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William Roles and Laura Holdaway at Mills & Reeve LLP ‘balance technical expertise with commercial awareness’, and Ian Benson (‘good quality without City prices’) and Zak Virgin are also recommended. Recent work includes advising the FSA on a £100m credit facility.

‘Terrier and hardnosed litigator’ Mark Henry heads Birketts LLP’s team, which is newly appointed to panels of HSBC and Santander. Adrian Seagers and Adrian Possener personify the ‘excellent service and personal approach’.

Steeles Law LLP delivers ‘quality service and commercial solutions’. Working for an international client base, Richard Bailey (‘personable and understanding’), James Tarling and Nigel Lubbock saw deals totalling £25m.

James Allen is one of three partners at Taylor Vinters with ‘real sector knowledge of lending arrangements’. Clients include HSBC and Co-operative Bank.

Neil Harpham’s team at Hewitsons LLP, which advises Co-operative Bank and NatWest locally, is ‘proactive, with extraordinary depth of experience’. Tim Richards is noted for his attention to detail.

Howes Percival LLP is noted for its ‘excellent communication and added value’, thanks to the ‘accessible, efficient’ Tessa Haskey and ‘positive, commercial’ Robert Colman. Panel appointments include Bank of Scotland and Svenska Handelsbanken.

Kester Cunningham John’s Ron Clare and Edward O’Rourke provide ‘high-quality advice with a commercial edge’.

Leathes Prior joins the ranking this year. Paul Warman’s ‘strong team of specialist lawyers’ handles structured borrowing work, and is on panels of Lloyds Banking Group and RBS.

Prettys is ‘always flexible and good value’. Keith Vincent is valued for his ‘excellent client service and sector-specific knowledge’, advising clients such as Lloyds Banking Group and RBS.

Insolvency and corporate recovery

Pragmatic and thorough, Hewitsons LLP’s Simon Biggin, Jason Williams and Helen Drayton are representing a US-led international group on recoveries from a European technology insolvency.

Howes Percival LLP ‘has long appeared to be the most able of East Anglian firms’, and attracts work from London and nationwide. Morris Peacock (‘competent, knowledgeable, encourages good teamwork’) and Julian Hayes advised the liquidator of Our Price Entertainment, and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Mills & Reeve LLP has strong sector expertise in areas such as agribusiness, construction, energy and healthcare. Jamie Wheatley advised Deloitte LLP as administrator of Great Leighs racecourse.

Taylor Vinters has ‘the depth and scope to deal with more complex assignments’, and is ‘one of the top firms in Cambridge’. Adam Bradley has ‘good commercial judgement’; Laurence Weeks is ‘positive and practical’; and James Allen is also recommended. The firm advised the administrators of Mr. Shoes.

‘Proactive and practical’, Ashton Graham’s team is led by Rob Adam and Paul Whittingham. It handled the insolvency of Catchpole Nursing Home, and also advised on a £12m bankruptcy.

Birketts LLP’s Matthew Atkins heads a cross-departmental team that includes litigator Paul Matthews. It acts for IPs and administrators such as Baker Tilly and KPMG, and also corporates such as shipping company TPC Korea.

Kester Cunningham John’s Luke Hibbert, Edward O’Rourke and Michael Frape are ‘sensible, accurate, commercial and effective’. They advise administrators such as Baker Tilly, and McTear Williams & Wood.

Leathes Prior has ‘an extremely competent and supportive team’, led by licensed IP Adam McCaw, who is for some ‘the leading insolvency lawyer in East Anglia’. It advises Ensors and Parker Andrews. Highly experienced former practice head Frank Brumby has moved to Isadore Goldman, along with Sue Sutton.

Prettys’ team is ‘hardworking and committed, reasonably priced and quick’, with Alistair Bacon (‘always commercial, highly responsive, a pleasure to work with’) supported by Ian Waine. It counts a UK car company and a mortgage management company as clients.

One of the few credible practices in Peterborough, Buckles Solicitors LLP acts for IPs including Baker Tilly and Bulley Davey. The team includes Nigel Moore; Michael Blank (a ‘good all-round service provider, efficient and practical’); and litigator James Maxey.

Michael Batty heads the team at Greene & Greene, which includes Andrew Kinnison, who is qualified as a Hong Kong solicitor and has ‘a firm grasp of insolvency issues’. Work from Hong Kong IPs sits alongside local insolvency work.

At Hegarty LLP, the commercially astute Kally Singh acts for clients such as a large biotech firm and IPs such as Bulley Davey.

Nicholsons Solicitors LLP’s Mark Nicholson and Gareth Lamb are popular among local IPs for their pragmatic advice on matters involving company directors, partnerships and private individuals.

Rogers and Norton’s Peter Hastings, a recognised expert in directors’ disqualification cases, acts for most local IPs. He recently advised administrators on a £1.1m HMRC excise duty and VAT claim.

Recent work for Richard Bailey’s team at Steeles Law LLP includes advising a creditor in the insolvency of Portsmouth City FC, and assisting in the negotiation of an international communications company’s statutory demerger.

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