The Legal 500, the UK’s most-respected directory for the profession, has once again showcased the Bath area’s leading law firms and individuals, recognising them as among best in the region.
Aimed at buyers of legal services, the Legal 500 is researched by an independent and expert team, and with four million-plus user visits to its website each year, it has become a powerful reference tool for the industry.
Firms are ranked in tiers based on their activity and feedback from clients and peers over the past year while the best-performing lawyers are recognised as ‘leading individuals’, ‘next generation partners’ and ‘rising stars’.
Leading individuals are true market leaders with long-established reputations in their sector and exceptional widespread recognition and endorsement from their peers and clients while next generation partners are lawyers who have received significant recognition from clients and peers and played recent lead roles on multiple matters.
The city’s major players - Thrings, Mogers Drewett, Stone King and RWK Goodman – occupy top-tier places in many of the specialisms that make up the guide, while firms operating in market towns close to Bath such as Goughs Solicitors are also recognised.
Bath-headquartered Stone King, which employs more than 230 people in its six offices across England, has this year had its best ever results in the Legal 500, including being named as both a top-tier and a leading firm.
The firm’s education, crime, charities and private client: contentious trusts and probate practices are all rated as top tier in the South West while its lawyers receive 34 mentions for their standout contribution to their practice.
In the South West charity rankings, Tim Rutherford, pictured, is named as a leading individual and a recommended lawyer while Alexandra Steffensen is both a rising star and a recommended lawyer. Other key lawyers are Daniel Harris, Luke Watson and Alexandra Weatherdon.
In the South West public sector education category, Helen Tucker is named a leading individual and a recommended lawyer while Ciara Campfield and Michael Brotherton are both recommended and key lawyers with senior associate Elizabeth Fortin also described as a key lawyer.
Andrew Banks, Matthew Graham and Nicholas Wragg are all recommended lawyers in the South West: crime, fraud and licensing (general crime and fraud) category. Andrew and Nicholas are also named as key lawyers.
Other South West rankings and ranked lawyers include:
Commercial litigation (Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire) – partner Tony Pidgeon is a recommended lawyer with the firm also ranked.
Employment (Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire) – Peter Woodhouse is a recommended lawyer with other key lawyers Jean Boyle, Amy Berry and James Barratt.
Private client: family - Caroline Fell and Tracey Smith are recommended lawyers, with Caroline further noted as a key lawyer alongside Meg Moss, Daniela Nickols and Rebecca Eels.
South West private client: personal tax, trusts and probate – Kathryn Layzell is a recommended lawyer with Alison Allen, Daniel Harris, Andrew Mortimer, Kerry Rogers and Charlotte Macdonald all key lawyers.
South West real estate: commercial property (Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire) – Joanne Burton is named as a next generation partner and a recommended lawyer while Caroline Taylor and Hugh Pearce are also recommended lawyers with Hugh and Joanne key lawyers.
South West real estate: property litigation – partner Tony Pidgeon is named as a recommended lawyer.
Stone King managing partner Steven Greenwood said he was delighted with the firm’s recognition and “so very proud” of its lawyers.
“They really are a reflection of us ‘doing the right thing’ for our clients and making sure they receive the best service possible; they also show the hard work all our people do every day,” he said.
“The Legal 500’s unbiased and independent analysis is really important for our clients too as they can be sure that our lawyers are some of the very best in the legal world.”
Thrings said its success in the rankings reflected the breadth and depth of its Bath and Bristol-based specialist sector teams in private wealth, banking and finance, agriculture and development of land.
Its private client specialists are recognised for expertise in family law, contentious trusts and probate and personal tax, trusts and probate while its corporate and commercial teams gained plaudits for their work in dispute resolution, commercial litigation and debt recovery.
Other teams to be recognised for their work in the South West and beyond are banking and finance, including its experts in insolvency and corporate recovery, real estate in areas spanning commercial property construction, environment and planning.
Also recommended in the region are Thrings’ employment team and specialists in IT and telecoms and intellectual property.
In total 38 Thrings lawyers are mentioned by name for their standout contribution to their respective practices – six as leading individuals.
These are Ramona Derbyshire, pictured, who appears twice – as a partner in the commercial dispute resolution team and again in her role as head of recoveries – head of Thrings’ agriculture litigation team Russell Reeves, Sally Pike from the family team, head of banking and finance Mike Tomlin, and Megan Jefferies, a partner in the commercial litigation and dispute resolution team.
Robert James, a litigator who specialises in complex disputes, and corporate and commercial team partner Elaine Meyrick are listed as next generation lawyers
Thrings managing partner Simon Holdsworth said: “We are proud to see our teams and individuals so well represented in this prestigious guide to lawyers working across the UK.
“Recommendations in the Legal 500 are especially highly valued because they are based on feedback from clients and others we work with.
“Our strong presence reflects the Thrings reputation for pragmatic, clear advice from specialist sector teams working in private wealth, banking and finance, agriculture and development of land, and the role we play in all our regions as trusted advisers to support businesses and entrepreneurs.”
As well as Bath, Thrings also has offices in Bristol, Swindon, London and Romsey and recently added teams in the Wye Valley through its merger with Okells FrancisLaw.
A record number of lawyers from Mogers Drewett are also featured in the Legal 500.
The firm which has offices in Frome, Sherborne, and Wells as well as Bath, is described as “a well-regarded South West law, renowned for its “attention to detail, legal insight and hard work for clients”.
Partner and head of the firm’s litigation & dispute resolution team Maeve England, pictured, is said to be “definitely one to have on your side”; with the Mogers Drewett team having the “ability to listen, understand and advise on a wide range of issues and circumstances, and are able to work in tandem with third parties as needed to achieve the best outcome for the client”.
Jonathan Cheal, a solicitor in its agriculture & rural team is again being named in the directory’s elite ‘hall of fame’, where he is referred to as “an asset to any rural company”. The Legal 500 goes on to add that he is “outstanding in his field of work and that clients sought him out specifically for his expertise on rights of way”.
Other Mogers Drewett lawyers to be recognised are Tom Webb, David Hill, Maeve England, Frank Collins, Rebecca Beresford, Victoria Darvall, Cara Burr, Rory McFarlane; Anne-Marie Worth; Sarah Clacker, Emma Coate; Kat King; Hannah Welbourne and Emily Eccles.
Managing partner Sean McDonough said: “We pride ourselves on the quality of our people and are delighted to have doubled the number of our experts to be recognised by the Legal 500 this year. We are very proud of everyone recognised this year.”
Goughs Solicitors, which has seven offices across Wiltshire, including in Chippenham, Trowbridge, Melksham and Corsham and employs more than 100 people, has been recognised in the Legal 500 for the fifth year running.
Its private client and real estate teams both received exemplary feedback and accreditation for the second consecutive year while clients praised the firm’s “fantastic depth of experience”, and “personal and impeccable service”.
It is also commended for treating clients with “compassion and warmth during what is for most, unchartered territory”.
Meanwhile lawyers at the firm are described by clients as “incredibly friendly and knowledgeable”, noting that the “client always comes first”.
The family team in particular is described as “particularly impressive”, with partner and family team head Thomas Boyce praised for being “highly intelligent and calm under pressure”
Thomas, pictured, said: “I am exceptionally proud of the achievements of the family team. It is wonderful that the Legal 500 has recognised a number of individuals but this is very much the result of a fantastic team effort.
“The recognition is very well deserved and reflects the team’s expertise and dedication to their clients. We are continuing to grow our family team with great talent to ensure we continue such levels of success.”
The private client department also receives plaudits, with one client commentating that it is “very approachable, reliable, courteous and informed.”
Partner and head of the private client team Emma Taylor said: “It is a great testament to the level of hard work and commitment from across the firm that the team have been recognised again by such a prestigious organisation. The commitment shown to our clients has been gratefully rewarded.”
The firm’s real estate team earns praise for “providing an equally high level of service regardless of the scale of the job and the fee attached to it”.
Partner and head of real estate Andrew Given added: “The team work tirelessly to provide exceptional service to their clients. The team has expanded in recent years and are based at our newest office, just outside Chippenham. It’s fantastic to be able to reward them with such positive feedback and highly sought-after recognition.”
The corporate practice at Bath-headquartered RWK Goodman, which advises on a steady stream of mid-market deals, acting on both the buy and sell-side, is recognised by the Legal 500. Led by James Worrall, pictured, it has a particular focus on transactions in the financial services and care sectors.
The directory says Hazel Phillips is “another name to note in health and social care”while Katharine Mortimer offers clients “deep expertise across M&A, restructurings and strategic partnerships”. Associate Janetta White is also recognised for her transactional and restructuring experience.
The firm’s commercial litigation practice, which acts for regional and national clients across a broad range of specialist areas, is described as “down-to-earth, reliable and trustworthy”.
Group co-head Mei-Ling Huang, who is dual qualified in the UK and the US, is highly active in the healthcare sector and also assists with commercial disputes and breach of warranty claims, while fellow co-head Tom Llewellyn specialises in urgent injunction actions and data mandates and regularly acts for financial sector clients.
One client told the Legal 500 “In terms of the support provided by RWK during the past two years, I could not have asked for better or more. The team obviously work very hard to be available and responsive at all times and have provided a better service than we could have hoped for.”
RWK Goodman, which employs more than 600 people, was formed earlier this year from the merger of Bath-headquartered Royds Withy King and London practice Goodman Derrick.
As well as its two offices in Bath – Northumberland Buildings in Queen Square and Midland Bridge House on Midland Bridge – it also has offices in Bristol, Swindon, Oxford and London.
