Russell Cooke is a UK top-100 London-based law firm. The firm advises on a broad mix of commercial, not for profit, regulatory and private clients. Since its establishment in 1880 the firm has grown in size and now has around 200 highly regarded specialist solicitors and lawyers. The firm has a core client base of more than 12,000 and an annual turnover of £32.6 million. John Gould is the firm’s senior partner and has led the firm’s senior management for more than twenty years.
History
Russell-Cooke was founded in London in 1880 by William Russell-Cooke and Sir Henry Paget-Cooke. In the 1890s the firm moved into Old Square, Lincoln’s Inn, where clients included the Liberal Party and members of the Royal Family. Following the Second World War, Russell-Cooke aligned itself with suburban firm Sloper, Potter & Chapman, based at 2 Putney Hill. The two firms eventually merged in 1958 to form Russell-Cooke Potter & Chapman, with Edward Chapman as senior partner. During the 1960s and 1970s Russell-Cooke Potter and Chapman expanded, developing a large commercial property department and attracted a number of famous clients from the pop and entertainment world. Edward Chapman’s son Lewin became senior partner. A new office in Kingston-upon-Thames was opened in the early 1990s which is now located on the river next to Kingston Bridge. After 100 years occupying the upper two floors of 2 Putney Hill, the firm took over the ground floor from the National Westminster Bank. Further growth during the nineties saw the Central London contingent move from Old Square into grade 2 listed buildings at 8 Bedford Row. In Putney, the firm later expanded into a nearby office block. In 2000 Russell-Cooke Potter and Chapman merged with Putney based firm Evill & Coleman’s Commercial Property, Private Client and Commercial departments. The firm shortened its name to Russell-Cooke in 2001. In 2003 Russell-Cooke merged with charity law specialists Sinclair Taylor & Martin, one of the leading charity law practices in the country. The merger saw the firm take on over 600 charity clients. A further merger, with Evill and Coleman’s PI and clinical negligence department in 2005 followed. In 2005 the firm celebrated its 125th anniversary and in May 2007 the firm converted to a limited liability partnership practice, Russell-Cooke LLP. Russell-Cooke is now a top 100 law firm with around 200 highly regarded specialist solicitors and lawyers bringing the total number of staff to over 300.
Main Practice Areas
Russell-Cooke is currently recognised by The Legal 500 in 23 categories and by Chambers UK in 14 categories.
Offices
Russell-Cooke's headquarters is located in Putney. It also has an office in London and another in Kingston-upon-Thames.
