six years with an ongoing commitment to focus on people, planet and profit in equal measure as part of the B Corp movement. 

This intention is personified by the launch of ‘True North’ — a new network that unites purposed-led businesses, business leaders and other organisations to co-create a path towards unlocking the true potential of the Northern economy. Organisations that have joined the now 150-partner strong network include Lloyds Banking Group, The Prince’s Trust and the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).

The launch of ‘True North’ in the summer of 2023 was marked by our ‘Defining Northern Ambition’ report, which gathered the views of some of the region’s most influential voices. We have since established a True North advisory council, with working groups focused on identifying specific actions across each of the report’s four key themes: 'people, skills and the future', 'innovation and change', 'sustainable growth' and 'purpose and social impact'.

Nik White said: “I am very happy and grateful to be continuing in my role, acting as a custodian for Brabners — a firm which naturally means a great deal to me having been here throughout the entirety of my career so far. I believe the past few years have been among the best in our more than 200-year history: growing our team and expanding our reach, investing in flagship new spaces, as well as becoming a B Corp and strengthening our culture that genuinely makes the difference for our clients, our colleagues and the communities we serve and — critically — makes Brabners a business that people are proud to be part of. 

As a firm with purpose at its heart, I’m excited about what the next three years and beyond hold, including the work we will deliver and the positive impact we will continue to have on the communities we serve."

CEO Robert White said: “I am delighted that Nik will be continuing in his role as Managing Partner for the next three years. The past six years has been characterised by our firm going from strength to strength — which is just reward for all the hard work, engagement and continued support of all our colleagues and reflective of the trust that our clients increasingly place in us to understand and deliver on their needs. 

The progress we have made in that time means that we are well-placed to build on the momentum we have created, as we continue to focus on playing our part to demonstrate that business can bring about positive change.”