The Legal 500

Gotelee Solicitors

31-41 ELM STREET, IPSWICH, IP1 2AY, ENGLAND
Ipswich, Hadleigh

What we say about the firm's legal practice in East Anglia

Corporate and commercial

Within Corporate and commercial: Ipswich, Gotelee Solicitors is a second tier firm,

Max Harnden’s team at Gotelee Solicitors assisted shareholders with a £2.5m freight company disposal, and advised railway infrastructure contractors on various aspects of a £10m contract with Network Rail.

Crime, fraud and licensing

Within Crime, Gotelee Solicitors is a first tier firm,

Gotelee Solicitors’ Hugh Rowland is ‘well respected locally, consistently giving of his best’, and is lauded for his ‘exceptional advice and first-class attitude’. He recently defended a company director accused of multiple mortgage fraud.

Within Licensing, Gotelee Solicitors is a third tier firm,

Well respected, helpful and concise’, Hugh Rowland at Gotelee Solicitors recently obtained licences for a premises with a very poor licensing history, and defended a licence revocation application made by the police.

Dispute resolution

Within Commercial litigation: Ipswich, Gotelee Solicitors is a first tier firm,

Jonathan Ripman (‘a true professional’) and experienced advocate Howard Catherall at Gotelee Solicitors are ‘totally accessible, very capable negotiators’. Recent high-value cases include two large shareholder disputes and a breach of contract claim for an international recruitment agency.

Within Debt recovery, Gotelee Solicitors is a second tier firm,

More proactive than other firms’, Gotelee Solicitors’ team includes rising star Joshua Ripman. It has been assisting a large waste management company and haulage contractors with cross-border claims.

Human resources

Within Employment, Gotelee Solicitors is a second tier firm,

Gotelee Solicitors is ‘extremely professional, friendly and client focused’. Andrew West and Brian Morron are ‘approachable and practical, with a full grasp of the law’. Recent highlights include a £4m race and religious discrimination case.

Within Health and safety, Gotelee Solicitors is a second tier firm,

The much-admired Hugh Rowland at Gotelee Solicitors defended a construction company in an HSE prosecution following a woodworking machine accident, and is assisting a structural engineering company on an investigation following a double fatality.

Insurance

Within Clinical negligence: claimant, Gotelee Solicitors is a third tier firm,

Gotelee Solicitors’ Tim Humpage has a reputation throughout East Anglia. Recent work includes cases involving negligent breast cancer surgery, negligent treatment of an autistic teenager who committed suicide, and two cases of infant death in hospital.

Within Personal injury: claimant, Gotelee Solicitors is a third tier firm,

Gotelee Solicitors’ team, under Tim Humpage, is ‘exceptionally conscientious and precise, one of the best’. Settlements included £600,000 for a client who lost a leg in an industrial accident. Howard Bush has ‘a good bedside manner, but is prepared to stand his ground’.

Overview

Within Regional review,

In another noteworthy development, Gotelee & Goldsmith Solicitors has rebranded as Gotelee Solicitors, heralding the firm’s bold move to offer fixed fees across all practice areas.

Private client

Within Family, Gotelee Solicitors is a second tier firm,

The team at Gotelee Solicitors is ‘timely and well informed’ in children matters, and is ‘always on time and gives outstanding advice’. Helen Stuart is ‘patient, with a client-friendly attitude’; newly promoted partner Jane Fowles is ‘sensitive and trusted’; and Ivana Radovic is praised for her reassuring style.

Within Personal tax, trusts and probate: Ipswich, Gotelee Solicitors is a first tier firm,

At Gotelee Solicitors, inheritance tax expert Peter Crix and mental health law specialist Tanya Thomas recently handled a trust dispute for a family farming company, and drafted the will of a celebrity chef. Emma Woollard was made up to partner in 2010.

Real estate

Within Commercial property: Ipswich, Gotelee Solicitors is a second tier firm,

The team at Gotelee Solicitors is appreciated for its ‘good advice and good value’. Catherine Abbott and Martin Whitworth’s expertise is ‘always impressive, with honest assessments of risk and how clients can protect themselves’. An office acquisition in central London is a recent highlight.

Within Planning, Gotelee Solicitors is a second tier firm,

Gotelee Solicitors is ‘excellent on all counts’, with Brian Morron very highly rated. He is advising tenants of a large business park, and handling an application for a mixed-use site near Ipswich.

Transport

Within Transport, Gotelee Solicitors is a first tier firm,

Jonathan Ripman and outstanding regulatory lawyer Howard Catherall make Gotelee Solicitors the firm of choice for defending hauliers and coach operators across the UK and Europe.


Legal Developments in the UK

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to
  • COUNCIL TAX

    In Harrow LBC v Ayiku [2012] EWHC 1200 (Admin) Sales J held that the word “or” in the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992, art 3 Class N, had a disjunctive meaning, therefore it was sufficient for the non-British spouse of a foreign student to satisfy one or other of the two conditions, namely being prevented from taking paid employment or being prevented from claiming benefits, in order to qualify as a “relevant person” who was exempted from liability to pay council tax.
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  • QUEEN’S SPEECH

    Bills already introduced pursuant to the Queen’s Speech on 9 May 2012 include Local Government Finance Bill and Electoral Registration and Administration Bill, both accompanied by Explanatory Notes, which in each case address ECHR compatibility.
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  • Standards

    In R (Calver) v Adjudication Panel for Wales [2012] EWHC 1172 (Admin) Mr Calver was a member of Manorbier Community Council who successfully challenged the decision of the Panel to dismiss his appeal against a decision by Prembrokeshire County Council Standards Committee censuring him for a number of comments or blogs posted by him on a website he owned and controlled.
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  • A justified retrospective

    Clive Sheldon - QC debates the pros & cons of retrospective tax legislation
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  • Public Sector Equality Duty (“PSED”)

    In R (Greenwich Community Law Centre) v Greenwich LBC [2012] EWCA Civ 496 the Court of Appeal held that the Council had had “due regard to the PSED when making changes to its funding of community legal advice services”. At para 30 Elias LJ said:
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  • Public Sector Equality Duty

    Surrey County Council conducted a review of its Library Service. This culminated in a Report to the Council’s Cabinet. The Recommendations in the Report included that there should be consultation about a community-partnership approach at selected Libraries.
    - 11KBW
  • Judicial Review

    The Judgment of Lindblom J in The Manydown Co Ltd v Basingstoke and Deane BC [2012] EWHC 977 (Admin) repays attention. The Claimant sought to challenge by judicial review 2 decisions of the Council: (1) the Council’s refusal to reconsider its position on the development of a site that it owns (and is the subject matter of a Joint Development Partnership Agreement with the Claimant); and (2) a decision of the Council’s Cabinet approving a selection of sites for development which did not include this site.
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  • The Health and Social Care Act 2012: impact on adult social services

    After its torrid passage through Parliament, the Health and Social Care Bill received Royal Assent on 27 March 2012. The Act deals principally with healthcare reform, but it also contains some amendments to the legislative framework for social care. It will come into force on a day yet to be appointed by the Secretary of State.
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  • Immigration update May 2012

    In this issue:
  • Premium service for tier 2 and 5 sponsors to be launched

    A premium service for sponsors will be launched by the UKBA on 6 April 2012. The service is designed specifically for companies that sponsor international employees under tier 2 and 5 of the points based system and aims to provide them with enhanced support.