May 7, 2021 12.15 pm This story is over 33 months old

Lincoln law firm move into new High Street home

They were in the previous home for nearly 40 years

A legal firm which has been in Lincoln for nearly four decades has relocated to a new premises on the High Street.

McNeil & Co Solicitors agreed an eight-year lease with property development firm Taylor Lindsey for the upper of 142 High Street and the ground floor of neighbouring 141, as well as on-site parking. The company opened for business at the new premises on April 28.

The move saw the firm leave their base on West Parade, and close its Gainsborough premises, which had both been operating since the 1980s. The Lincoln and Gainsborough staff are now all under one roof.

The business undertakes all areas of criminal law from the police station through to the Supreme Court, as well as covering family law, divorce, care proceedings, wills, trusts and conveyancing. They are looking to expand into employment and civil law later this year.

Principal Mark McNeil told The Lincolnite that thousands of High Street solicitors are closing on a daily basis across the UK, according to the Law Society Gazette, but he is happy that his firm remains available for clients and to serve the local community.

Inside McNeil & Co’s new offices. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

He said: “Now we’re very close to Magistrates Court, literally 200 yards away, it enables access for everybody who hasn’t got a solicitor on the day to come over to see us.

“Also, with the parking it makes it viable for people with disabilities. Lincoln is notoriously hard to find parking and if you can find parking it’s expensive, and why should people attending court have to cover those costs.

“This has been made possible through the sensible deal with Taylor Lindsey and we are looking forward to a bright future.”

McNeil & Co Solicitors is located at 141 and 142 High Street in Lincoln. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The firm’s old office on West Parade.

The firm was first established by as Andrew Jay Solicitors in 1984 by Andrew Jay. He sold the company to Philip Hanby in 2009, who kept the business name.

After Philip’s death in November 2019, Mark McNeil took over managing the practice Michele Hanby, who remains as a director and plays a key role in the operations of the business.

Mark purchased the business in October 2020 before the firm changed name to McNeil & Co Solicitors in March this year.

Adrian Bower (left), Estates Manager at Taylor Lindsey, with Mark McNeil (right), Principal at McNeil & Co Solicitors. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Adrian Bower, Estates Manager at Taylor Lindsey, said: “It was pleasing to see an expanding firm into the High Street. We have been very pleased with the way our occupiers have performed on mass, both in the office and retail sectors particularly, which have been hardest hit through the pandemic.”