The Legal 500

Howes Percival is a recognised leading commercial law firm with offices in Leicester, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Norwich. Personalities at the firm, the provision of commercially workable solutions to clients, and the standards of advice and service carried out across the four offices have won the firm the reputation of being a regional firm by location only. The firm has the expertise and resources that are usually associated with City and larger national firms.

The firm: Howes Percival has 28 partners and employs over 350 people. Through effective recruitment and development, the firm is able to maintain its position as a forward-thinking, top-quality provider of legal services. Specialist lawyers are constantly recruited at all levels (many of whom have City or industry-based backgrounds) in order to meet the quantity and quality of instructions received.

The top-quality work carried out at the firm means that it attracts instructions from major companies such as Nampak Limited, Shanks Group, HM Revenue and Customs and the Insolvency Service. The firm acts for both private and public companies of varying sizes throughout the UK and clients include major financial institutions, manufacturers, retailers, drinks companies, transport companies and leisure industry businesses. When first instructed, lawyers will invest time and resources into understanding the client, the industry in which they work and the expectations that the client has. To ensure work is conducted efficiently, a client-partner system is operated, enabling clients to have a regular and familiar point of contact.

The vast proportion of new instructions received by the firm are from referrals and recommendations by banks, accountants, financial institutions and existing clients. The firm is also instructed by companies that it has previously acted against.

Seminars and workshops are regularly given for clients and prospective clients.

Types of work undertaken: Howes Percival is a market leader in corporate work and has particular expertise in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and disposals, and MBOs and MBIs. The firm has considerable experience of private equity transactions. All aspects of banking law are dealt with and insolvency is a particular specialism. Corporate tax advice is also a particular strength. In the commercial arena the firm is also recommended for outsourcing agreements, IT work and intellectual property agreements.

A broad range of commercial property work is carried out across the four offices, including development, secured lending and property investments. The firm also houses environmental law and planning units.

A variety of commercial litigation services are available, including specialised work handling directors’ disqualification work for the disqualification unit of the Insolvency Service. Unusually for a firm outside the City, the firm has specialist property litigation, insurance litigation, construction, intellectual property litigation and mediation teams. The firm undertakes work on behalf of both institutional and private clients in relation to cases involving civil claims for fraud, acting for creditors and victims to pursue actions both within the UK and outside the jurisdiction to recover assets, often using injunctive relief, where appropriate, to preserve and protect assets.

The firm has a large employment department. Contentious and non-contentious work is carried out for clients across the country, and public sector work is a particular specialism. Employee relocation services are also offered.

There is also a highly respected private client department which carries out advanced estate planning for landowners and other individuals with significant assets. Family law is a new specialist area offered by the firm. Significant investment has been made in this area; the team has a national reach and provides top-quality family law advice to high-net-worth individuals. Highly skilled in dealing with complex problems arising from financial, business or child-related perspectives, the team will also service the firm’s commercial clients.

Other offices: Leicester, Milton Keynes, Norwich, Manchester and London

Breakdown of work %
Company commercial  15
Commercial property  25
Employment  20
Litigation  30
Family 5
Private client and wealth management 5

Number of UK partners 33
Number of other UK fee-earners 147