Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP

Senior partner: Matthew Wort

Number of partners: 40

Fee-earners (qualified): 111

Fee-earners (non-qualified): 52

The firm:

Anthony Collins (AC) is a national sector specialist law firm with a clear purpose to improve lives, communities and society. With over 300 staff and 40 partners, it is a national leading advisor to the social housing, local government, health and social care, charities and social business sectors, as well as supporting individuals in a personal capacity. AC works with chief executives, membership bodies, policy advisors and government organisations to challenge key societal issues or injustice and make social policy work, with a goal to make the law as accessible as possible so that clients can support the vulnerable and build a better society.

As the first law firm in the Midlands to achieve the prestigious B Corp accreditation (December 2022), AC continuously strives to be a better business, using B Corp as a toolkit to help them make an even bigger and better impact on individuals, communities and society (and the planet) and influence its future as a business that’s a force for good. AC has set some tough targets, such as being net carbon zero by 2030.

AC wants to become a magnet for passionate people, committed to improving society through their work, as they forge ahead with their equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) and sustainability agendas to strengthen its diverse workforce. ED&I is integral to AC's culture as a social purpose law firm serving clients and communities across the country and from all backgrounds – a truly diverse workforce can benefit clients by bringing different viewpoints to the work undertaken for them.

During 2023/24, AC harnessed the passion and skills of its people to deliver its purpose, with 94% of its work directly improving the lives of individuals, communities and society. Read more in their latest social impact report.

Types of work undertaken

Social housing – AC's nationally leading social housing team acts for registered providers across the country. The team’s expertise ranges from major projects such as stock transfers, innovative structures and joint ventures, to the day-to-day nuts and bolts of making housing work, with teams specialising in housing litigation, housing management, employment matters, housing corporate services and property. In 23/24, AC's funding team secured over £1.2 billion in new funding for clients, which is enough to finance 4,050 affordable homes.

Local government - Helping councils deliver the maximum they can for the populations they serve, from contracts and procurement to reorganisation and redevelopment, AC offers a full service with an understanding of the complexities of local government law and the landscape within which councils operate. They hold relationships with around 50% of councils across England and Wales.

Health and social care – A trusted advisor to a wide range of social care providers across the UK (11 of the top 20 largest homecare providers, 8 of the top 20 residential care home providers and 4 of the top 20 specialist care providers), AC informs national social policy through its collaboration with industry bodies such as Care England, the Home Care Association and NCF.

Social business - AC supports like-minded, values-driven businesses to achieve financial success and demonstrate their values through how they work. Supporting community organisations, businesses driven by their values, social enterprises, and the cooperative and mutual sector in all aspects of what they do, from securing funding to succession planning and employee ownership.

Private client - A full-service offering to individuals, from wills, personal planning and trusts to critical events such as personal injury and clinical negligence. AC are one of the few top 200 law firms that offer publicly funded legal aid services to private individuals including clinical negligence and personal injury, and the sole provider for forced marriage work in some local authorities. AC is the leading Midlands firm for childcare and family law and has acted on 48% of all childcare cases in Birmingham County Court in the financial year 23/24.

Charities – One of the top five charity advisors in the UK, AC offers a broad range of legal advice and support, from setting up charities to fundraising and governance issues. Clients include national high-street charities, faith bodies and local charities. The team is regularly appointed by the Charity Commission as interim manager, which underpins our understanding of charity regulation. The firm also holds appointments for the Blackburn, Chester, Sheffield and Worcester dioceses.