Edwin Coe LLP History

When Edwin Coe’s founder, Edwin Henry Coe set up as a sole practitioner over 100 years ago, he could have had no inkling of how successful the company would become. In 1913 the world was about to enter World War One and Mr Edwin Coe served his time, gaining a Military Cross for his efforts.

After returning in 1920, he expanded his business and that same year he bought Calder Woods & Pethick, renaming the company Edwin Coe & Calder Woods. Post World War II, Mr Coe was joined in partnership by Basil Greene who acted as a Lieutenant Colonel in WWII, and Jim Watson, who had previously worked as a managing clerk before qualifying as a solicitor shortly after WWII. This partnership lasted until the end of the 1960s when they retired.

In the early 1970s, the company took on the firms Jacobson Ridley and Budd Hardcastle, moving its offices a short hop to Lincoln’s Inn, having previously been located in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. It was during this time that Chris Berry and John Shelford went into partnership, both having been article clerks with the firm.

Basil Greene’s son, David Greene, joined Edwin Coe Solicitors in 1976. David later became Head of Litigation and then Senior Partner. After decades of continued growth, where the firm continued to acquire more companies, they branched out and started to offer a diverse selection of commercial and legal services to both UK and international clients.

In 2005, Chris Berry became the Senior Partner of the company, after completing over 30 years of service with the firm. Then in April 2007, Edwin Coe became a Limited Liability Partnership (Edwin Coe LLP).

Throughout its illustrious history, the firm acquired many bolt-on practices and practiced under four different names, but it has always retained the names of its founder, Edwin Coe.

From December 2008, the Chief Executive Michael Elliott retired and his successor Tim Nash took over. On the 1 April 2011, Chris Berry became the Managing Partner and David Greene took on the position of Senior Partner.