The Legal 500

With offices in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, this full service firm acts for businesses and individuals in a wide range of matters. Commercial property, intellectual property, and sales and acquisitions of businesses are among its specialisms as well as family law, conveyancing and private client services. Glanvilles has invested heavily in IT and provides all clients with a secure extranet site. The firm also extensively utilises case management systems to ensure a consistent, high level of service.

The firm: The roots of the practice go back to the 1840s in Newport and to the 1880s in Hampshire. The firm has developed a reputation as a leading regional provider of legal services. Clients instructing the practice include banks, retailers, local authorities, property developers and small businesses and individuals.

Glanvilles has prospered through its focus on client service as well as legal expertise. It regards its people as its core asset and invests in ongoing training and development to ensure it remains at the forefront of legal knowledge and practice. The firm invests considerable resources in its IT and management systems to support the delivery of its services. Developments in the past year include the recruitment of a number of highly skilled staff and partners to the commercial, conveyancing and private client teams.

Types of work undertaken: Commercial property is a particular strength, ranging from helping clients with lease negotiations to formulating a strategy for the development and disposal of surplus land. Services cover agricultural land, planning, secured lending, commercial leases and property development as well as landlord and tenant issues and all aspects of sales and purchases of commercial property.

Commercial expertise includes agency and distribution agreements, franchise agreements, software agreements, copyright and database rights, licensing agreements, terms and conditions, data protection, e-commerce and outsourcing contracts as well as trade marks. The corporate team focuses on all aspects of company and business mergers, acquisitions and disposals as well as business regulations and compliance, share transactions, corporate finance, cross option agreements, management buy-outs, shareholder agreements, business start-ups, incorporations, corporate governance, joint ventures and restructurings. Employment expertise ranges from policies and procedures to service agreements, contracts of employment, compromise agreements, tribunal litigation and TUPE matters. Litigaton services include debt recovery, professional negligence, property disputes, partnership issues, company disputes and insolvency.

Services for individuals include all aspects of family law, from divorce and financial settlements to children matters, cohabitation, civil partnerships, care proceedings, changing ownership arrangements, collaborative law, mediation and domestic violence. Personal injury expertise includes general accident claims, accidents at work, criminal injury compensation, road traffic accidents and trips and slips. Litigation services range from building disputes, consumer disputes and property disputes to contested probate matters, contractual disputes and professional negligence. Private client services are a particular specialism ranging from trusts, tax planning and advising the elderly to powers of attorney, court of protection proceedings, changing ownership arrangements, probate, estate management and wills. Conveyancing expertise covers all areas of domestic property from moving home and re-mortgaging to equity release and changing ownership arrangements.

Glanvilles intends to maintain its development in coming years through an expansion of online services and ensuring it attracts a growing number of high quality clients.

Other offices: Havant, Hampshire and Newport, Isle of Wight

Breakdown of work %
Personal injury 7
Family 15
Dispute resolution/litigation 9
Conveyancing 29
Commercial 15
Private client 25

Number of UK partners 9
Number of other UK fee-earners 33