About Us

In 1980 Jack Thornley set up practice on his own having been in Partnership in Manchester for some years before that. Over time the firm changed to Jack Thornley and Partners and then Thornleys, Jack Thornley having retired in 2000. The current Practice is made up of five Partners – John Dunn; Susan Routledge; Liz Gilmour; Richard Hart and Sinead Cartwright. Peter Dennerly acts as a Consultant.

We are a Personal Injury and Employment law practice and feel it consistent with our links with Trade Unions that we only act for employees and claimants, not Employers and Insurance Companies.

Our offices are based in Manchester, Ashton-under-Lyne and Huddersfield. Most of our work is based in the north of England although we do have some clients all over the country. We act for members of the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) and Union of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), although we also have non-union clients.


We will arrange see you at one of our offices but if you are unable to travel then we can arrange a home visit, or hospital visit, no matter how far away you are. Union members can also be seen at local union offices, workplaces (where your employer allows this) or other locations where we have arranged interview facilities such as labour clubs and hotels.


We employ very experienced and dedicated Case Handlers who are assisted by fully trained  support staff in both  our Personal Injury Department and Employment Department.


We will keep you in touch with how your claim is progressing but we are happy for you to contact us at any time no matter how little the query.