The Legal 500

United Kingdom > South East > Overview

Editorial sections

Other

All countries

Leading individuals

Leading individuals

Regional review

This section covers the South East of England, excluding London. The borders are roughly Southampton to the south, Milton Keynes to the north, Newbury to the west and the Kent/Essex coastline to the east. In the absence of a single dominant urban centre, the South East is a patchwork of different legal markets, covered here in five sub-regions: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40; Kent, Surrey, Sussex; Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx; Hampshire; and Essex. All lawyers recognised within this chapter work full-time or part-time in the region.

After the difficulties of 2009, 2010 brought a significant upturn in work for many South East firms across a range of areas. There were strong signs of recovery as several firms made new hires, or undertook significant expansions and mergers: Borneos, for example, became part of Harvey Ingram Borneos, and in Essex, Wollastons was taken over by Birketts LLP. Denton Wilde Sapte LLP is now SNR Denton following the firm’s transatlantic merger with Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP.

2010 also saw the opening of several niche practices: in Reigate, former Shadbolt LLP partners set up boutique construction firm Sheridan Gold LLP, and three commercial partners at Barlow Robbins LLP formed Goodyear Blackie Herrington LLP in Surrey. IP boutique Sipara was created by former Rouse Legal partners, following the latter firm’s withdrawal of its TMT services from Oxford.

Sole practitioner startups were also a key theme: private client specialist Nick Morgan left Clarkslegal LLP to set up on his own; insolvency and restructuring expert Gary Player left Thomas Eggar LLP to form Players Solicitors; while in Sussex, Lynne Passmore left DMH Stallard LLP to form Lynne Passmore Family Law.

Shoosmiths has the widest regional capabilities of the heavyweight firms, with offices in Reading, Basingstoke, Southampton, and Milton Keynes. Thomas Eggar LLP and Blake Lapthorn also provide broad coverage across the South East, and are very well known in Sussex and Hampshire respectively.

In the Thames Valley, Osborne Clarke remains top tier in banking and corporate work, with Manches LLP standing out for its family law and TMT expertise. Boyes Turner also stands out for employment, real estate, dispute resolution and insurance, and Pitmans LLP is noted for its litigation, pensions and property practices. In Essex, Birkett Long LLP has the strongest overall profile.

Hampshire firm Bond Pearce LLP is highly regarded for its superb corporate and retail client base, and in Buckinghamshire, EMW’s employment and commercial property teams rank highly.

In Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, Stevens & Bolton LLP maintains its position as the region’s major heavyweight; Cripps Harries Hall LLP is a recognised leader in real estate and private client work; Clyde & Co remains pre-eminent for shipping and commercial litigation; and on the property and TMT side, DMH Stallard LLP is a key player.

Search News and Articles

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

Legal Developments in the UK

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to

  • COUNCIL TAX

    In Harrow LBC v Ayiku [2012] EWHC 1200 (Admin) Sales J held that the word “or” in the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992, art 3 Class N, had a disjunctive meaning, therefore it was sufficient for the non-British spouse of a foreign student to satisfy one or other of the two conditions, namely being prevented from taking paid employment or being prevented from claiming benefits, in order to qualify as a “relevant person” who was exempted from liability to pay council tax.
    - 11KBW

  • QUEEN’S SPEECH

    Bills already introduced pursuant to the Queen’s Speech on 9 May 2012 include Local Government Finance Bill and Electoral Registration and Administration Bill, both accompanied by Explanatory Notes, which in each case address ECHR compatibility.
    - 11KBW

  • Standards

    In R (Calver) v Adjudication Panel for Wales [2012] EWHC 1172 (Admin) Mr Calver was a member of Manorbier Community Council who successfully challenged the decision of the Panel to dismiss his appeal against a decision by Prembrokeshire County Council Standards Committee censuring him for a number of comments or blogs posted by him on a website he owned and controlled.
    - 11KBW

  • A justified retrospective

    Clive Sheldon - QC debates the pros & cons of retrospective tax legislation
    - 11KBW

  • Public Sector Equality Duty (“PSED”)

    In R (Greenwich Community Law Centre) v Greenwich LBC [2012] EWCA Civ 496 the Court of Appeal held that the Council had had “due regard to the PSED when making changes to its funding of community legal advice services”. At para 30 Elias LJ said:
    - 11KBW

  • Public Sector Equality Duty

    Surrey County Council conducted a review of its Library Service. This culminated in a Report to the Council’s Cabinet. The Recommendations in the Report included that there should be consultation about a community-partnership approach at selected Libraries.
    - 11KBW

  • Judicial Review

    The Judgment of Lindblom J in The Manydown Co Ltd v Basingstoke and Deane BC [2012] EWHC 977 (Admin) repays attention. The Claimant sought to challenge by judicial review 2 decisions of the Council: (1) the Council’s refusal to reconsider its position on the development of a site that it owns (and is the subject matter of a Joint Development Partnership Agreement with the Claimant); and (2) a decision of the Council’s Cabinet approving a selection of sites for development which did not include this site.
    - 11KBW

  • The Health and Social Care Act 2012: impact on adult social services

    After its torrid passage through Parliament, the Health and Social Care Bill received Royal Assent on 27 March 2012. The Act deals principally with healthcare reform, but it also contains some amendments to the legislative framework for social care. It will come into force on a day yet to be appointed by the Secretary of State.
    - 11KBW

  • Immigration update May 2012

    In this issue:
    - Penningtons Solicitors LLP

  • Premium service for tier 2 and 5 sponsors to be launched

    A premium service for sponsors will be launched by the UKBA on 6 April 2012. The service is designed specifically for companies that sponsor international employees under tier 2 and 5 of the points based system and aims to provide them with enhanced support.
    - Penningtons Solicitors LLP

Press Releases in the UK

The latest news direct from law firms. If you would like to submit press releases for your firm, send an email request to
© 2012 www.legal500.com