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Farrer & Co’s ‘exceptional and excellent’ team is led by Simon Pring, who ‘demonstrates a pragmatic approach to problems backed by a real understanding of the practical implications of the law’. Henry Goulding, who advises clients on new wind farm ventures, is ‘approachable and provides unequivocal advice at very short notice when required’. Edmund Fetherston-Dilke is recommended for sales and purchases of country houses and estates, and Paul Krafft and James Maxwell are also recommended. Clients include the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster.

Bircham Dyson Bell LLP was appointed to the National Farmers Union legal panel in 2008. The group, which is led by Christopher Findley, has assisted with high-value sales and the drafting of farm business tenancies. The six-partner team also handles landlord and tenant and farming partnership disputes.

Boodle Hatfield is recommended by clients in ‘all areas of agricultural lettings, disputes and sales’, and practice head Sue Laing enjoys a good reputation in the market. The group is highly rated by peers and includes Saskia Arthur, who offers ‘in-depth knowledge’. The team includes the ‘forward-thinking’ Tim Manning. Grosvenor Estates and Bedford Estate are clients.

Burges Salmon LLP enjoys an enviable market profile, and ‘delivers an outstandingly high level of service, with an expertise that is second to none’. The team is highly rated for its litigation expertise; practice head Peter Williams ‘one of the best property litigation solicitors in the country’, and ‘is a superb tactician and negotiator, often achieving settlements that are far in excess of what anyone else could achieve’. Associate Ben Sharples is a ‘huge talent, and phenomenally bright’, and Vivienne Williams is also recommended. Clients include The Crown Estate and The National Trust.

Forsters LLP recently took on much of Withers LLP’s agriculture and estates practice, including well-known and highly respected group head Penny Elliott and the ‘focused’ Andrew Lane. Recent highlights include some high-value sales and complex tax restructuring advice.

Patricia Sykes heads Hunters’ landed estates group, which assists clients on the sale and purchase of landed estate property and farms, and advises on inheritance tax and other tax planning, diversification, and heritage property and maintenance funds. Jonathan Godwin-Austen offers ‘clear, well-thought-through solutions that are easy for the client to understand’. Joe Richardson and Edward Martineau are also recommended.

Macfarlanes LLP’s ‘first-class’ three-partner team is led by John Hornby, who enjoys an exceptional reputation in the field. The practice focuses on the sale and purchase of estates, and benefits from the strength of the firm’s excellent wider private client practice. Tristan Ward is ‘personable and understanding’.

Mills & Reeve LLP’s practice head Michael Aubrey is ‘commercially aware and offers clear advice’, and James Falkner is ‘a rare breed as a contentious agricultural expert’. The team recently assisted a leading international university, a FTSE-listed institutional landowner, and a foreign investment vehicle. The group benefits from the strength of the firm’s offices in Cambridge and Norwich. Sally Graham was promoted to partner in 2008.

Withers LLP offers an ‘excellent level of service and first-class business acumen and industry knowledge’. Bertie Hoskyns-Abrahall, who was promoted to partner in 2008, heads the practice, while Tony Thompson and Stephen Cooke (noted for his ‘valuable experience’) are recommended by clients. Penny Elliott and Andrew Lane left the practice to join Forsters LLP in 2009.

Charles Russell LLP benefits from the strength of the firm’s private client practice, and handles estate and tax planning for over 50 landed estates. Recent highlights include acting for a new client on the purchase of a country house and buildings for over £3m. Practice head Christopher Page is recommended.

Currey & Co has a first-class reputation for high-quality, discreet work. The team acts for a number of traditional landed estates.

Lincoln’s Inn firm May, May & Merrimans advises on agricultural holdings legislation, farm tenancies and partnership agreements. Sandy Schofield is the lead partner.

Alastair Murdie leads Payne Hicks Beach’s agricultural property practice, which advises a number of landed estate clients. Recent highlights include acting in HMRC v Trustees of the Nelson Dance Family Settlement. Louise Stoten and Graham Brown are recommended.

Speechly Bircham LLP’s client portfolio includes three of the largest estates in the Cotswolds, and The Estate of the Fifth Marquis Camden. The group recently assisted with the purchase of a very large estate. Head of private client Richard Kirby is recommended by his peers, and Mark Musgrave is also recommended.

Taylor Wessing LLP ‘provides an excellent level of service, with a first-class understanding of the agricultural industry’. Recent highlights include sales, acquisitions and disputes. Jonathan Redmayne is recommended for ‘landlord, tenant and conveyancy issues’, and Malcolm Ring and Andrew Goodman are also recommended.

Anita Symington heads Thring Townsend Lee & Pembertons’ large agriculture practice, which benefits from the firm’s network of offices across the UK. Karen Jones, a barrister and previous chief legal adviser at the Country Land Business Association (CLA), is recommended.

Trowers & Hamlins LLP acts for numerous landed estate clients, and recently assisted with the sale of an estate for over £10m. Robert Brodrick is the partner contact.

Press releases

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Legal Developments in London for Agriculture and estates

  • Opposing lease renewal proceedings on the ground of redevelopment

    Redevelopment is (alongside the ground of owner occupation) perhaps the most common of the bases upon which a landlord might seek to deny a tenant’s entitlement to a new lease of business premises. The following serve as some useful points to remember when a landlord seeks to rely upon the ground of redevelopment for denying a tenant a new lease of business premises.
    - Bircham Dyson Bell LLP

Legal Developments in the UK

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to
  • Boult Wade Tennant partner to speak at Management Forum’s Trademark Administrator conference

    Felicity Hide, a partner in Boult Wade Tennant’s Trade Mark and Domain Name Group, will be speaking at the Management Forum’s Trademark Administrator conference on 28 October 2010 at the Rembrandt Hotel in London.
    - Boult Wade Tennant
  • Mark Emery quoted in Guardian race discrimination article

    Why is a race discrimination case that the Crown Prosecution Service lost being dragged into a tenth year by the public body?
    - Bindmans LLP
  • Campaigners acquitted of conspiracy to cause criminal damage

    Mike Schwarz of Bindmans LLP and Lydia Dagostino from Kellys Solicitors in Brighton represented campaigners who were tried at Lewes Crown Court sitting at Hove. They were acquitted of conspiracy to cause criminal damage at EDO MBM Technology Ltd (a company owned by ITT Integrated Structures), a business said to have supplied weapons components used during Israel's military activity in Gaza in January 2009.
    - Bindmans LLP
  • Different legal defences, different outcomes for two environmentalist groups

    In 2008, six Greenpeace campaigners were acquitted for an action at Kingsnorth power station, whereas in the following year, 29 environmentalists were convicted after an action at DRAX power station.
    - Bindmans LLP
  • CARTWRIGHT KING EXPANDS TEAM

    Leading Midlands law firm Cartwright King has made another addition to their expanding team.
    - Cartwright King
  • CARTWRIGHT KING SPEAK AT CONFERENCE

    Richard Boucher, a director at leading Midlands law firm Cartwright King (which has an office in Nottingham, Derby, Leicester) has recently spoken at a national conference at Birmingham University.
    - Cartwright King
  • BRIBERY ACT GETS POLITICAL BACKING

    The Bribery Act, which received Royal Assent earlier this year, increases the maximum prison term for offences of bribery to ten years and businesses are to be subject to unlimited fines.
    - Cartwright King
  • CARTWIGHT KING OFFER ADVICE FOR CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES

    Under the Corporate Manslaughter law, that came into effect in April 2008, an organisation can be prosecuted for a fatal accident if the way its work is managed or organised by its senior management, causes a death and is in gross breach of its duties towards an employee or third party. In the past, unless a fatality was so serious that an individual who was a “controlling mind” of the company (usually a director) could be charged with criminal manslaughter, the company could not be pursued successfully for manslaughter and would be prosecuted for health & safety offences.
    - Cartwright King
  • Defamation and confidence: three significant cases

    There have been several recent cases concerning the laws of confidence and defamation that address important procedural issues relevant to litigators practising in all spheres. This article discusses decisions by the Court of Appeal, a Queen’s Bench judge and a Master.
    - Schillings
  • Adjudication: caught in the Act?

    Anyone not involved in what might be regarded as the mainstream of the construction industry (whether as a building contractor or someone who regularly employs one) would be forgiven for thinking that a dispute resolution procedure introduced to rid the industry of some of its historical problems is of no relevance to their business.
    - Bond Pearce LLP

Press releases

The latest news direct from law firms. If you would like to submit press releases for your firm, send an email request to
  • Restriction of Directors in Irish law – a recent development

    A recent Supreme Court decision has offered some insight into the law on the restriction of company directors by the Courts. The decision is particularly helpful as it addresses the differing roles of executive and non-executive directors, the type of conduct which will be classed as “irresponsible” in the conduct of the affairs of a company in financial difficulty and the need for the law to apply to the particular circumstances at issue.
    Hayes Solicitors
  • WKB – lead advisor to the investment of LNG Terminal in Swinoujscie

    The agreement for construction of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) Terminal in Swinoujscie was signed on 15th July in Warsaw. WKB Wiercinski, Kwiecinski, Baehr was the main advisor in all stages of this voluminous PLN 3 billion investment. The State Treasury Minister, Aleksander Grad, representatives of GAZ-SYSTEM SA and Polskie LNG, as well as WKB lawyers attended the signing ceremony. The following WKB lawyers were involved in the project as advisors: advocate and partner Jan Rolinski, advocate and partner Bartlomiej Jankowski, and legal counsel Anna Flaga-Martynek.
    WKB Wiercinski, Kwiecinski, Baehr Sp. k.
  • Paksoy acted for joint lead managers this transaction involving Akbank, Turkey's largest lender

    Akbank, Turkey's largest lender by market value, borrowed $1 billion in a five-year RegS/144A bond issue.  Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citibank, JPMorgan and Standard Chartered were the joint lead managers for the issue.
    Paksoy
  • New law firm in Luxembourg

    As of March 1, 2010 and following a split is born Linari Law Firm. The firm’s contact details are:
    Linari Law Firm
  • Wildgen elected new Partner, Director and Senior Associates

    Wildgen, Partners in Law, a leading Luxembourg corporate law firm, elected Daniel Boone to partnership and announces the appointment of a Director and five Senior Associates.
    Wildgen
  • Wildgen, Partners in Law to receive two new Awards

    Luxembourg, 14 June 2010 – Wildgen, one of the most renowned law firms in Luxembourg, is delighted to announce that it has been awarded “Benelux Re-insurance Law Firm of the Year” and “Benelux Sharia Law Firm of the Year”.
    Wildgen
  • LEXENCE BENOEMT MARK KEUSS TOT BESTUURDER

    Amsterdam, 29 juni 2010 - Met ingang van 1 juli is mr. Mark Keuss benoemd tot lid van het dagelijks bestuur van Lexence voor een periode van drie jaar. Keuss volgt mr. Menno van Groningen op die terugtreedt na het verstrijken van zijn zittingsperiode.
    Lexence
  • Hengeler Muelelr advises SANYO on sale of global semiconductor business

    Japan' SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (Osaka) has sold its global semiconductor business to the US company ON Semiconductor Corporation, Phoenix (Arizona). The transaction is subject to various closing conditions and regulatory approvals, such as clearance by merger control authorities.
    Hengeler Mueller
  • Hengeler Mueller advises Henkel on joint venture with BASF

    Henkel AG & Co. KGaA and BASF have signed a joint venture agreement to develop innovative corrosion protection solutions for the automotive industry.
    Hengeler Mueller
  • Salans Swoops In On Elite Real Estate Team

    Salans has announced that one of the most recognisable names in real estate in Central Europe, Pawel Debowski, plans to join forces with Salans, a power-house in the real estate arena and one of the top international legal practices in Central and Eastern Europe. Debowski is rated as a “Band Star” by Chambers Europe who commented that “…observers are generally in awe of (his) outstanding outfit.”
    Salans