An East Anglian law firm which celebrated its 110th anniversary this year has reported a “positive” year, with an unprecedented rise new instructions for the employment team.

Prettys, which employs 79 staff across its offices in Ipswich and Chelmford, said growth was particularly strong in employment services, dispute resolution, family and estates, wills and trusts

The employment law team expanded its services, launching a webinar training programme and announcing a partnership with London-based immigration specialists Davidson Morris.

December has seen an unprecedented volume of new instructions from a wide variety of sources, it said, and it will be expanding its team in the New Year.

The firm also launched IT and digital services in response to a growing demand from businesses wanting to expand their digital services with new mobile technologies and innovative online platforms.

Prettys partners and associates have also been widely recognised by the Legal 500, Chambers and Partners and Lex 100 rankings.

Specialist areas such as construction, shipping, logistics and transport as well as health and social care have also enjoyed a positive year.

Its innovative dispute resolution service, Talking Works, saw a rise in enquiries from clients looking for alternative methods for settling a range of disputes.

“This has been a successful year for us with the business developing across a number of areas, widely reflected in a significant improvement in our rankings,” said chief Ian Carr.

“Our teams at both our Ipswich and Chelmsford offices have worked hard both for our clients as well as on their fantastic fundraising efforts which have raised almost £4,000 for local causes through the year.”