Thursday 30 April marked more than the close of a financial year. It marked the retirement of Matthew Tossell, our longest-serving and most senior partner, after 43 years of exceptional service to the firm.
After a stint at Port Talbot Steelworks, Matthew joined Hugh James as a trainee solicitor in 1983 and went on to serve as Managing Partner from 1999 to 2011. Over more than four decades, he has played a defining role in the growth, development and modernisation of the firm.
We have evolved significantly during Matthew’s time with the firm – from around 200 people based across the South Wales Valleys to a firm of nearly 800 people, operating from key locations in Cardiff, London, Manchester and the South Coast.
Matthew has helped shape not only the firm’s strategic direction, but also the physical environments in which we work today. He led the move into our Cardiff headquarters at Hodge House and later project managed the firm’s 2018 relocation to the award-winning Two Central Square.
His contribution has spanned many areas of the business. Earlier in his career, Matthew helped to build the firm’s commercial property and social housing practices, before creating a secured lending practice and a high-volume retail remortgage service for major high street banks. He also played a key role in major regeneration projects, including the initial £200m inward investment development of Cardiff Bay and played a part in the transformation of the Arms Park into what is now the Principality Stadium.
In 1999, Matthew established Lender Services, the firm’s first volume business, responding to growing demand from national lenders. This led eventually to the creation of Involegal LLP operating the many volume services then developed by the firm, which he led as CEO from 2010. His entrepreneurial approach also led to the creation of the firm’s legal referral network, which evolved from Connect2Law into Legal Network and continues to support law firms across Wales and London.
Matthew was also privileged to be part of the senior management team in 1998 when we won the historic industrial disease case for miners in the UK. This led to the biggest civil litigation case in UK legal history, securing compensation for sick and injured miners affected by the working conditions they had endured.
The firm’s industrial disease work continues today and remains one of the firm’s highlights during Matthew’s professional career.
Since stepping down as Managing Partner, Matthew continued to play a central role in the firm’s strategic development. He led a number of important initiatives on behalf of the partnership, including chairing the firm’s Innovation Board and leading the delivery of our AI implementation programme along with the recent education initiative with King’s College London.
His contribution to the culture of the firm has extended well beyond client work and strategic leadership. One of his initiatives was the establishment of the firm’s children’s Christmas party, which has become a much-loved event for colleagues and their families, reflecting his belief in the importance of community, belonging and family life within the firm.
Outside the firm, Matthew has also made a significant contribution to civic, charitable, and educational life. He served on the Cardiff Capital Region Business Council, and is an ambassador and governance adviser to the Dreams and Wishes charity, supporting seriously ill children and their families. He also holds senior governance roles with Cardiff Metropolitan University and The Cathedral School, Llandaff.
Reflecting on Matthew’s contribution, Managing Partner Alun Jones said:
“Matthew has been part of the fabric of Hugh James for longer than anyone else. His career has spanned decades of growth and change, and his leadership has played a defining role in shaping the firm we are today. As Managing Partner, and in the years since, he has combined commercial judgement, entrepreneurial energy and a constant drive for innovation. We are deeply grateful for his outstanding contribution and wish him every success for the future.”
Matthew reflects with pride on our progress, our people and our future:
“Hugh James has been the defining part of my professional life. I am enormously proud of the firm we have built together and grateful to the many colleagues, clients and friends who have been part of that journey.
“One of the greatest privileges of my career has been supporting colleagues to achieve their maximum potential and seeing so many go on to occupy senior positions within the firm. I have always been conscious that, as senior members of Hugh James, we carry responsibility not only for the business, but for all the families who rely on the firm for their financial security.
“Hugh James is a completely different firm to the one I joined. There have been many highs and, inevitably, some lows but the partnership has remained strong and resilient and has overcome challenges and grasped opportunities along the way. The firm is in good hands, and I have absolutely no doubt that the firm will continue to go from strength to strength.”
