The Legal 500

Within Corporate and commercial: Cardiff and South Wales, Geldards LLP is a first tier firm,

The lawyers at Geldards LLP are ‘very commercially minded, do what they say they’ll do and provide a good end result’. Andrew Morris leads the corporate team, which includes Susan Sandford, who has a ‘good all-round commercial approach, is very responsive and is a pleasure to deal with’. Sandford advised on the £127.5m takeover of AIM-listed company Castle Support Services. ‘Professional but always mindful of the commercial position’, Geraint Tilsley advises Finance Wales on investments. Commercial head Ceri Delemore acts for various housing groups and manufacturers.

Within Corporate tax, Geldards LLP is a first tier firm,

Geldards LLP’s Andrew Evans leads on the tax side of corporate and commercial transactions. He recently assisted on a share restructuring and related issues for Allparts Automotive, and advised on property-related tax issues in relation to a private client investment.

Within Commercial litigation , Geldards LLP is a first tier firm,

Geldards LLP receives instructions from within and outside the region. Clients include Welsh Water, the Assembly Government, Bayer CropScience and ABP. 
Paul Hopkins led a successful defence in English proceedings in an ongoing international alleged fraud and bribery case. Jonathan Griffiths is experienced in public sector disputes, while Richard Moore focuses on contentious IP.

Within Debt recovery, Geldards LLP is a second tier firm,

Geldards LLP operates a high-volume debt recovery division under the name Hollis Briggs, led by managing partner Bill Gill.

Within Banking and finance, Geldards LLP is a second tier firm,

Geldards LLP delivers a ‘consistently responsive service which demonstrates sector knowledge’. 
Practice head Karl Baranski provides ‘a commercial, prompt response and quality participation at 
meetings’, and Andrew Morris, who focuses on 
corporate finance, ‘approaches the task in hand in 
a calm and methodical manner’. The firm acted on Lloyds’ £20m acquisition funding for Brains Brewery, 
and Barclays Bank’s £50m lending to the WRU. Other clients include Finance Wales, Co-op Bank and Santander.

Within Insolvency and corporate recovery, Geldards LLP is a first tier firm,

Geldards LLP advises Finance Wales, and was instructed by Grant Thornton as administrator of All Natural Juice. Karl Baranski and Paul Hopkins handle non-contentious and contentious matters respectively, and Mike Jeffs handles property-related matters.

Within Employment: Cardiff, Geldards LLP is a second tier firm,

Geldards LLP provides ‘accurate and timely advice’, with strength in advising public sector clients. Stephen Jenkins has ‘excellent knowledge’, and recently advised Mouchel on multimillion-pound outsourcing contracts. Kim Howell provides strong team leadership, and successfully represented Coventry Council in an equal pay tribunal. Howell and senior associate Claire Davies are ‘absolutely authoritative and reliable in their advice’, and Emma Burns and Rhian Brace are also well 
regarded.

Within Pensions , Geldards LLP is a second tier firm,

Geldards LLP’s Stephen Jenkins is ‘very knowledgeable, thorough and professional’, and advises companies and trustees such as Mouchel and Staedtler.

Within Clinical negligence: claimant, Geldards LLP is a second tier firm,

Angelina Rigby heads the practice at Geldards LLP, having recently joined the firm from Metcalfes in Bristol. Senior associate Jane Rogers handles brain injury and negligent cardiology cases. The team recently saw a £6.5m brain injury settlement claim approved at the High Court.

Within Personal injury: claimant, Geldards LLP is a third tier firm,

Geldards LLP handles employers’ liability claims for trade union USDAW. ‘Extremely capable’ practice head Gillian Latham specialises in complex matters.

Within Personal injury: defendant, Geldards LLP is a second tier firm,

Donna Makin leads Geldards LLP’s high-volume work, with a focus on occupational disease matters.

Within Regional review, Geldards LLP is a first tier firm,

Geldards LLP remains a key corporate player. It offers specialist tax and charity law expertise and has an established reputation in media, real estate and the public sector.

Within Charities, Geldards LLP is a first tier firm,

Geldards LLP is ‘recognised by the voluntary sector/charities across Wales to be the best in its field’. Charity law specialist Giselle Davies is ‘clearly expert in her area, providing knowledgeable and sound advice as required’. Clients include the Assembly Government, the Arts Council for Wales, Age Cymru and Children in Wales. Recent work includes mergers, incorporations and the establishment of new charities.

Within Personal tax, trusts and probate, Geldards LLP is a first tier firm,

Geldards LLP’s Sian Williams and trusts and estates specialist Helen Downes are appointed to the Camelot Advisory Panel for lottery winners. The team recently acted on a number of complex, high-value estates involving overseas and business assets.

Within Public sector , Geldards LLP is a first tier firm,

Geldards LLP’s practice is led by public law specialist Huw Williams and advises local and national park authorities as well as the Assembly Government. Williams successfully acted in resisting a High Court judicial review in Iceland Frozen Foods v Newport City Council. Kim Howell and Emma Burns have experience defending local authorities in mass equal pay claims.

Within Commercial property: Cardiff, Geldards LLP is a second tier firm,

Geldards LLP’s strong public sector client base includes the Assembly Government and Cardiff University. Ioan Owen led on Admiral’s high-profile Cardiff HQ development, with practice head and long-term project specialist Rowland Davies (a ‘practical thinker able to bring in specialist advice’) also advising. Real estate finance partner Mike Jeffs (noted for his ‘reliable advice’) acted on sales outside Wales for Hodge Investments and Atlantic Property; and Rob James acted for ABP on a renewables project.

Within Construction , Geldards LLP is a second tier firm,

Geldards LLP’s Tony Norris focuses on infrastructure projects. The firm has advised the Arts Council for Wales, Carmarthenshire Council and Atlantic Property on procurement.

Within Planning and environment, Geldards LLP is a first tier firm,

At Geldards LLP, public law specialist Huw Williams advises local authorities, utilities and developers, recently acting for Wrexham Council on a challenge to landfill planning permission for a site partially designated as a conservation area. Jonathan Griffiths also handles contentious matters. Senior associate Charles Felgate acted for Western Powers on a judicial review regarding Llanishen Reservoir.

Within Property litigation , Geldards LLP is a first tier firm,

Geldards LLP’s Ed Meggitt advises on the full range of property disputes. The firm represented Chevron on a £2m dilapidation claim, and successfully settled breach of covenant claims for Tesco. Other clients include Welsh Water, the Assembly Government and ABP.

Within Social housing, Geldards LLP is a second tier firm,

Geldards LLP ‘consistently provides pragmatic, clear and concise legal advice’. Senior associate Caroline O’Flaherty advised Newydd Housing on several schemes worth over £25m. Other clients include Seren Group and Somer Housing.

Within Intellectual property , Geldards LLP is a first tier firm,

Geldards LLP advises public, private and third 
sector clients, including Cardiff University, new client Help for Heroes, and Staedtler. Ceri Delemore 
specialises in patent licensing in the life sciences sector and copyright issues, and Richard Moore handles infringement disputes. Michael Lindsey successfully represented the defendant in design rights infringement case Hoist v Reid.

Within IT and telecoms, Geldards LLP is a first tier firm,

Geldards LLP has advised clients such as Somer Housing Group and a major financial institution. Ceri Delemore handles IT outsourcing and procurement as well as telecoms agreements, and Michael Lindsey advises on internet advertising.

Within Media and entertainment, Geldards LLP is a first tier firm,

Geldards LLP is instructed by UK-wide media companies, and Welsh broadcaster S4C remains a key client. Ceri Delemore leads the team, which advised Gwent Police Authority on the distribution of road safety film Cow, and National Library of Wales on contentious film ownership rights. Senior associate Lydia Fairfax acted for new clients Future Publishing and Babelgum regarding online strategies.