Legal 500: Regional heavyweights revealed
LEEDS was among the earliest beneficiaries of 2013’s renaissance in deals thanks to a notable increase in corporate and real estate transactions and a revival of capital markets activity.
The efforts of which were also felt in the manufacturing hub of Sheffield and in Hull, Harrogate, York and Bradford, according to the latest Legal 500 review.
Arguably the country’s second city for legal services, Leeds is the epicentre of the Yorkshire market and remains as competitive as ever, the review highlights. Sheffield is the region’s second-largest legal market, while York, Hull and to a lesser extent, Bradford and Harrogate, all offer a broad selection of firms.
The top slice of transactions remain heavily weighted towards a group of Leeds firms – the so-called Big Six – each of which reported a strong year. However, this year’s report points out that there are signs the picture might be changing.
DWF’s 2013 acquisition of Cobbetts arguably gives the firm comparable leverage to the Big Six and there is no shortage of strength in the mid-market to keep the bigger firms on their toes, the report says.
The Legal 500 highlighted a number of Yorkshire firms including noting that Irwin Mitchell retains strong offices in both Leeds and Sheffield; DLA for its particular strength in corporate, real estate and litigation; Addleshaw Goddard for its work in the financial services sector; Eversheds for its strong corporate team and Pinsent masons is highlighted for its strong plc client base. Squire Patton Boggs is noted for its strong international network, premier corporate, litigation, real estate and corporate tax practices and Walker Morris is highlighted for its “sound expertise across practice areas”.
The Hull market is dominated by Andrew Jackson, Gosschalks and Rollits. Other notable firms in the region include York-based Langleys and McCormicks in Harrogate, which has a unique sports practice. Clarion, DAC Beechcroft and Schofield Sweeney are all notable firms in Leeds.
The regional heavy weights listed in the guide are:
Addleshaw Goddard – Leeds
DLA Piper – Leeds, Sheffield
Eversheds – Leeds
Pinsent Masons – Leeds
Squire Patton Boggs – Leeds
Walker Morris – Leeds
DWF – Leeds
Irwin Mitchell – Leeds, Sheffield
Nabarro – Sheffield
The annual guide also provides its list of the star individual players:
Adam Aldred – Addleshaw Goddard
Simon Anderson – Walker Morris
Jonathan Attey – Wrigleys
Lyn Ayrton – Lake Legal
Matthew Baker – Pinsent Masons
William Ballmann – Gateley
Adrian Barlow – Pinsent Masons
Andrew Bennett – Walker Morris
Richard Bonnar – DLA Piper
Christopher Booth – Pinsent Masons
Patrick Cantrill – Bond Dickinson
John Christian – Pinsent Masons
John Cleland – Pinsent Masons
Banking and finance
John Coen – Ford & Warren
Paul Cotton – Eversheds
Damian Crosse – Pinsent Masons
Gwendoline Davies – Walker Morris
Sarah Day – DLA Piper
Paula Dillon – Bond Dickinson
Mike Elliker – Addleshaw Goddard
Hugh Evans – DLA Piper
Trudy Feaster-Gee – Walker Morris
Paul Firth – Irwin Mitchell
John Gaunt – John Gaunt & Partners
Ian Gilbert – Walker Morris
James Haddleton – DWF
David Handy – Addleshaw Goddard
Mark Harris – Pinsent Masons
Jonathan Hawkswell – Hawkswell Kilvington
Rachael Heenan – Capsticks
Teresa Hitchcock – DLA Piper
John Holden -Gordons
Martin Holdsworth – Jones Myers
Robin Johnson – Eversheds
Jonathan Jones – Squire Patton Boggs
Peter Jones – Jones Myers
Simon Kamstra – Addleshaw Goddard
Richard Kempner – Kempner & Partners
Andrew Kerr – Pinsent Masons
David Kilvington – Hawkswell Kilvington
Guy Lamb – DLA Piper
James Love – James Love Legal
Peter McCormick – McCormicks
Catherine McKenna – Squire Patton Boggs
John McMullen – Wrigleys
John McQuarter – Atherton Godfrey Solicitors
Simon Miller – Squire Patton Boggs
Simon Minton – Mintons
Jeremy Moore – Walker Morris
Christopher Mordue – Pinsent Masons
Julia Morril – Lester Morrill incorporating Davies Gore Lomax
Philip Mudd – Walker Morris
Paula Myers – Irwin Mitchell
Simon Palmer – Addleshaw Goddard
Tom Peel –Walker Morris
Michael Peeters – DAC Beechroft
David Poddington – Taylor & Emmet
Jonathan Procter – DLA Piper
Aziz Rahman – Rahmen Ravelli Solicitors
Julia Rangecroft – Mills & Reeve
Rachel Rawnsley – Addleshaw Goddard
Rob Riley – Addleshaw Goddard
Robert rode – ABR Solicitors
David Salter – Mills & Reeve
Jeremy Scholes – Walker Morris
Martin Scott – Walker Morris
Yunus Seedat – Addleshaw Goddard
Lee Shankland – Addleshaw Goddard
Martin Shaw – Pinsent Masons
Malcolm Simpson – Walker Morris
Mark Simpson – Squire Patton Boggs
Jonathan Sinclair- Stewerts Law
Paul Smith – Eversheds
Ruth Snell – Addleshaw Goddard
Michael Taylor – Walker Morris
Jacqui Timmins – Pinsent Masons
Andrew Todd – Gordons
Chirs Tulley – DLA Piper
Philip Way – Mills & Reeve
Matthew Wrigley- Wrigleys
Jason Wurzal – Eversheds
