CM Murray has appointed former Hill Dickinson chief executive and managing partner Peter Jackson as a strategic adviser on a consultancy basis, as the specialist London boutique seeks to expand its work with law firms and other professional services clients.
Jackson will advise the firm on strategic growth, giving CM Murray access to a senior law firm leader with more than four decades of experience at Hill Dickinson.
Clare Murray, founder and managing partner of CM Murray, said Jackson’s experience would add to the firm’s advice to senior leadership teams on governance and reputational issues.
“Peter is one of the most respected law firm leaders of his generation – values-led, strategically astute and deeply experienced in guiding a partnership through growth, change and complexity,” Murray said. “Our clients come to us when the stakes are high – when governance, partner dynamics, risk and reputation all sit on the table.”
She added: “His appointment is a significant step in our own growth strategy: strengthening the leadership and advisory dimension of what we provide to senior management teams, while continuing to deliver the specialist legal excellence for which we are known.”
Murray said Jackson’s experience would also support clients considering “mergers, remuneration redesign, succession, culture and external investment”.
CM Murray, which recently marked its 20th anniversary, has a team of 24 lawyers and legal experts based in the City. The firm advises law firms and professional services businesses on partnership and LLP structuring, mergers, governance, partner remuneration, investigations, partner exits, disputes, employment issues and restrictive covenant matters.
Jackson said: “I’m very much looking forward to supporting Clare and the team as they build on an already market-leading platform, and to working with law firm leaders who want clear, practical and strategically grounded advice at moments that shape the future of their firms.”
Jackson stepped down as CEO at Hill Dickinson in April 2024 and retired from the partnership last month. He originally joined the firm in 1983, becoming managing partner in 2005 and then chief executive when the role was created in 2016.
Since leaving the CEO role, Jackson has pursued a portfolio career. He will remain a non-executive director at Hill Dickinson while continuing to advise and mentor firms and individuals in the professional services sector, alongside other marketing and management interests.
CM Murray’s appointment of Jackson comes as law firms manage issues around partner performance, succession planning, capital structures and governance.
For a boutique such as CM Murray, Jackson’s arrival arguably strengthens its credibility with Silver Circle management teams facing strategic issues amid considerable opportunity, both in private equity investment and amid regulatory concerns from the SRA.
The firm has also been expanding its regulatory and employment benches. It hired employment lawyer Emma Sangeelee from Edwin Coe in June 2025 to bolster its employment disputes practice, and former Armstrong Teasdale London managing partner Nick Leale in February 2025 to help lead its dedicated regulatory unit with professional discipline partner Andrew Pavlovic, after leaving his former firm.
More recently, CM Murray general counsel Beth Hale was recognised at the Global Legal Post’s 2026 Women and Diversity in Law Awards in April for her work on inclusion, family-friendly policies and pastoral care at the Employment Lawyers Association.
Partner Emma Bartlett was highly commended as Diversity Champion of the Year in the private practice lawyer category, while associate Rachael Parker was shortlisted for the Rising Star award in a boutique law firm.
Email your news and story ideas to: [email protected]
