The Legal 500

Within Corporate and commercial: Elsewhere in the East Midlands, Hewitsons LLP is a second tier firm,

The four-partner team at Hewitsons LLP handled corporate transactions amounting to £150m in 2010. These included complex reorganisations and reconstructions; debt and equity fundraisings, including a £4m equity fundraising by Intamac Systems; and acquisitions of companies in insolvency, such as Apollo Building Supplies’ acquisition by Travis Perkins.

Within Commercial litigation: Elsewhere in the East Midlands, Hewitsons LLP is a first tier firm,

At Hewitsons LLP, Dominic Hopkins is ‘responsive and thorough in his analysis and advice’. The team handled a number of disputes with international elements, including representing a UK medical product company in a dispute with a European chemicals company over supply of component materials.

Within Debt recovery , Hewitsons LLP is a third tier firm,

Hewitsons LLP offers a tailored, technologically supported service to a range of corporate and institutional clients.

Within Insolvency and corporate recovery, Hewitsons LLP is a third tier firm,

At Hewitsons LLP, the ‘top-drawer’ Dominic Hopkins is experienced in complex contentious matters; he is an ‘excellent litigator who can pick up the issues surrounding a case extremely quickly’; and David Browne is ‘capable of drilling through the bureaucracy’, and is recommended for insolvency sales and purchases. Insolvency is ‘a highly specialised industry in which few solicitors should tread. The firm is one of the few that does and should’.

Within Employment, Hewitsons LLP is a second tier firm,

Hewitsons LLP’s ‘first-class’ practice is ‘well led and directed’ by Nick Hall, whose workload is predominantly contentious but also includes reorganisations. It successfully defended clients against race and disability discrimination claims in 2010.

Within Pensions, Hewitsons LLP is a second tier firm,

Hewitsons LLP’s team includes pensions consultant Mary Legg, for advice to employers and trustees, and Dominic Hopkins for contentious matters. Recent instructions have involved the winding up and equalisation of final salary schemes, and the interpretation of age discrimination and other legislation.

Within Agriculture and estates, Hewitsons LLP is a first tier firm,

The team at Hewitsons LLP is ‘not only competent but also easy to deal with’. It handled acquisitions and disposals of agricultural property worth over £50m in 2010, with renewable energy projects and mineral leases also a feature. Gareth Williams is ‘excellent’.

Within Charities , Hewitsons LLP is a first tier firm,

Hewitsons LLP attracts high praise from clients, and has recently been engaged in charity mergers and restructurings as well as advising non-charitable organisations such as social enterprises and public bodies on significant projects.

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

Hewitsons LLP specialises in inheritance tax planning, trust reorganisations, and complex estates. Recent successes include a substantial claim for inheritance tax exemption for gifts out of income. Clare Colacicchi’s team handles a significant number of £10m-plus estates, including assisting with complex claims for agricultural and business property tax relief.

Within Education, Hewitsons LLP is a third tier firm,

Hewitsons LLP’s practice includes commercial matters, from mergers to conversion to academy status; employment issues (equal pay and discrimination); and construction work. It acts for a number of Oxford and Cambridge colleges.

Within Commercial property: Elsewhere in the East Midlands, Hewitsons LLP is a first tier firm,

The new head of Hewitsons LLP’s team, construction specialist Tim Richards, operates out of Milton Keynes, with three partners in Northampton handling investment acquisitions and disposals, residential development, and commercial leases for education and local authority bodies, investment funds, and developers.

Within Planning, Hewitsons LLP is a third tier firm,

Hewitsons LLP’s Cambridge-based practice is ‘knowledgeable, enthusiastic and responsive to tight timescales’, and acts for clients across the public, private and third sectors, including the Environment Agency and the RSPB.

Within Property litigation, Hewitsons LLP is a third tier firm,

John Shephard at Hewitsons LLP handles a variety of landlord and tenant disputes, and issues over access, development and boundary rights.

Within Intellectual property, Hewitsons LLP is a third tier firm,

Hewitsons LLP’s strong Cambridge-based technology group has experience in advising clients across the fashion, software, electrical, hi-tech and biotech sectors.

Within IT and telecoms, Hewitsons LLP is a third tier firm,

Hewitsons LLP’s Cambridge-based IT practice handles contentious and non-contentious work for a range of sophisticated clients.