Specialist employment and workplace legal practice Doyle Clayton has opened an office in Bristol, recruiting a former legal director from city-headquartered national law firm TLT to lead it.
Doyle Clayton, which has more than 60 specialist lawyers, advisers and consultants in its offices in the City of London and Reading, is the latest major law firm to move into the Bristol market. 
Its arrival comes just two months after national law firm Birketts officially opened its Bristol office with five partners advising in areas ranging from financial services to renewables and clean energy, agribusiness and shipping and international trade.
Founded in 1997 as an employment law firm, Doyle Clayton has since expanded its services to align with the everchanging employer-employee landscape, including offering immigration, corporate and commercial, pension, regulatory and education legal services.
Having had a presence in the London and Thames Valley markets for more than 20 years, it said it was now opening in Bristol to support its clients in the South West and beyond. 
The office, in Square Works’ serviced workspace on Berkeley Square, will be led by employment partner Harry Parker, pictured, who joined Doyle Clayton last year after more than 17 years at TLT, the past nine as a legal director.
Prior to that he spent more than eight-and-a-half years as an associate in the Bristol office of international legal practice Osborne Clarke.
Doyle Clayton chief executive Tina Wisener said: “We are excited to have opened an office in Bristol which enables us to have a physical presence in the region we have serviced for over two decades.
“Harry is a fantastic addition to the firm and I am delighted he is driving our growth within the region and beyond.
“As our business continues to grow, we look forward to strengthening and creating new relationships in the South West.”
Harry, a member and former director of the Employment Lawyers Association who represented the South West region on its national management committee, added: “I am excited to spearhead Doyle Clayton’s launch in Bristol, a city which is full of opportunity.
“I look forward to working with our clients based in the city, the South West and nationally.
“Doyle Clayton is a fantastic firm with a strong reputation, and this is an exciting project for both me personally and the organisation.”
Other national law firms to open in Bristol in recent years include Knights, which arrived in the city in 2023 through its acquisition of long-established independent law firm Meade King, while Shakespeare Martineau expanded into the South West for the first time three years ago when it completed its merger with historic Bristol firm GL Law.
Self-styled ‘new-model law firm’ Excello made its first move into the Bristol legal market last year when it recruited experienced property dispute resolution specialist Sarah Taylor from Burges Salmon, while Bath-headquartered regional law firm RWK Goodman now has a permanent base in Bristol six years after launching a satellite office in the city.
