The Legal 500

Foot Anstey offers specialist legal advice to businesses, public sector organisations and individuals, and has a growing reputation for winning prestigious national clients and for providing commercial advice. The firm continues to invest in its infrastructure and is committed to improving its significant service offering to provide clients with value for money and high-quality advice. With strength across its core practice areas – employment, corporate, dispute resolution and real estate – the firm has an enviable reputation with several lawyers ranked among the best in the UK.

The firm: Foot Anstey has grown rapidly in recent years and has a reputation for being easy to do business with. It provides a collaborative working environment and an infrastructure to match leading firms. The firm has successfully attracted top lawyers from London and major regional centres who are able to combine the quality of life offered by the south west with high-quality work that emanates from an impressive client portfolio. Foot Anstey is IIP and Lexcel-accredited, and is committed to growing in a responsible manner, minimising any impact on the environment and strengthening relationships with local communities.

Types of work undertaken: The firm’s corporate team, recently ranked number one in the regional deals review, provides a full service to corporate and business clients. In addition to corporate transactional advice, clients are offered specialists to support their business needs, advising on such areas as financial services, pensions, competition, share schemes, corporation tax and AIM issues. Clients include Halfords, Progressive Digital Media Group, UKRD Group and United Business Media.

The firm’s employment law team offering is one of the largest in the south west, working with major national and regional employers, such as Odeon Cinemas, Eden Project, Screwfix, The Royal Shakespeare Company and Stagecoach South West.

The rapidly growing dispute resolution team looks after a wide range of commercial disputes with highly specialist litigation teams offering advice in several niche areas. Clients include Armada Finance, Bank of Ireland, Hitachi Capital (UK), Lloyds TSB Bank, the NFU and the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

The property team supports a large portfolio of public sector and private clients handling prestigious City work, alongside large regional and local projects. The team is supported by the dedicated planning, property litigation and construction specialists.

The highly rated clinical negligence team has over 25 specialists with vast experience in handling high value and complex cases. Work comes from private individuals and key referrers, such as Scope, Asbah (Association of Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus) and Sands (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society).

The firm also has a strong wealth and succession team advising on a range of work from tax planning, wealth succession management and family law.

Foot Anstey has a number of dedicated specialists with significant sector expertise. The firm’s key sectors include media, financial services, agriculture, education and charities.

The nationally recognised media and publishing team is the leading provider of legal services to the regional press in England and Wales, acting for three of the four largest regional newspaper publishers in the country, including Northcliffe Media, Johnston Press and Associated Newspapers. The team also looks after prestigious magazine clients, as well as advising broadcast and digital media businesses on a wide range of business and legal issues.

The firm’s profile and reputation in the financial services sector continues to rise. Its specialist lawyers are advising an ever-expanding roster of clients on a range of regulatory issues and disputes. Their in-depth knowledge of the regulated sector allows them to deliver focused and commercial advice and solutions.

The dedicated team of agricultural lawyers is the panel firm to the NFU in Devon and Cornwall, and is able to combine specialist knowledge with an understanding of the rural community. Recent work has included a specific focus on renewable energy schemes, in particular solar photovoltaic developments.

The education team has experience of working with independent, state primary and secondary schools, special school sectors and further education establishments. They have developed niche expertise and a growing reputation for assisting schools in transition to Academy and Trust Status.

The firm also has the largest dedicated charities and social enterprise team based in the region, acting for a wide range of organisations, including large regional charities, national organisations and international charities, such as Shelterbox.

Other offices: Exeter, Taunton, Truro

Number of UK partners 42
Number of other UK fee-earners 150