South: Lawyers respond to latest rankings in The Legal 500

Law firms across the south are celebrating the praise and positioning they have received in The Legal 500, the annual guide to the profession.

Specialist legal services in insolvency, marine and sports offered by Portsmouth firm Verisona Law have all maintained top positions in the latest edition.

Having taken a significant leap in the rankings of The Legal 500 last year as a result of  a number of high-profile cases, Verisona Law’s insolvency and business turnaround team has gone from strength to strength by being placed in the guide’s Band 2 for insolvency in South East.

Recognised as being ‘particularly strong on contentious matters’, ‘always meeting response deadlines’ and having ‘a focus on continuity and building relationships’, members of the award-winning team also received individual praise in the 30^th edition of the guide, which is based on client feedback.

Spratt Endicott Solicitors has again been recommended in 10 practice areas in The Legal 500, with a record number of 26 lawyers receiving individual recommendations.

This year Spratt Endicott, based in Banbury, has moved up and held its rankings in 10 practice areas. What is particularly impressive is the number of recommended lawyers, leading individuals and next generation lawyers.

Spratt Endicott has been recommended in the practice areas of corporate and commercial, employment, commercial property, personal tax, trusts and probate, family law, agriculture and estates, dispute resolution, intellectual property and insolvency and corporate recovery. The debt recovery department once again achieved Top Tier status, underlining the unique quality of its offering.

Pitmans has retained all of its top tier rankings and achieved 42 lawyer recommendations in the latest results.

The annual independent guide, widely recognised as the definitive list of leading UK law firms, has again ranked Pitmans in the first tier for its core practice areas of litigation, pensions and commercial property as well as insolvency and corporate recovery, banking and IT advisory.

Pitmans is recommended in 22 practice areas and quoted as having ‘the skills and experience of a City firm’ with ‘a more personal service than larger firms’.

In total, 42 of Pitmans lawyers are recommended, including eight new entrants this year: Claire Collings, Jim Meechan, Stacey Jones, Jenny Littlewood, Sheilagh Magee, Marcus McCluggage, Sarah Potter and Marie Evrard.

Dutton Gregory is celebrating after several of its departments and many of its leading individuals throughout Hampshire and Dorset were recognised in The Legal 500. 

The firm topped Tier 1 in the “employment law” category for Dorset, receiving recognition for pursuing matters “tenaciously” and “with complete commitment to its clients.” In addition the firm received high praise for its Personal Injury Department, with Jo Gatehouse being described as “professional, thorough, remarkably knowledgeable and thoughtful.”  The firm’s Clinical Negligence department had several members of the team receiving individual plaudits with the department as a whole being described as “very efficient” providing a “very sensible and hands-on service.” 

Leading clinical negligence, personal injury and travel claims law firm BL Claims Solicitors had a strong showing in the 2017 edition of the directory.

The firm, which has offices in Southampton, Oxford and London, has been ranked in the top Tier 1 for personal injury (claimant) and clinical negligence (claimant) in the South East.

Personal injury solicitors James Wood and Julia Prior are recognised by the directory as “next generation” lawyers, as are clinical negligence specialists Patricia Wakeford and Gemma Osgood.

The Legal 500 has reinforced Paris Smith’s position as one of the leading law firms in the South, awarding the firm no fewer than 10 rankings in 'Tier 3' or above for its core services.

The firm's family department has again been recognised with an excellent 'Tier 1' ranking as "a very strong regional firm", with Frank Prior, Neil Davies, Rachel Osgood and Sarah Passemard all receiving the highest praise and Huw Miles being notably recognised as a leading individual in this field.

The employment team is recognised as providing "a fantastic level of support and service" again receiving a ‘Tier 1’ ranking. Clive Dobbin, Peter Taylor and David Roath have all been recognised within the team, along with associate Claire Merritt for the first time this year.

The corporate restructuring and insolvency team are also celebrating after being recognised as having "excellent knowledge and a strong team", and increasing their ranking to 'Tier 2' this year. Mike Pavitt, Richard Atcherley, Clive Thomson and Shelley White were all praised within the team, whilst Phillip Baldwin was also newly recognised as a 'next generation lawyer'.

The firm's dispute resolution department was also well recognised for its commercial litigation work, increasing their Legal 500 ranking to 'Tier 2'. Head of department David Eminton and Cliff Morris were named, with Clive Thomson, Mike Pavitt and Shelley White all receiving additional recognition in this category.

Paris Smith's banking and finance department has been described as having "extensive knowledge and deep experience within each of their areas of discipline". James McNeil, Jonathon Roy and Clare Lee were all recommended within their fields.

The corporate and commercial teams have been described as 'a major regional player for corporate and commercial work'. Head of department Sean Davies, Jonathon Roy, Michael Moore, Crispin Dick and Richard Atcherley were all noted as key team members.

The firm also received very pleasing rankings and feedback for its real estate work again this year. Rachel Saint and Tom Georgiou were both praised for their work, Mark Howarth was again recognised as a 'leading individual' in the field and Joanne Spittles was newly recognised as a 'next generation lawyer'.

The firm received two rankings in IT and telecoms and intellectual property. Both Crispin Dick and Laura Trapnell were recognised within their fields, with Laura Trapnell being described as a "fierce litigator" and "no-nonsense negotiator".