United Kingdom > West Midlands > Private client
Agriculture and estates
Agriculture and estates
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1
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Knights solicitors llp (Newcastle under Lyme ) - SGH Martineau LLP (Birmingham )
- Wright Hassall LLP (Leamington Spa)
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2
- FBC Manby Bowdler LLP (Bridgnorth )
- Lodders Solicitors LLP (Stratford upon Avon )
- mfg Solicitors LLP (Worcester )
- Shakespeares (Stratford upon Avon)
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3
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Ansons LLP (Lichfield ) -
Lanyon Bowdler (Shrewsbury)
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- Brethertons LLP (Rugby)
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Talbot & Co (Burton upon Trent)
Knights solicitors llp’s ‘first-class’ practice is experienced in contentious and non-contentious matters. Robert Fearnley ‘deals with any problems quickly’, and Kate Smith is also recommended. Highlights included working with farm accountants to ensure that the inclusion of a farming partnership in a trust did not create adverse income tax consequences. The team has also been advising on recreational and sporting leases for farmland and woodlands.
SGH Martineau LLP acts for high-net-worth individuals. It provided tax planning and succession advice to the owners of a large landed estate in Warwickshire; and also advised on the creation of a revocable life interest out of a family settlement in order to obtain enterpreneurs’ relief on company shares. Lesley Davis heads the team, and James Spreckley is ‘unflappable and thorough’.
The ‘hands-on’ Paul Rice heads the team at Wright Hassall LLP. Its recent work includes advising an elderly spinster farmer (as the sole survivor of a farming partnership) on the rationalisation of her landholding and farming business; and renegotiating a succession tenancy for a fifth-generation tenanted farm. Clients include NFU Mutual (Midlands), Rare Breeds Survival Trust, and Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.
FBC Manby Bowdler LLP has two Fellows of the Agricultural Law Association, in Steven Corfield and Paul Horton, and the team also includes solicitor advocate Niall Blackie. It advised a farming business on refinancing/tax planning for a landed estate with a value over £20m, and also advised on pre-nuptial agreements where the assets included substantial landed estates.
David Lodder heads the team at Lodders Solicitors LLP, and he and Rod Bird provide ‘very well-rounded advice’. The team advised on the purchase of a large landed estate in Northamptonshire. Ian Flavell is also recommended, and Robin Beckley joined the team from Rickerbys LLP.
Sarah Denney-Richards now heads the department at mfg Solicitors LLP, and Iain Morrison has ‘excellent knowledge and experience’. The team advised a farming company on a high-value Land Registry dispute over profits à prendre. Tom Devey and Sarah Baugh are now with FBC Manby Bowdler LLP.
The ‘most professional’ Peter Snodgrass heads the team at Shakespeares. The firm is a panel firm to the NFU (West Midlands), and a member of the Country Land and Business Association and Agricultural Law Association. It advised various landowners on the granting of three inter-related options to facilitate the sale of land to developers.
Ansons LLP acted in the acquisition and disposal of a number of farms and blocks of land dealing with diverse issues such as single farm payment entitlements and stewardship schemes. Head of department Simon James is ‘extremely knowledgeable’.
Lanyon Bowdler’s Andrew Evans is recommended. The practice is the appointed adviser to the NFU in Shropshire, Herefordshire and Staffordshire, and acts for a number of landed estates, substantial landowners and large working farming enterprises.
Brethertons LLP advises on diverse issues, including farm sales and purchases by private treaty and auction, and farming partnership matters.
Tom Bramall at Talbot & Co is ‘very experienced’.
Charities
Charities
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- Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP (Birmingham )
- Cobbetts LLP (Birmingham)
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2
- Mills & Reeve LLP (Birmingham )
- SGH Martineau LLP (Birmingham )
- Wright Hassall LLP (Leamington Spa)
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3
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Ansons LLP (Lichfield, Cannock ) - Band Hatton LLP (Coventry )
- FBC Manby Bowdler LLP (Wolverhampton )
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Knights solicitors llp (Newcastle under Lyme ) - Pinsent Masons LLP (Birmingham)
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Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP’s team ‘displays an excellent understanding of third sector clients’ needs’. The firm has a longstanding reputation in acting for faith-based charities. It acted for Turning Point in the establishment of a health and wellbeing centre, and Locality in a community asset transfer. Practice head Romaine Thompson is a leading figure, and senior associate is David Alcock valued for his '"can-do" attitude'.
Cobbetts LLP has a strong client base of educational, religious and large national charities. It advised the New Zealand High Commission on the establishment of a charity to relieve the community of Christchurch and the Canterbury region following the 2011 earthquake. Director Anne Holmes is ‘very knowledgeable’, and associate Penelope Byatt ‘highly efficient’.
Mills & Reeve LLP’s roster of clients includes the British Council and West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust. The ‘helpful and knowledgeable’ Gary Barber heads the team, which has considerable health and educational expertise.
SGH Martineau LLP’s multi-disciplinary team has particular expertise in advising educational institutions. Clients include King Henry VIII Endowed Foundation, Christian Vision, and new gain Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance. Lesley Davis and David Allison are recommended.
Wright Hassall LLP’s Mark Lewis has a well-established reputation, and provides ‘sound advice’. Active clients include Henry Doubleday Research Association and The Myton Hospice.
Ansons LLP has been providing property support to St Giles Hospice shops, and advised on the setting up of a number of incorporated and unincorporated charities. Simon James is a primary contact.
Band Hatton LLP acts for some charities in the education sector, and for Sir Thomas White’s Charity, a major local general charity. Haydn Jones is a primary contact.
FBC Manby Bowdler LLP continues to advise a Diocesan Board of Finance and a Diocesan Trust on a range of issues, and acts for a number of local independent school charities. Stuart Rea is the key contact.
Knights solicitors llp is experienced in advising trustees on the day-to-day administration of their organisations. Key clients include Arch North Staffs. Solicitor Jenny Hampson is the main contact.
Pinsent Masons LLP advises various universities, government departments and regional agencies. It also assists commercial clients involved in charity-linked projects. The ‘excellent’ Janet Hoskin heads the team out of Leeds.
Family: Birmingham
Family: Birmingham
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1
- Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP
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Benussi & Co - Challinors Solicitors
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Divorce And Family Law Practice - Irwin Mitchell
- Mills & Reeve LLP
- Shakespeares
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2
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3
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Blakemores -
Carvers - Cobbetts LLP
- DBS Law Limited
- Else Solicitors LLP
- Sydney Mitchell LLP
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Tyndallwoods
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Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP is ‘well resourced’ and provides ‘clear, pragmatic and concise advice’. The team advises on the full spectrum of matrimonial issues, and regularly acts for high-net-worth individuals. It has considerable expertise in representing parents and children in public law/care proceedings, and retains its legal aid franchise. Elizabeth Wyatt is ‘personable and technically excellent’.
Benussi & Co has a team of ‘very able and experienced’ lawyers. The mainstay of the practice remains applications for financial orders in divorce proceedings for affluent and high-profile clients, and it is regularly also involved in cross-border disputes such as applications to remove children from a particular jurisdiction. Helen Jane Arnold is ‘very calm and competent’, and Neil Hobden ‘has a very good eye for detail while never losing sight of the bigger picture’.
Challinors Solicitors’ large team is ‘very strong’, and represents clients nationally and internationally on a broad range of issues. It is particularly experienced in children’s law matters, and ‘excellent communicator’ Angela Houston is recommended. Fiona O’Sullivan is ‘clear, concise and very sympathetic’, and is experienced in advising on the pensions aspects of financial settlements.
Divorce And Family Law Practice is a highly rated niche practice with a ‘committed and passionate’ team. It is experienced in high-value cases, and advises on the full spectrum of matrimonial issues. Beverley Morris ‘works 24/7’, and Joan Price is also recommended.
Irwin Mitchell is noted for its ‘extremely strong and talented’ lawyers, and has a wealth of experience acting for business and professional clients in relationship breakdown, financial and children disputes. The ‘sensible and very personable’ Nicola Walker is highly recommended for her collaborative law expertise.
Mills & Reeve LLP has a ‘superb’ reputation, and ‘extremely knowledgeable’ practice head Marc Saunderson ‘exudes quality’. The team acted for the wife of the CEO of a major UK company in divorce and financial proceedings. It is also acting for a husband working in the entertainment industry whose income is generated in the US and the UK. The practice has four collaboratively trained lawyers.
Shakespeares has the ‘highly experienced’ Kevin Harris-James and the ‘tactically adroit and approachable’ Christine Patterson. Clients include several lottery winners and an array of professional footballers. The team is regularly involved in cross-border disputes, and recently acted in a significant and complex ‘child-snatching’ case.
Blair Allison has a specialist family law team focusing on divorce and related financial issues, and also advises on private and public law children matters. Clients include a large number of local professionals and high-profile individuals. Mari Meisel is the senior partner at the firm.
Harvey Ingram LLP has the excellent Andrew Breakwell at the helm. Focusing on very high-value cases, he is a trained collaborative lawyer and is also one of a handful of arbitrators across the country now qualified to help families benefit from legally binding arbitration. Clients include elite sports personalities and very wealthy entrepreneurs.
SGH Martineau LLP’s Mary Kaye regularly deals with complex and serious children cases and cross-jurisdictional work. Zahra Pabani is recognised for her work on high-net-worth ancillary relief cases. The team is representing a father whose child was allegedly abducted by the mother, and is also acting for professional executors in defending a claim by a spouse against her deceased husband’s estate.
Family: Elsewhere in the West Midlands
Family: Elsewhere in the West Midlands
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- Brethertons LLP (Rugby )
- FBC Manby Bowdler LLP (Wolverhampton, Telford, Bridgnorth )
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Harrison Clark LLP (Worcester)
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2
- Mercy Messenger (Solihull )
- Thursfields (Kidderminster)
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3
- Band Hatton LLP (Coventry )
- Duncan Watts LLP (Warwick )
- Higgs & Sons (Brierley Hill )
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Knights solicitors llp (Newcastle under Lyme ) -
Lanyon Bowdler (Shrewsbury ) - mfg Solicitors LLP (Worcester )
- Wright Hassall LLP (Leamington Spa)
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- Alsters Kelley LLP (Coventry )
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Ansons LLP (Lichfield ) - Beswicks Solicitors LLP (Stoke on Trent )
- George Green LLP (Cradley Heath )
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Keelys LLP (Lichfield )
- Martin Kaye LLP Solicitors (Telford )
- Nowell Meller Solicitors (Stafford )
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QualitySolicitors Talbots (Wolverhampton ) -
Varley Hibbs LLP (Coventry ) - Wall James Chappell (Stourbridge)
The service levels at Brethertons LLP are ‘second to none’. The team has considerable experience in difficult international child abduction cases. The ‘calm and tenacious’ Linda Jones is recommended for her work on complex financial matters, including complex pension arrangements arising out of divorce.
FBC Manby Bowdler LLP’s diverse practice has been increasingly advising on pre-nuptial agreements, cohabitation and inheritance claims and Children Act cases, and is also experienced in ancillary relief matters. Elizabeth Cleverley and Philip Cowell are ‘compassionate and vastly knowledgeable’, and Anne Thomson ‘knows her stuff’.
Harrison Clark LLP advises on the full spectrum of matrimonial issues. Practice head Jonathan Brew is ‘very wise’, and advises on complex financial arrangements, often involving family businesses. Brenda Spain has particular expertise in child relocation cases.
Mercy Messenger specialises in complex and high-value financial claims, often involving international trust elements and the tracing of assets. It has a diverse client base and is increasingly receiving instructions from clients with a farming/equine background. Mercy Messenger is ‘extremely knowledgeable and thorough’.
Thursfields is ‘excellent’, and Nigel Davies is ‘consistently good’. He and his team have dealt with a number of large financial relief cases. Recent work includes acting for a husband whose wife made a claim when they had been separated for 20 years but never divided their assets.
Dawn Mobbs heads the team at Band Hatton LLP. She is a collaborative lawyer who is particuarly experienced in advising on financial relief on the breakdown of a relationship.
Duncan Watts LLP is a niche matrimonial and family practice. Joanne Connor is ‘always up to speed on her cases’. She and Martin Croom are Resolution-accredited specialists.
Philip Barnsley at Higgs & Sons is ‘intelligent, focused and utterly committed’ to his clients. He and his team provide specialist advice on family businesses and trusts, and are experienced in advising on pre- and post-nuptial agreements.
Knights solicitors llp deals with high-value and complex matters involving large businesses, trusts, pensions and overseas assets. Catherine Longshaw heads the practice.
Lanyon Bowdler has the ‘knowledgeable’ Peter Flint, who is a qualified mediator, and Sue Hodgson, who is very well regarded for her private law children work.
At mfg Solicitors LLP, Mercedes King-Jones is currently advising on several complex farming divorces involving pre-acquired assets, inheritances, family trusts and family partnerships.
Wright Hassall LLP has an ‘excellent reputation’, with particular expertise in private applications relating to children. Its client base is drawn from landowners, farmers, senior professionals and business people. Peter Lowe heads the team.
Personal tax, trusts and probate
Personal tax, trusts and probate
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- Higgs & Sons (Brierley Hill )
- Lodders Solicitors LLP (Stratford upon Avon )
- Mills & Reeve LLP (Birmingham )
- SGH Martineau LLP (Birmingham )
- Shakespeares (Birmingham, Stratford upon Avon)
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2
- Cobbetts LLP (Birmingham )
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Knights solicitors llp (Newcastle under Lyme ) - Pinsent Masons LLP (Birmingham)
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3
- Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP (Birmingham )
- FBC Manby Bowdler LLP (Wolverhampton, Bridgnorth )
- Gateley (Birmingham )
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Lanyon Bowdler (Shrewsbury, Hereford ) - Sydney Mitchell LLP (Shirley, Birmingham )
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Talbot & Co (Burton upon Trent ) - Wright Hassall LLP (Leamington Spa)
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- Alsters Kelley LLP (Leamington Spa )
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Ansons LLP (Lichfield, Cannock ) - Band Hatton LLP (Coventry )
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Blakemores (Birmingham ) - Brethertons LLP (Rugby )
- Challinors Solicitors (Birmingham )
- Clarke Willmott LLP (Birmingham )
- Freeth Cartwright LLP (Stoke on Trent )
- George Green LLP (Cradley Heath )
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Harrison Clark LLP (Worcester ) - mfg Solicitors LLP (Kidderminster )
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The Wilkes Partnership (Birmingham)
Higgs & Sons continues to attract a significant amount of will and trust planning work with an emphasis on wealth preservation. It is providing ongoing assistance to three generations of a wealthy family, advising on the availability of agricultural property relief and the subsequent transfer of shares in a farming company into a trust. Peter Gosling and Robert Leek are ‘very knowledgeable and pleasant to deal with’.
Lodders Solicitors LLP provides a ‘very comprehensive service’ to business owners and wealthly families. It is increasingly involved in tax planning and the establishment of family investment companies, and is currently handling a probate with assets over £20m. Martin Green and Stephen Brignull ‘put clients’ interests first’. Ian Flavell joined the team from SGH Martineau LLP.
Mills & Reeve LLP has a ‘formidable team’ with considerable expertise in family investment companies. Matthew Hansell’s ‘response times couldn ’t be better’, and Gary Barber is ‘very thorough’. Recent work includes advising on restructuring the wealth of a major international family in order to achieve tax efficiency between different jurisdictions.
SGH Martineau LLP recently advised a couple on succession and inheritance planning whose assets included three vintage Bugatti cars. Practice head Lesley Davis is recommended together with Keith Dudley, who advises on cross-border trust and tax issues for charitable trusts. Ian Flavell is now at Lodders Solicitors LLP.
Shakespeares’ Clare Laird ‘simplifies complex matters’. She regularly advises high-net-worth individuals, and also acts for a leading private bank and other financial advisers.
Cobbetts LLP has an ‘efficient team’ under the leadership of the ‘very knowledgeable’ Terry Cooper. It advises on issues ranging from the creation and restructuring of trusts to cross-option insurance planning for businesses to ensure that funds are available to buy out deceased shareholders.
Knights solicitors llp’s team is ‘first class’. Its recent work include advising on schemes relating to the variation of wills of deceased persons resulting in significant inheritance tax repayments. Charles Jones is ‘very experienced’, and Jessica Costello is also recommended.
Pinsent Masons LLP’s clients include entrepreneurs, management teams and high-net-worth individuals. It continues to advise the trustees of a large offshore unit trust on issues arising from the proposed sale/refurbishment of the trust property. Janet Hoskin leads from Leeds, and associate Chris Thomas is another key contact.
Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP has niche expertise in mental capacity matters and Court of Protection welfare litigation, regularly receiving instructions from the Official Solicitor. Senior associate Alex Elphinston heads the team, and provides ‘succinct advice’.
FBC Manby Bowdler LLP has the ‘very calm and bright’ Ian Fallon and Craig Ridge, whose ‘attention to detail is incredible’. The team is advising in relation to a complex £10m estate. The firm’s Court of Protection group is very active.
Gateley’s focus is on entrepreneurs, and a number of its clients have appointed the firm’s in-house trustee company to act as trustee of lifetime settlements. Practice head Adrian Mabe demonstrates ‘excellent attention to detail’.
Lanyon Bowdler’s wide-ranging practice receives many accolades for its ‘professionalism’. It is acting for a number of attorneys who are managing people’s affairs by way of a registered enduring or lasting power of attorney. Practice head Edward Rees is ‘considerate and knowledgeable’. Derek Cook joined from Sydney Mitchell LLP.
Sydney Mitchell LLP’s Sue Capstick is recommended for trusts work and senior solicitor Sarah Mochan is ‘technically first class’. Derek Cook is now at Lanyon Bowdler, while Tracy Creed has joined the team.
Talbot & Co is advising the executors in a disputed application for business property relief and agricultural relief. Tom Bramall is ‘very knowledgeable’.
Wright Hassall LLP advises on the full spectrum of issues, from estate planning to complex trust issues. The ‘tenacious’ Martin Oliver is recommended for contentious probate. John Rouse is another key contact.