Law firms recognised in latest Chambers Rankings
Following record rankings in this year’s Legal 500 announcement, law firm Slater Heelis is celebrating continued success in the newly released Chambers Rankings.
Chambers UK provides comprehensive rankings and reviews of law firms and individual lawyers, assessing them based on various criteria, including legal knowledge, client service, quality of work, and other relevant factors. The publication’s research is conducted through a combination of client interviews, peer reviews, and extensive data analysis.
Three teams have been recognised in the rankings with the firm’s family division leading the way having bolstered its position to a Band 1 ranking for the first time, with five of its team now also recognised individually for their outstanding performance.
Family partner, Charlotte Beck, is ranked for the first time while fellow family partner, Phillip Rhodes, has climbed to Band 2.
Partner and head of the family team, Mark Heptinstall, said: “We are incredibly proud of our achievements and to have this recognised with a solid Band 1 ranking is testament to every member of the team who work tirelessly for their clients and with unwavering support for each other.”
Slater Heelis’s Crime team has made an explosive entrance with its first submission appearing straight in at Band 2, with partner and head of crime, Rachel Fletcher, also making her list debut in the top Band 1 recognition; a huge coup for Rachel who only set up the team in 2019.
Rachel said: “To enter as Band 1 with my first submission is very humbling and is an incredible honour, and for the team to be recognised with Band 2 after just four years is a fantastic accomplishment. With so much competition in this area of law, to be recognised for our continued achievements and the positive outcomes we get for our clients makes me fiercely proud.”
Managing partner, Chris Bishop, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled with the results of this year’s Chambers Rankings. Our teams work incredibly hard day in, day out and so to receive such prestigious recognition for their efforts is a real career and company highlight and testament to their individual and collective efforts.”
This year’s Chambers Rankings also saw two of the firm’s employment associates, Helen Harradine and Sally Tomlinson, ranked as ‘associates to watch’, in their first submission which is in recognition of their work in the background of major deals and its construction consultant solicitor, Ken Salmon, retain his ‘senior statesperson’ title for the ninth year in a row.
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Robert Levy, left, and managing partner Steve Eccleston
Manchester commercial law firm, Kuits Solicitors, has achieved its best ever results in the newly published Chamber UK guide 2024 with more lawyers being ranked and improvements in previous rankings.
Seven of the firm’s departments have been ranked including the corporate team which is ranked in Band 1 for Corporate M&A for owner managed businesses. The guide comments on the beneficial integration between the corporate team and Kuits’s private wealth team which is also ranked in Band 1 in the Chamber High Net Worth guide and combined they are one of the most reputable teams in the North West.
Kuits’ employment, real estate, licensing, intellectual property and contentious tax teams are also ranked in the guide. This year 13 of the firm’s lawyers are ranked, three of whom have not previously appeared in the guide and all have either improved or maintained their rankings.
Robert Levy, executive partner, at Kuits, said: “We are extremely proud of the outstanding recognition in this year’s Chambers rankings. I’m very pleased to see so many of our exceptional teams and lawyers ranked which is a fitting reward for their commitment to excellence and dedication to client success.”
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Peter Swinburn
The Manchester office of national law firm Clarke Willmott has once again been recognised in the annual Chambers and Partners Guide.
The office has retained its Band 3 ranking for social housing while nationally the firm’s social housing finance team also retained Band 3.
Seven Manchester lawyers were named in the individual rankings: Ed Foulkes and Lindsay Felstead in Band 2; James Driver and Chris Longbottom in Band 4; Emily Finn and Natalie Pickford in ‘associate to watch’ and Matthew Wilson in ‘up and coming’.
Nationally, the firm is ranked in 26 areas across their seven offices, with five practice areas achieving the top Band 1 ranking.
Clarke Willmott’s lawyers have been recognised in 66 individual rankings with 11 Band 1 rankings.
The firm’s national social housing team also retained its Band 3 status.
Clarke Willmott CEO Peter Swinburn, said: “We are delighted with this year’s Chambers and Partners rankings, particularly following our equally impressive Legal 500 results earlier this month.
“To rank in 26 specialist practice areas with an incredible 66 of our people receiving recommendations is a great achievement and strongly indicates the breadth and depth of our service offering.
“We were particularly pleased with the excellent testimonials from our clients who are quoted in the guide and can attest, first hand, to the work we do and the way we look after them. Top tier ratings are a great recognition of quality and we take great pride in achieving good results both in terms of our practice areas and our individual lawyers, who are so talented and hard-working.”
Clarke Willmott LLP is a national law firm with seven offices across the country in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton and Taunton. This year the firm is celebrating its 135th anniversary.
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Richard Lowery
Manchester-based Express Solicitors has been ranked for Clinical Negligence in Band 4, alongside other leading and national firms, in the latest publication.
In Personal Injury, Richard Lowery, partner and head of Employers’ Liability, has been ranked in Band 2 as a Leading individual in this field for the second year running.
The ranking guide says of him: “Richard Lowery of Express Solicitors specialises in personal injury, undertaking a wide range of cases involving injuries caused by traffic and employment. Richard is aware of all relevant issues and is astute, efficient and practical. Richard is a very experienced litigator who is always keen to progress the case.”
Michael Hardacre, a partner in the Occupier and Public Liability Team who has recently joined Express from Slater & Gordon, has also been highlighted in the list. The guide says: “Michael Hardacre is hugely experienced at representing clients in complex, multi-track personal injury claims. He has particular expertise in cases arising from accidents at work.
“Michael’s speciality is employers’ liability and he’s very experienced, often on cases with challenging disputes. Michael is a hard worker and is thorough. He is all over every detail and is very meticulous.”
CEO, James Maxey, said: “It’s great to see Express recognised once again in the Chambers & Partners guide. We have been experiencing incredible growth and development over the past year and as we continue that into 2024, we will look to achieve an even better ranking next year with more Leading Individuals highlighted within the fields of personal injury and clinical negligence.”
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Daniel Long
Legal specialists from Woodcocks Haworth and Nuttall Solicitors (WHN) have been recognised for their commitment to client service and results in the new Chambers and Partners UK Bar Guide.
WHN’s property and real estate litigation team has retained its ranking in the independent guide for 2024, with researchers praising the team “as good lawyers who are thorough and have good technical understanding”.
Daniel Long, director and head of commercial at WHN, has been promoted to a higher individual ranking and personally recognised for his expertise in resolving disputes between commercial landlords and tenants.
Client feedback published in the guide quoted that “Daniel is extremely thorough and analytical in his approach. His legal understanding and interpretation is excellent and extremely helpful in dealing with complex issues”.
In addition, the publication has also recognised for the first time, Paul Matthews, head of WHN’s corporate and commercial team. Paul was recommended for his work in mergers and acquisitions and his support for SME and owner managed businesses.
With experience of a range of corporate matters, including M&A, joint ventures and management buyouts, clients praised Paul with one client feeding back that “I value his advice and professionalism. His knowledge and understanding of complex matters is exemplary”.
Chambers and Partners also commended WHN’s commitment to client service across all of its offices writing that “WHN Solicitors provides high quality services from Accrington, Bacup, Blackburn, Bury, Clitheroe, Great Harwood, Haslingden and Rawtenstall” and that “WHN’s teams of specialist, friendly lawyers are committed to delivering outstanding results and exceptional service to businesses, individuals and families”.
Daniel Long said: “For WHN to receive such impressive recognition among the UK’s top professional legal firms, just two weeks after also strengthening our position in the influential Legal 500 rankings, demonstrates not only our expertise as a firm, but also the approach we take to client care.
“We put client service at the heart of everything we do – the exceptional feedback we have received from them as part of this year’s Chambers and Partners publication reflects that.
“I’d like to personally thank our clients for taking the time to contribute their feedback as part of this year’s rankings. The whole firm is proud.”
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John Schorah
Liverpool-based national law firm, Weightmans, is celebrating a new record number of lawyers ranked in this year’s leading legal directories, with 453 experts listed.
In the latest editions of the Chambers & Partners UK and Legal 500 legal directories, the firm has also been recommended as a top-tier firm in 24 practice areas across the two and is listed across 146 areas altogether.
Of the areas in which Weightmans ranks, two are higher rankings than previous editorial – insurance volume claims UK-wide and litigation North East, with another 10 entirely new rankings including travel international personal injury (both defendant and claimant), crime: general crime and fraud, contentious trusts and probate (North West), employment employers and senior executives (London), personal injury and clinical negligence defendant (North), as well as a bumper year for new rankings in Yorkshire in commercial litigation, contentious trusts and probate, health, personal tax, trusts and probate.
In the Legal 500, 48 lawyers have been included in the elite ‘leading lawyers’ listing, representing a 13% increase on last year, with 13 being named as ‘next generation partners’, and another 19 receiving rising star status.
In Chambers, 14 Weightmans lawyers are ranked in the highest Band 1, as well as two-star associates, four associates to watch, four senior statespeople and one eminent practitioner.
The results come after the firm announced record turnover in its financial results for 22/23 earlier this summer.
Managing partner, John Schorah said: “Once again Weightmans finds itself ranked among the very best law firms in the UK and worldwide, and I continue to be very proud of the extraordinary talent of our people and the hard work they have all put in this last year.
“It caps off an already very successful year for Weightmans after our most recent financial figures demonstrated sustainable growth right across the business.”
