Bath’s top law firms have been praised in the UK’s leading independent guide to the sector.
Regional law firms Thrings and Royds Withy King, both of which have large offices in the town, are ranked among the South West’s ‘regional heavyweights’ by the Legal 500, which was published yesterday, while a number of their partners and specialists – and those from rival firms – are singled out for their expertise.
Thrings, which has one of its four main offices in Bath, is placed among the region’s top performers by the Legal 500 in a table dominated once again by large Bristol firms.
Royds Withy King – the result of a recent merger between Withy King and London firm Royds and which has two offices in Bath – is said to stands out for its private client and commercial property expertise.
Both Thrings and Royds Withy King are ranked in the second tier of M4 Corridor firms for their corporate and commercial work while Stone King – which has a large office in Bath – is in the third tier.
Stone King acts for a number of charity and education clients, as well as local businesses. Highlights included advising the Institute of Financial Planning on the transfer of its business to the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments. Caroline Leviss is the key contact, says the guide.
At Thrings, Bath-based Alex Pyatt is recommended. Clients of Royds Withy King praise its ‘effective, oneteam approach’, ‘understanding of client’s requirements and objectives’, and ‘tailored solutions’. The team acts for owner-managed businesses, and public and private equity-owned companies. It is particularly strong in handling transactions between £2m and £15m.
Stone King appears in the second regional tier for its crime work – both general and fraud. Legal 500 says the firm excels in public sector bribery matters. Higher court advocate Andrew Banks is highly experienced.
Stone King, Royds Withy King and Thrings are rated in the second tier of the M4 Corridor firms for commercial litigation with Mogers Drewett in the third tier.
Stone King is ‘excellent on all fronts’, and acts for charities, educational institutions, businesses and private individuals on a wide range of contractual and other commercial disputes. The team is led by Paul Sutton, who is ‘courteous, professional and a good listener’.
Thrings advises clients in the defence, manufacturing and financial services sectors. Key contacts include mediator Ramona Derbyshire and David Patterson.
At Royds Withy King, Chris Kane and Philip Banks-Welsh are ‘a dream team’ that provides ‘advice which is legally and commercially sound coupled with a robust approach towards litigation’. Clients include Bath Rugby, Clever Digit Media and Horseworld Trust.
At Mogers Drewett, construction and real estate dispute specialist Maeve England is ‘thorough and robust in her conduct of litigation’, and Terry McDermott has ‘the requisite pragmatism and commercial sense of mind to identify his clients’ objectives’.
In employment, Stone King and Royds Withy King are placed in the M4 Corridor top tier and according to Legal 500, with the former considered a leading player in the education, charity and social enterprise sectors. The practice, which is made up of solicitors and HR consultants, is headed by Nick Watson and includes barrister Peter Woodhouse; they recently handled whistleblowing, equal pay tribunal claims and disciplinary investigations.
At Royds Withy King, department head Malcolm Gregory handles employee shareholder schemes, restructuring, pension cap applications and TUPE matters, while Richard White predominantly acts for employers and has strength in tribunal claims. Clients include PerkinElmer, Churchill Investments and Lorne Stewart.
Mogers Drewett, which is in the second tier, regularly assists the HR teams of employers and also provides HR advice to clients that do not have a separate HR function. Sean McDonough leads the practice, which acts for employers such as Premier Global and Julian Hodge Bank, as well as senior level employees.
Royds Withy King appears in the top flight of the regional rankings for its clinical negligent: claimant work. It is described as a ‘leading firm’ for catastrophic birth injury cases. Key figures include practice head Simon Elliman, who handles dental negligence, cerebral palsy and spinal injury claims; ‘first-rate solicitor’ Paul Rumley; and Kerstin Kubiak, who stands out for her ‘exceptional analysis’.
Royds Withy King also appears among the regional leaders for personal injury: claimant cases. The firm sits on the panels for the United Kingdom Acquired Brain Injury Forum and Headway. Department head Louise Hart handles amputation, orthopaedic injuries, chronic pain, PTSD and facial injury matters. Stuart Brazington is also recommended.
Thrings appears in the regional top tier for its agriculture and estates work, with Mogers Drewett and Royds Withy King in the third.
At Thrings, newly promoted partner Russell Reeves represented high-net-worth individuals in a High Court farm ownership and inheritance dispute. Other clients include the National Farmers Union (NFU) and The Badminton Estate. Duncan Sigournay heads the department following Peter Cusick’s departure to Roythornes Solicitors.
At Mogers Drewett, solicitor Jonathan Cheal is noted for his ‘impressive’ knowledge of rights of way issues. Frank Collins took over as practice head after Richard Pinney joined Knights Professional Services Limited.
Royds Withy King advises lender clients on tenancy and financing matters. Angus Williams is noted for his knowledge of rural property.
Royds Withy King is in the leading pack for contentious trusts and probate and ‘achieves good results for its clients time and time again’. Amanda Noyce ‘is unflappable’ in Court of Protection applications involving mental capacity issues, as well as Inheritance Act, tax and professional negligence matters.
Royds Withy King also lines up with the regional leaders in family law while Thrings is in the second tier and Stone King, single-office Bath firm Mowbray Woodwards Solicitors and Bristol and Bath firm Sharp Family Law are in the third. Mogers Drewett appears in the fourth tier.
Royds Withy King is ‘one of Bath’s leading family law firms’ for collaborative law and mediation, and department head Richard Ellis has ‘a fantastic reputation’ in care proceedings. Also recommended are Sharon MacDonald and Jon Toogood, and newly promoted senior associates Katherine Lauder and Rebecca Stevens.
Thrings handles high-net-worth matrimonial finance and children law, including international child abduction. Fiona Kellow and Matthew Kellow head the department, which includes James Myatt.
At Mowbray Woodwards Solicitors newly promoted partner Daniela Nickols is ‘an exceptional childcare solicitor’. Managing partner Tracey Smith heads the practice and concentrates on divorce and separations.
Sharp Family Law’s Richard Sharp ‘is a leading figure nationally in alternative dispute resolution’ and Sharon Giles is ‘highly influential’ in collaborative divorce proceedings.
Stone King’s ‘rock solid’ department advises on non-domicile matters, pre-marital and post-separation assets, and child issues. John Brownrigg heads the practice and is ‘a formidable practitioner’.
Mogers Drewett’s Rebecca Silcock is noted for her ‘spot-on advice’ on collaborative law and financial matters.
Stone King, Thrings and Royds Withy King all appear in the third regional tier for personal tax, trust and probate work, with Mogers Drewett and Mowbray Woodwards Solicitors in the fourth.
Stone King provides an incorporated legal and financial care service to senior clients. Practice head Alison Allen also handles mental incapacity cases.
Thrings’ clients include high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs and landowners. Director Michael Young is recommended.
Royds Withy King’s Becky Ricards Small handles personal injury trusts, while department head James McNeile undertakes international work.
Mogers Drewett handles wills and elderly care matters, estate administration, and provides trust and tax advice. Department head Rory McFarlane and Rebecca Beresford are recommended.
At Mowbray Woodwards Solicitors David Whitworth ‘draws on an exceptional knowledge of the law’ to advise high-net-worth clients on tax, trusts and preparing wills.
Stone King leads the regional pack for its education work, with ‘solution-focused’ independent and state school teams led by John Clarke and Michael Brotherton, respectively. Clarke excels in overseas ventures and Brotherton, who was recently promoted to partner, handles contentious matters.
Both Thrings and Royds Withy King take top billing on the M4 Corridor for commercial property with Stone King in the second and Mogers Drewett in the third.
Alex Pinhey leads the team at Thrings. Edward Jackman acted for a landowner on the grant of an option agreement to a commercial developer.
Royds Withy King’s ‘knowledgeable’ five-partner team is led by Paul Daniels and ‘provides commercial advice’. Edward Cooke is ‘an expert at negotiating complex land deals’. Peter Foskett is also recommended.
Stone King advises a number of clients in the education and charity sectors, as well as private sector clients. Hugh Pearce is praised for his ‘excellent knowledge and practical approach’
At Mogers Drewett, Ian Davies acts for a range of developers, funders and businesses with regional property portfolios.
Thrings’ environmental work puts it in the third regional tier with a team that is ‘always ready to go the extra mile’. Clients single out Alex Madden as ‘a highly competent practitioner’.
Royds Withy King's construction work earns it a place among the region's second tier while Thrings is in the third.
The former advises on contentious and non-contentious matters for clients in the retail, housing and infrastructure sectors. Philip Banks-Welsh and Graham Street are key figures in the team, which was joined in January by Andrew Ash from Osborne Clarke.
At the latter, Steve McCombe and Eric Livingston handle contentious and non-contentious construction matters, respectively. Bristol Water, Fusion Students, and Anthony Best Dynamics are clients.
Thrings gains a third-tier rating for its planning work with Alex Madden having notable experience in the rural planning sector. Highlights included advising Castletown Estates on the negotiation of a Section 106 agreement with Carmarthenshire County Council concerning a mixed-use development.
Royds Withy King appears in the fourth regional tier for property litigation with Caroline Preist praised for her ‘good core knowledge of real estate litigation’. Preist regularly handles boundary, access and drainage rights disputes.
Royds Withy King is in the third rankings for IT and telecoms and fifth for intellectual property (IP). Jessica Bent leads its ‘exceptional’ practice, which represents clients including Bath Rugby in IP litigation and internet-based defamation cases. In addition to handling trade mark matters, the practice advises on patent licensing and infringement. Jessica Bent is ‘a very safe pair of hands’ in IP matters.
In addition to handling IP-related matters, Royds Withy King is active in branding, digital and social media contracts, licensing and defamation cases. Experienced department head Jessica Bent is recommended.
