The Legal 500

West Midlands: Corporate and commercial

Corporate and commercial: elsewhere in the West Midlands

Corporate and commercial: elsewhere in the West Midlands - ranked: tier 4

Lanyon Bowdler

Lanyon Bowdler is ‘a client-oriented practice – clients feel that they are listened to in terms of their requirements rather than just a billing number’. Gráinne Walters in Telford, who has an ‘excellent grasp of the business issues, and is very proactive’ advised the Welsh Water Elan Trust on forming a joint venture with, among others, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Natural Resources Wales to seek Heritage Lottery Fund money. Associate Edward Burrell’s advice is ‘easy to understand, straightforward and on the money’, with assistant solicitor Timothy Roberts  ‘very understanding of clients’ requirements and quick to turn the required documents around’. Group and corporate reorganisations, including in partnership businesses, as well as commercial contracts and seven-figure corporate transactions are other areas of note.

Next generation lawyers

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West Midlands: Crime, fraud and licensing

Crime: general

Crime: general - ranked: tier 3

Lanyon Bowdler

Lanyon Bowdler  is led by Adrian Roberts  who is experienced as a High Court advocate in the Crown Court and is also experienced in Court Martials and Court of Appeal work. Associate solicitor advocate Stephen Scully  has experience in the local youth, Magistrates and Crown Court.

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West Midlands: Dispute resolution

Commercial litigation: elsewhere in the West Midlands

Commercial litigation: elsewhere in the West Midlands - ranked: tier 2

Lanyon Bowdler

Lanyon Bowdler is ‘a good quality firm, with nice people who are easy to work with’. Andrew Pegg, who heads the department from the Telford office, represented Viessmann Refrigeration Systems in a dispute with the buyer of one of its blast freezers. His other work concerns shareholder disputes and (in keeping with its position as the NFU panel firm for Shropshire, Herefordshire and Staffordshire) agricultural litigation. Brian Evans in Shrewsbury is ‘an exceptional operator; he has a meticulous attention to detail, and is practical and pragmatic’.

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Debt recovery

Debt recovery - ranked: tier 3

Lanyon Bowdler

Lanyon Bowdler is ‘very good, even for complex cases’. In Telford, legal executive Sian Samuel heads her own work, some of which concerns non-payment for industrial equipment, food and farming-related invoicing matters, as well as matters in the care sector. Andrew Pegg , who heads the firm’s broader dispute resolution practice, is another name of note.

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West Midlands: Human resources

Employment

Employment - ranked: tier 5

Lanyon Bowdler

The 'excellent' Lanyon Bowdler provides 'timely', 'concise', 'clear' and 'pragmatic' advice on employment matters. John Merry leads the team and is 'extremely personable' and 'knowledgeable', and 'translates employment law into easily understandable, pragmatic advice'. He assisted Dyke Yakley with the employment aspects of its acquisition of Gorman Evans.

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West Midlands: Insurance

Clinical negligence: claimant

Clinical negligence: claimant - ranked: tier 1

Lanyon Bowdler

Lanyon Bowdler has a broad practice with a particular proficiency in handling brain and spinal injury claims. Kay Kelly heads the team and regularly advises on claims pertaining to birth injuries, brain injuries, surgical errors, gender reassignment and fertility. She is a 'great judge of cases' and 'clients love her friendly and efficient manner'. Lucy Small leads the Hereford team and 'works tirelessly to get the best results'. Other key figures include: associate Emma Broomfield, who has 'great judgement' and 'can spot the winning point', and  associate Katherine Marriott-Lodge, who has 'a lovely manner' and is 'intelligent' and 'works hard to get great results'. Also recommended is associate Beth Harrison , who is 'enthusiastic', 'well-read' and possesses a 'sixth sense for cases with hidden substandard care'.

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Personal injury: claimant

Personal injury: claimant - ranked: tier 2

Lanyon Bowdler

Lanyon Bowdler  is 'a top-quality outfit that dominates the personal injury market in Shropshire' and beyond. Practice head Neil Lorimer  is 'fearless' and 'tenacious', with 'an incredible attention to detail'. He recently acted in a claim arising from a jet ski colliding with another jet ski. Partner Dawn Humphries is 'delightful', 'very sympathetic to clients' and is 'very well organised in carrying a heavyweight caseload'. She recently handled a spinal injury case where the claimant was dropped by her then partner while dancing. She also worked on a road traffic accident claim suffered by a recent law graduate.  Also recommended are associate solicitor Claire Vale  and partner Debbie Humphries. Louise Howard  was promoted to associate in 2017 and is 'caring' and 'always looking out for her clients'.

Leading individuals

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West Midlands: Private client

Agriculture and estates

Agriculture and estates - ranked: tier 1

Lanyon Bowdler

Lanyon Bowdler is ‘the go-to firm in Herefordshire and surrounding areas for agricultural and private client work’, with ‘an excellent client base’ and ‘strong and deserved reputation’. Managing partner Brian Evans leads the team and is highly experienced in agricultural disputes. Other notable names include Andrew Evans, who specialises in property matters; Andrew Pegg, who is an expert in contentious and debt recovery issues; and town and country planning expert David Brammer, who possesses ‘precise reasoning’ and ‘detailed understanding’.

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Contentious trusts and probate

Contentious trusts and probate - ranked: tier 3

Lanyon Bowdler

Lanyon Bowdler is led by associate Claire Vale who has a strong reputation in probate disputes, financial provision claims, applications to remove executors and rectification claims. Other key figures include assistant solicitor Jemma Land and litigation assistant Mandy Brookfield.

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Family: elsewhere in the West Midlands

Family: elsewhere in the West Midlands - ranked: tier 3

Lanyon Bowdler

Lanyon Bowdler is 'excellent for family finances and private children disputes' with 'a great team around them at all levels of experience and expertise'. The Ludlow-based partner Colin Spanner leads the team and 'is well regarded' and has 'a keen eye for detail'.  He works on a range of family matters, but is particularly strong on complex children cases. Telford-based Sue Hodgson is an expert in matrimonial matters and child disputes, and is 'a superb negotiator' with 'a no-nonsense approach'. The Shrewsbury based associate solicitor Lisa Grimmett is also recommended and works for high net worth individuals on financial claims.

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Personal tax, trusts and probate

Personal tax, trusts and probate - ranked: tier 2

Lanyon Bowdler

Lanyon Bowdler  has a presence in both the Shropshire and Herefordshire area, with an offering that handles trusts, estate planning, powers of attorney and tax planning. Ludlow-based Giles Scott  leads the team and focuses on trusts, wills and inheritance tax work. Other notable names include Telford-based Edward Rees , Oswestry-based Kevin Thomas  and associate Neil Davies, who is based in Shrewsbury and specialises in court of protection matters.

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West Midlands: Public sector

Education

Education - ranked: tier 3

Lanyon Bowdler

Lanyon Bowdler’s skillset in this space includes advising on employment, real estate and planning, corporate and commercial and disputes. The team ‘responds promptly’ and ‘when research is required they turn it around quickly’ and ‘think through challenging issues in creative ways’. William Morse heads the practice and focuses predominantly on employment matters. He recently advised Severn Bridges Academy Trust on its formation and conversion to a multi academy trust. Corporate partner Gráinne Walters advised Great Chatwell on the legal aspects of delivering accredited courses and workshops. Also recommended are planning specialist David Brammer and property expert Andrew Evans.

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West Midlands: Real estate

Commercial property: elsewhere in the West Midlands

Commercial property: elsewhere in the West Midlands - ranked: tier 2

Lanyon Bowdler

Lanyon Bowdler ‘has the depth of knowledge and experience to support clients in all aspects of property transactions, assisting in negotiations and drafting robust legal frameworks’. Emma Wilde in Oswestry advised Primoris Homes on purchasing development land for an HCA-backed project to construct over eighty homes as well as infrastructure – she also has expertise in the hotels space. Cindy Wright  in Shrewsbury also handles residential development work. Also in Shrewsbury, Andrew Evans, who ‘identifies the most appropriate documentation and makes recommendations in a simple and straightforward way, making decision-making easier’, handles a range of commercial property work and related financing. Alan Gittins, who is based in Oswestry, handles several deals crossing over into Wales; Ian Glenister is also a name of note in Oswestry. In Telford, Praveen Chaudhari handles a range of work concerning offices and industrial properties, some of which are cross-border.

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Planning

Planning - ranked: tier 4

Lanyon Bowdler

In Telford, Lanyon Bowdler’s David Brammer handles a range of work for landowners and private developers. Highlights include representing a farmer in a judicial review to a council decision to approve residential conversion for one barn but not a neighbouring one. Other mandates concern section 106 agreements, requisitions for information and enforcement appeals. The firm also advised Hydro Electric Development on securing approval for a hydroelectric project in Carmarthenshire.

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