Legal 500: East Mids top firms and lawyers revealed
East Midlands SMEs are increasingly being targeted by East Midlands law firms, according to the latest issues of the legal industry’s bible.
Browne Jacobson and Eversheds Sutherland continue to dominated the East Midlands scene according to the 2017 Legal 500, released today, with the likes of Freeths, Gateley, Shakespeare Martineau, Geldards and Shoosmiths not far behind.
The report says that Nelsons and Cartwright King are “well-positioned”, while Flint Bishop in Derby, Spearing Waite in Leicester and Actons in Nottingham “continue to expand their client network regionally and nationwide”.
The 2017 Legal 500 says that as the post-Brexit referendum settled, East Midlands law firms have begin to pick up work. It reads: “Small and medium-sized businesses continue to be a major target for regional firms active in the transactional space. As lenders have become more willing to provide funding, private equity transactions have too been on the rise, often involving investors based abroad.
“The end of economic recession brought a revival of debt recovery work and insolvency litigation, and the market for general commercial and real estate litigation remains steady, the latter largely arising from delayed construction projects as well as nuisance abatement claims. Commercial property activity on the non-contentious side continues, particularly in the retail, office and residential sectors. Student accommodation and mixed-use developments are key examples of real estate activity in the region.”
Legal 500 2017: Top Corporate and commercial firms and individuals
Tier 1
Browne Jacobson (Nottingham)
Eversheds Sutherland (International) (Nottingham)
Freeths (Derby, Nottingham)
Geldards (Derby, Nottingham)
Shoosmiths (Nottingham)
Gateley Plc (Leicester)
Hewitsons (Northampton)
Spearing Waite (Leicester)
Rothera Sharp (Nottingham)
Tier 2
Flint Bishop (Derby)
Gateley Plc (Nottingham)
Nelsons Solicitors Limited (Derby, Nottingham)
Shakespeare Martineau (Nottingham)
BHW Solicitors (Leicester)
Howes Percival (Leicester, Northampton)
Tier 3
Actons (Nottingham)
Austin Moore & Partners (Nottingham)
Fraser Brown (Bingham, Nottingham, Radcliffe-on-Trent)
Smith Partnership (Derby)
Else Solicitors (Burton upon Trent)
Nelsons Solicitors Limited (Leicester)
Roythornes Solicitors (Spalding)
Shakespeare Martineau (Leicester)
Sills & Betteridge (Lincoln)
Wilkin Chapman (Grimsby, Lincoln)
Wilson Browne Solicitors (Northampton)
Leading individuals (region-wide)
Nigel Blackwell – Browne Jacobson
Roy Botterill – Shakespeare Martineau
Crispin Bridges Webb – Shoosmiths
Gerald Couldrake – Howes Percival
Gavin Cummings – Browne Jacobson
John Heaphy – Freeths
Karl Jansen – Freeths
Gareth John – Gateley
Andrew Pickin – Shoosmiths
Mark Rutherford – Gateley
Martin Smith – Spearing Waite
David Tilly – Geldards
Anton Balkitis – Rothera Sharp
Next generation lawyers (region-wide)
Gareth Cook – Shoosmiths
