The one thing about law firms listed on the stock exchange is that they are like any other listed company in their need to retain talent.
In the case of Rosenblatt plc, founder Ian Rosenblatt is the main talent and the man who has received a one-off £1m payment to prevent his departure from the firm.
Rosenblatt was valued at £24 million when the firm floated and based on a valuation of the business at the time.
The firm with the tagline ‘Daring to be Different‘, commenced life as a niche litigation firm in 1989. Rosenblatt has represented clients including Kelvin MacKenzie, the former editor of The Sun, Terry Smith, the fund manager, and the media tycoon Richard Desmond. The firm worked on the sale of the Daily Express and Desmond’s other newspapers to Trinity Mirror this year.
It recently hired former Metropolitan Police chief Lord Hogan-Howe as an advisor in the white collar and crimes division of the firm.
A restrictive covenant to prevent Rosenblatt’s departure was instituted in 2018 when the firm listed on the stock exchange and has now been extended through until 2023.
According to the company’s admission document, Rosenblatt entered into an agreement to be appointed as senior partner on a £500,000 annual salary, as well as providing a non-poaching and non-solicitation restrictive covenants for two years following termination of his employment, and a covenant preventing Rosenblatt from being employed, engaged or interested with any competitive business for 12 months.
Revenue growth has been strong for the firm, although Brexit uncertainties created some drag on revenues, and has been achieved through contributions from dispute resolution, litigation finance and the acquisition of corporate finance boutique Convex.
