One of the North West’s best-known names in family law, Pauline McNamara, leaves MSB Solicitors to join the Liverpool office of JMW Solicitors. Tony McDonough reports

Law firm JMW Solicitors has persuaded one of the best known family lawyers in the North West – Pauline McNamara – to join its Liverpool-based family law team.

Pauline is making the short journey across St Paul’s Square from MSB Solicitors, where she has worked since 2019, to The Plaza, home of JMW’s Liverpool operation.

Manchester-based JMW caused a stir in the Liverpool legal sector in 2018 when it persuaded the entire DWF family law team, led by Beverley Jones, to jump ship and join its newly established base in the city.

And that move has proved successful with the team seeing year-on-year growth. In June 2023 LBN revealed the unit had generated annual revenues of £1.2m, up from £955,000 in the previous year.

Now the team will be further strengthened by the arrival of Pauline McNamara, a ‘big hitter’ who has established a formidable reputation as one of the leading family lawyers in the region.

It will also mean a reunion for her and Beverley who worked together at Fletchers Solicitors almost 20 years ago and later at DWF.

In 2016, Pauline started her own family law firm called PMC Family Law. It evolved into a niche family law practice specialising in high net worth divorce settlements, including valuation of businesses and complex pension and tax issues. It was regularly instructed in multi-million pound and highly complex cases.

Referred to as “brilliant” in the 2015 Legal 500, Pauline, it said head an “excellent” team. And, in the 2019 Legal 500, the PMC was said to have an “unrivalled reputation as a specialist boutique family law firm in Liverpool”.

The 2019 edition also described Pauline as a “strong and experienced negotiator” who is “supported by a close group of fee earners who are a force to be reckoned with”.

In June 2019 it was announced that MSB, led by another family law specialist Emma Carey, was to acquire PMC and its eight-strong team.

Emma Carey said at the time of the acquisition: “I have known and admired Pauline McNamara for a number of years and she and her team have a fantastic reputation in family law.”

READ MORE: Law firm MSB set to break through £10m barrier

Now Pauline is leaving MSB to become a consultant partner at JMW. Beverley Jones told LBN: “I’ve known Pauline a long time – she trained me at Fletchers and we went on to work together at DWF. Pauline left to pursue other avenues and I stayed at DWF.

“I ultimately opened the JMW Liverpool office in 2018 and we have worked across the square since that time, quite often as opposition on cases.

“I am thrilled that things have now come full circle and that Pauline will be joining my team at JMW. She will be a brilliant addition to our team. It is great news and comes after we were named Family Law Team of the Year at the Law Society awards.”

Pauline added: “I’m very excited to be joining Beverley and the team at JMW. It’s great to have a new challenge working with an award-winning team. I can’t wait to get started.”