North West law firms celebrate following recognition in latest Legal 500 rankings
Stockport-based Gorvins Solicitors is celebrating the results of the Legal 500 rankings for 2025.
In the report, the performance of its practice and individual solicitors has once again been recognised.
The firm has retained the highest tier 1 rankings within three practice areas: Corporate & commercial, commercial property and commercial litigation/dispute resolution services, grading it among the best in the UK within these fields.
Alongside this, a total of nine lawyers were name-checked as ‘leading lawyers’. Amongst that number were Patricia Robinson (Partner and Co-Head of Family) and Amanda Porter (Partner – Commercial Property) who were recognised as such for the first time.
Rowan Uren, a senior associate in the corporate & commercial team, is also categorised as a Leading Associate.
As well as tier 1 categorisations for three practice areas, an additional 12 practice areas (up from 10 last year) are ranked in the findings.
The firm was also labelled amongst the ‘firms to watch’ for its road traffic defence team within the crime, fraud and licensing category with Paul Reddy and Tom Nutter receiving name checks.
The Legal 500 is a comprehensive research programme that analyses law firms across the world. It assesses strengths across more than 150 jurisdictions and incorporates feedback from 300,000 clients worldwide.
Mark Deverell, Managing Partner at Gorvins, said: “We’re very pleased to receive our Legal 500 results for 2025, recognising our continued growth as a firm. To have more of our colleagues recognised as ‘leading Lawyers’ and so many of our teams recognised as top-tier departments is testament to the work we do day in and day out.”
Gorvins and its solicitors achieved recommendations in the following practice areas: Corporate & Commercial, Commercial Property, Dispute Resolution, Litigation – Debt Recovery, Employment – employee/trade unions, Employment generally, Personal Injury – claimant, Contentious Trusts and Probate, Personal Tax, Trusts & Probate, Professional Negligence, Family, Property Litigation and Technology, Media & Telecoms – intellectual property.
::
Peter Swinburn
The Manchester office of national law firm Clarke Willmott has been ranked highly in this year’s Legal 500 guide, with numerous practice areas and individual lawyers being recognised.
The guide recommended Clarke Willmott’s Manchester office in seven practice areas: Personal tax, trusts and probate; social housing; corporate and commercial; commercial litigation; insolvency and corporate recovery; employment; construction; and family.
Two Manchester lawyers were named as ‘Leading Partners’: Chris Longbottom – family, and Lindsay Felstead – social housing. Meanwhile Matthew Wilson (social housing) was named as a ‘Next Generation Partner.’
Clarke Willmott chief executive, Peter Swinburn, said: “We are especially pleased to be recommended in seven practice areas in our Manchester office.
“Having celebrated our 135th anniversary this year, these rankings are a good reflection of our position as an industry leader.
“They also serve to highlight the immense talent we have in our teams, something of which we are very proud.”
Nationally, Clarke Willmott received Top Tier rankings in eight practice areas and recommendations in 54 practice areas. Three Clarke Willmott lawyers are named in the ‘Hall of Fame’, 22 are named as ‘Leading Partners’, 12 as ‘Leading Associates’ and a further 10 as ‘Next Generation Partners’. A total of 168 lawyers are recommended in the guide.
::
John Chesworth
North West law firm Harrison Drury’s corporate and commercial, licensing, commercial litigation, commercial property, property litigation, insolvency, and family law teams have all been ranked again in the prestigious Legal 500, with the corporate team moving up a tier.
In addition, Harrison Drury has also been ranked as a ‘Firm to Watch’ for its specialisms in construction law, agriculture and estates, and employment law.
A total of 42 Harrison Drury solicitors have been individually recognised as leaders in their fields with Simon England (real estate), Malcolm Ireland (licensing), James Robbins (insolvency) and David Vayro (construction) identified as ‘Leading Partners’.
Emma Butterworth (employment) and Hannah Hughes (real estate) have been listed as ‘Next Generation Partners’, while Samantha Faud (licensing), Helen Griffin (litigation), Lara Watts and Lucy Benton (real estate) have been noted as ‘Leading Associates’.
John Chesworth, executive chairman at Harrison Drury, said: “It’s fantastic to see the investment we’ve made in people leading to success for our clients, which, in turn, has resulted in further recognition by the Legal 500.
“Our strategy of recruiting highly specialist lawyers and continuing to diversify our offering to meet the needs of our clients has been key to our success. Our construction law, agriculture and employment teams being highlighted in the Legal 500 for the first time is clear evidence of this.
“It’s also pleasing to see us moving up the rankings for our corporate specialism, thanks in part to our expansion into the Manchester market and recruitment of leading specialists in mergers and acquisitions.”
The firm’s full list of ‘Recommended Lawyers’ and other ranked individuals is:
Corporate and commercial – Mark Traynor, Jack Stephenson, Richard Life, Kerry Southworth, Timothy Grover
Licensing – Malcolm Ireland and Samantha Faud
Commercial litigation – Nick Booth, Sean Gibbs, Helen Griffin, Martin Stafford
Commercial property – Simon England, Naomi Fell, Hannah Hughes, Lara Watts, Wendy Newbury, Lucy Benton, Nicola Beneduce, Danielle Leeming, Lucy Beachell, Jackie Bate, Amanda Marwood, Jane Fillis
Insolvency and corporate recovery – James Robbins, Peter Barlow
Property litigation – Colin Fenny, Ros Monk, Alex Walmsley, Zoe Taylor, Joseph Mitchell, Luke Holden
Family law – John Osborne, Rebecca Patience, Emma Panchal, Jenna Atkinson
Construction – David Vayro, Katherine Sibley
Agriculture and estates – Joseph Mitchell
Employment – Roger Spence, Jamie Campbell, David Carmichael, Emma Butterworth
::
Michael Shroot
A record number of solicitors at North West law firm Woodcocks Haworth and Nuttall (WHN) Solicitors have been personally recognised, as the firm has been recommended for the fourth consecutive year.
Eleven members of the WHN team have been recommended in the 2025 edition of Legal 500, with the firm noted by clients for its ‘knowledgeable, trustworthy, and approachable’ service.
The firm also retained its place in the rankings for its commercial property, property litigation, dispute resolution, corporate and commercial and family teams.
Nicola Phelps, Daniel Boulton and Katie Hall were all recommended as part of WHN’s ‘modern, diverse and efficient’ commercial property team while WHN’s CEO, Michael Shroot, who was described as ‘efficient and helpful’, was recommended in WHN’s commercial litigation team alongside Sara Beaumont.
In the property litigation team, Daniel Long was described as ‘extremely personable and attentive’ and Eleanor Longworth was once again recognised as a leading associate, described as ‘a brilliant solicitor’ and cited for her long leasehold and landlord and tenant dispute resolution expertise.
In WHN’s family team, David Connor and Tanya Magell were both personally recognised, as well as Stephen Pinnington, who joined WHN last year and was cited as a ‘very dedicated family lawyer’, operating from the firm’s Salford base.
Michael Shroot said: “We would like to thank our clients who chose to trust us to look after their legal matters and gave us an opportunity to help them achieve their objectives through our work. Those clients took the time to provide feedback on the work undertaken for them and we are extremely grateful to all those participating in the independently conducted research process.
“It is testament to the great things happening in the business community across the North West that we have such a depth and breadth of work we can include in the written submissions made as part of the research process.”
He added: “This year’s Legal 500 rankings once again recognise the hard work and dedication of our team members as well as the strength of their relationships with clients, built on the personable and helpful way in which they deliver advice and solutions.
“Everyone across the firm, and not just those personally recognised, has contributed to this year’s rankings and I’d like to thank the team for their dedication, hard work and consistency.”
WHN employs more than 100 staff in offices in Accrington, Bacup, Blackburn, Bury, Clitheroe, Great Harwood, Haslington, Rawtenstall and Salford.
::
Rachel Fletcher
Sale-based Slater Heelis has been recommended in 11 practice areas, an increase of one on last year and had four of its employees listed in the elite ‘leading lawyers’ group as Leading Partners.
For the first time, the company has also been recommended for its Insolvency team entering at as a ‘Firm to Watch’ with Nick Goodman at the helm of the team.
The firm’s crime and regulatory team has improved its ‘Firm to Watch’ standing with a tier 4 ranking while its Family offering has been rated tier 2 for the eighth consecutive year.
Managing partner, Rachel Fletcher, said: “It is amazing to be recognised as a firm in 11 practice areas but to then also have so many individual employees feature for their outstanding expertise and service makes me so incredibly proud.”
Mark Heptinstall (Family) is celebrating a Leading Partner listing having spent six consecutive years as ‘leading individual’, while Jay Lafinhan (Property) also makes the jump from his ‘leading individual’ recognition to Leading Partner.
Simon Wallwork in the Corporate team has moved up the rankings to Leading Partner and within Contentious Trusts and Probate, John Gorner is now also a Leading Partner which firmly places each of them in an elite group and true leaders in their field.
::
James Maxey
Personal injury specialist, Express Solicitors, has been recognised in the Legal 500 in both the personal injury and clinical negligence categories and continues to be a tier 3 firm.
Testimonials from clients of Manchester-based Express Solicitors included in the listing were:
“Express has invested in good quality staff and take extra care to build good relationships within their team, which is then reflected in the quality of service provided to their clients.”
“Carlos Lopez leads a strong team very efficiently and effectively, with a focus on good client engagement and driving cases forwards to maintain momentum.”
“My experience of the personal injury team at Express Solicitors is that they are a very dedicated team with a wide breadth of experience and cases.”
“Richard Lowery is obviously dedicated to getting the best results for his clients. Richard achieves excellent results.”
Work highlights noted were: Representing a client in a claim against two GPs for failure to stroke risk stratify, resulting in failure to prescribe oral anticoagulants, worth an estimated £2m.
Representing a client in a claim for clinical negligence after suffering an above knee amputation of her right leg due to an NHS trust failing to identify ischaemic problems.
Acted for a motorbike passenger who suffered a traumatic brain injury, securing provisional damages for epilepsy.
Representing a pedestrian struck by a vehicle when running through a car park.
CEO, James Maxey said: Over the past year, we have succeeded in many complex cases, including several cases and appeals that have been reported by the legal and national press, and helped to provide guidance to personal injury law practitioners.
“The Legal 500 announcement follows hot on the heels of The Lawyer 200 news that we have moved up 10 places to #70 in that listing, so we’re delighted with our continued progress.
“Our Trustpilot rating of 4.7 significantly beats the personal injury firm average of 2.4 and this year we surpassed 6,500 reviews. Because this comes from our clients, this means a great deal to us and spurs us on to take on more of the cases that other firms don’t and get more compensation for them.”
::
James Chadwick, TLT
TLT has achieved strong results in its Legal 500 rankings in the North West, with 15 practice areas and 18 individuals ranked in the 2025 edition of the legal industry’s prestigious directory.
In the North West, the firm secured a top tier 1 ranking for Banking Litigation and improved its ranking in Commercial Litigation and Local Government, demonstrating TLT’s leading reputation in these practice areas.
The rankings also reflect the strength of TLT’s full service in the region, recognising other practice areas including Banking and Finance; Commercial Property; Construction; Corporate and Commercial; Employment; Health and Safety; Insolvency and Corporate Recovery; Intellectual Property; IT and Telecoms; Pensions; Planning and Environment; and Property Litigation.
18 lawyers from TLT’s Manchester office were ranked in this year’s guide including newly ranked Julien Luke (Commercial Litigation) who was ranked a Leading Partner and Alastair Lomax (Insolvency and Corporate Recovery) who moved up a ranking to the Hall of Fame category.
James Chadwick, partner and head of location in Manchester said: “The Legal 500 UK rankings are a reflection of the hard-work and dedication of the entire Manchester team. The rankings highlight our full service offering in the North West and our strong rankings in banking litigation, commercial litigation and local government reflecting our commitment to investing in our transactional and regulatory capabilities. Based, in part, on feedback from our clients, the rankings are an anticipated acknowledgement of our continued investment in the growth and development of the team.”
TLT revealed another year of strong financial growth in 2024 with revenue up 12% year-on-year up to £174m for 2023 / 2024. The firm has made a number of strategic lateral hires in the last twelve months in Manchester to build scale in specialist sectors, which include future energy; digital; financial services; leisure, food and drink; government and public services; real estate; and retail & consumer goods. The latest appointments have included Alexander Murdie as partner in the projects, infrastructure and construction team and Victoria Zivkovic in the corporate team.
::
Jeremy Orrell
A trio of senior lawyers from SAS Daniels, a Cheshire-based law firm with offices in Stockport, Chester, Macclesfield and Congleton, received much-coveted recognition in the prestigious directory, ranking highly amongst those within the profession.
SAS Daniels’ CEO, business owner, partner and head of corporate Jeremy Orrell, has once again been honoured as a Leading Partner in Corporate and Commercial, while Katie Hodson, partner, head of employment and joint head of the Stockport office has been celebrated as a Next Generation Partner in Employment. Andy Booth, business owner and partner, has again been announced as a Leading Partner in Media and Entertainment.
The firm achieved highly-regarded Tier Two rankings for several practice areas including Commercial Litigation, Commercial Property, Corporate and Commercial, Family, and Personal Tax, Trusts and Probate. SAS Daniels also achieved coveted recommendations for its Employment, and Media and Entertainment departments.
The guide hails the ‘wealth of experience within the commercial litigation team which allows for exceptional service to all clients, tailored specifically to their individual requirements and concerns’, and highlights that the employment team offers ‘excellent advice and actions taken in a timely manner’.
Sixteen partners and solicitors from SAS Daniels were mentioned by name in the directory, either in their own right or as part of their team. Partner, head of private client and joint head of the Stockport office Helen Kelly, is recognised as ‘extremely knowledgeable and personable’, and Andrew Clark, a partner in the property team, has been described as having a ‘comprehensive, profound knowledge of the field which is incomparable.’
Jeremy Orrell, chief executive officer at SAS Daniels said: “Year upon year our diligent team continues to excel in the Legal 500 rankings, demonstrating their remarkable knowledge and commitment to providing a best-in-class service to both businesses and individuals throughout the local area and nationwide.
“The Legal 500 is regarded as the leading legal directory and we are incredibly pleased to receive such high-profile recognition, with so many members of our experienced team praised. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to colleagues across the firm and congratulate them on their achievements.”
