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Overview

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; Hampshire; Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middlesex; and Essex.

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Regional review

While the start of the year saw firms across the South East presented with an increasing workload across a range of areas, the latter stages of 2008 were dominated by the sharp economic downturn. Firms across the wider region reported a drop off in corporate and property work, while traditionally counter-cyclical practices such as litigation, employment and private client are being strengthened.

Of the Reading-based law firms, Osborne Clarke often handles the cream of the region’s corporate finance and private equity deals, particularly across the TMT and life sciences sectors. Shoosmiths’ office in Reading is Osborne Clarke’s main competitor for transactional work and, coupled with its offices in Southampton, Milton Keynes and Basingstoke, is comfortably the largest firm in the region.

Boyes Turner has a well-earned reputation in the business services sector, particularly in relation to employment. The firm recently lured away partner John Barker from Osborne Clarke to head up its banking practice.

Cripps Harries Hall LLP has an excellent track record for its property and private client practices, and is steadily growing its corporate profile from its single-office, regional base.

DMH Stallard LLP’s leading practice in Crawley spans the TMT, banking and property development markets, as well as having a strong public sector offering.

Stevens & Bolton LLP has swiftly emerged as the leading Guildford-based player in the region. The firm has grown through a number of senior lateral hires, most recently hiring Stuart Skeffington from Withers LLP to strengthen the private client team.

September 2008 saw the opening of Thomas Eggar LLP’s Southampton office. The firm now operates across the region through five offices, in addition to its base in London.

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Legal Developments in the UK

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