The Legal 500: Yorkshire lawyers act in high profile disputes
YORKSHIRE expertise is being brought to bear on major legal disputes across the country, according to The Legal 500.
The latest edition of the legal bible highlights the region’s strengths in both commercial litigation and debt recovery.
Addleshaw Goddard’s defence of Liverpool PCT and Royal Liverpool Hospital Trust against an action by an anti-PFI campaigner, Nabarro’s representation of Persimmon Group in a claim against Great Lakes Reinsurance and Walker Morris’s work on the claim by Montpellier Estates against Leeds City Council are just some of the cases picked out for mention.
Those firms are joined by Eversheds, DLA Piper and Pinsent Masons as the West and North Yorkshire-based firms in tier one for commercial litigation.
Irwin Mitchell joins Nabarro and DLA Piper in tier one in Sheffield while Andrew Jackson, Gosschalks and Rollits take the honours in the east of the region.
Every day this week, TheBusinessDesk.com is taking a sector-by-sector look at the region’s legal market in association with RBS.
A concise version of the the Legal 500’s review of Yorkshire and the Humber is also available to download.
The leading figures in commercial litigation are identified as:
Damian Crosse, Pinsent Masons
Gwendoline Davies, Walker Morris
Hugh Evans, DLA Piper
James Haddleton, DWF
Simon Kamstra, Addleshaw Goddard
Jonathan Sinclair, Stewarts Law
RBS regional director Jim McAuley (pictured) said: “Dispute resolution would appear to be a consistent fee income generator. But some commentators believe that it is not growing as fast as previously expected in firms revenues as they look across the practice mix.
“A lot has been spoken around the growing creep of a “claim culture” in the UK and whilst a solid earner, maybe not with a potential change in public perception a fast growing sector for the future.”
The tier two firms for commercial litigation and West and North Yorkshire are Cobbetts, DWF, Gordons, Irwin Mitchell and Squire Sanders Hammonds while the third tier firms are Beachcroft, Brooke North, Clarion, Ford & Warren, Harrowells, Lupton Fawcett, McCormicks, Schofield Sweeney and Stewarts Law.
In Sheffield, The Legal 500 lists the second tier firms as HLW Commercial Lawyers, Hill Dickinson, Keeble Hawson, Taylor & Emmet and Wake Smith & Tofields.
Drydens, Incasso and Optima Legal are picked out as the tier one firms in Yorkshire for debt recovery. Incasso has recently won mandates from Network Rail Infrastructure and Countrywide Estate Agents while Optima Legal is described as habing a “sizeable recoveries practice” led by Philip Robinson. Drydens has been appointed to “several major lender’s panels”.
DWF, Fairfax Solicitors, Lee & Priestley and Lupton Fawcett are considered the tier two firms in debt recovery while the third tier is made up of Carrick Read, Ford & Warren and Keeble Hawson.
