National firm Slater and Gordon says its reopening of a London office is a sign of its strength and confidence.

Staff moved into the new space in Chancery Lane this week around two years after the firm had opted to close its nearby office when the lease on its previous building had ended.

That decision was taken at the height of the pandemic, but there is a sense now that workers want a hybrid arrangement allowing them to operate remotely as well as have an office in the capital.

Slater and Gordon’s new London office offers a mix of traditional desks, private meeting rooms and open-plan collaboration spaces. More than 170 staff will be based at the new London office, equipped with a workplace scheduling tool and visitor management system to ensure integration with home working. It will be a base for the firm’s personal injury, employment and family teams based in the south east.

Nils Stoesser, Slater and Gordon chief executive, said: ‘The opening of our new London office marks both a new phase in the company’s journey but also a return to our roots in the legal district of London.

‘Our staff have continued to deliver great results while working remotely during the worst of the pandemic, and we will continue to offer a range of options for our people and clients, whilst returning to work more regularly from our office footprint.’

The London office is part of a network of Slater and Gordon offices based in major UK cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham, Cambridge and Edinburgh.

A newly-opened north east base, on Newcastle’s Quayside, will also be home to clinical negligence lawyers John Lowther and Georgie Redshaw, serious injury lawyers John Davis and Kate Nicklin, as well as new employment senior associates Sally Fletcher and Gill Reid.