Co-founder of Hodge Jones & Allen retires

A well-known solicitor who co-founded Hodge Jones & Allen is retiring from the London firm – after almost 50 years in practice.

Patrick Allen qualified as a solicitor in 1977. He decided on a legal career after seeing a friend wrongfully arrested and charged by police at a demo in 1971. The friend was later acquitted in court.

Eight months before qualifying he planned to create a new law firm with Henry Hodge and Peter Jones. Hodge Jones & Allen opened on 1 September, 1977, from offices above a tailor on Camden High Street.

Allen was managing partner from the firm’s inception, taking on the senior partner role in 1998 following Hodge’s retirement. During his working life, he was a deputy district judge from 1998 to 2014 and served on the executive committee of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) from 1993 to 2006. He was president of APIL in 2003 - 2004 and was APIL Law Society council member from 2002 to 2006.

The legal stalwart specialised in complex personal injury and multi-party cases, the first of which was the Kings Cross fire in 1987. He also led the firm’s team that managed the Gulf War illness claims for UK veterans and the New Cross fire inquest.

Speaking about his friend’s wrongful arrest, Allen said: ‘The case helped me realise that there was a political and socially useful side to the law. There and then I decided on a legal career to help people assert or defend their rights against powerful opponents. I wanted to be a “radical” or progressive lawyer correcting miscarriages of justice and changing the law where necessary.’

In retirement, Allen will continue his work with the Progressive Economy Forum, a think tank he founded in 2018. He also plans to ‘devote more time’ to his family, travelling, windsurfing, skiing, vegetable growing and piano playing.

He said: ‘I take great pride in the development of Hodge Jones & Allen, which after 48 years still holds to our founding ethos of fighting for justice. The firm employs over 250 people and still goes from strength to strength.

‘As anyone who runs a law firm will know the economic headwinds, legislative change and financial pressures never abate, so to have stayed the course delivering the same work over almost five decades speaks volumes about our commitment to helping people in often unfashionable areas of the law.

‘Over the years we have also helped over 300 lawyers to qualify. It has been my great privilege to act for so many amazing clients and work with dedicated and brilliant colleagues. I leave the firm with rock solid foundations and look forward to watching how it continues to evolve under new leadership.’

From 1 October, the firm, which has an annual turnover of £25m, will be run by its existing management team, led by Chun Wong, head of dispute resolution, and Julie Hardy, director of finance, alongside equity partners Agata Usewicz, Jayesh Kunwardia, Raj Chada and Leticia Williams.