Shoosmiths appoints David Jackson as CEO

Top UK law firm Shoosmiths has appointed long-standing partner, David Jackson, as CEO from 1 May 2022.

Jackson takes over from Simon Boss, under whose tenure, the firm grew substantially. It currently has 14 locations across the UK, with 227 partners and over 1400 lawyers and business support employees. Shoosmiths announced a turnover of £167.9m in the financial year end to April 2021 and is currently ranked second for deal volume in the UK by Experian MarketIQ’s M&A Review 2021.

Jackson was formerly head of the firm’s national commercial group, which will now be led by partner Robin Webb. Jackson was instrumental in substantially growing Shoosmiths’ commercial offering and finding and developing innovative solutions for clients. Part of this was supporting the integration of LegalTech solutions and the launch of the firm’s non-legal service arm, Shoosmiths8 Connected Services, last year.

Jackson will work closely with Shoosmiths’ chairperson, Peter Duff. Duff said: “There is no better person to pick up the reigns from Simon. I know David will bring all of his ideas, dynamism and drive as we work alongside each other to propel Shoosmiths into its next chapter.

“Our clients are at the very heart of what we do and the experience we give them is what we are famous for. We fully intend to keep looking at innovative ways in which to enhance this experience for them.”

Jackson commented: “I am excited to build on Simon’s exceptional legacy. I have been working alongside Simon, Peter and the rest of the management team for the last six months and we used this time to work on a new strategy designed to take Shoosmiths into its next phase in consolidation and growth. The strategy will be shared with all of our colleagues very shortly.”

Shoosmiths LLP was recently awarded ‘Best Operational Continuity’ and ‘Best Shared Learning with Clients’ at the Managing Partners’ Forum Awards and Legal Technology Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards, 2021.