James L Russell and Stewarts Solicitors

Leading regional law firm, Stewarts Solicitors, doubles its workforce at Ballymena Branch.

Stewarts Solicitors, which has its Ballymena base at 25 Ballymoney Road, has announced the growth of its practice following an acquisition involving James L Russell & Son Solicitors, based on High Street. The transaction will involve the staff transferring to Stewarts Solicitors.

Commenting on the transaction Charlie Stewart, of Stewarts, said,

“My father opened the Ballymena office in the late ‘90s and we have been basedat our state-of-the-art premises on the Ballymoney Road for over ten years. Weare a traditional family-focused law firm at heart but have evolved to offer all the services families and businesses need and specialise in many different areas of law. We believe we can offer ‘City’ advice at local rates. James L Russell, likeStewarts, is a fourth generation law firm and we therefore appreciate the personal and hands-on service that our many loyal clients deserve with the benefit of the modern infrastructure.”

The new staff will join lead solicitor Paul Mallon, and support staff at Stewarts’office on Ballymoney Road. Following the acquisition Stewarts’ Ballymena branch will be named Stewarts Russell and from 9th December 2019 the staff transferring from the former practice of James L Russell & Son will operate from the office at 25 Ballymoney Road.

Jacqueline Russell who was joined by her daughter Helen in the practice of James L Russell & Son in 2009, commented,

“This represents growth for the firm and will allow us to support our clients with additional expertise and experience and enable us to expand into new areas of legal practice whilst also concentrating on our core values, most important of which is a commitment to providing high quality and focused advice to our clients. We had received several approaches but the similarity between ourselves and Stewarts made the decision for us.”

Charlie Stewart said that Helen, Jacqueline and he shook hands on the merger in September 2019, but that due to regulatory requirements they could not begin the client notification until more recently. Jacqueline Russell will continue to remain as an integral part of the provision of legal advice to her long-standing clients.

Charles E Stewart, who has been practising law for over fifty years, commented,

“A solicitor’s role is to be an adviser for life and not just a single transaction. There is still a huge demand for this level of service in Northern Ireland.”