The Legal 500

Within Corporate and commercial: Manchester, Pannone LLP is a third tier firm,

Pannone LLP is noted for its M&A and commercial expertise, and recently advised Go Outdoors on a private equity investment by 3i. HKR International, Rigby Taylor and Xtralis UK Holdings are all new client wins. Commercial partner Udo Pope advises on major transport projects; group head Steven Grant handles corporate transactions; and Philip Treanor focuses on private equity deals. Senior consultant Soren Tattam gives ‘practical advice’.

Within Corporate tax, Pannone LLP is a third tier firm,

Pannone LLP’s Simon Moulden advises on a broad range of transactional matters, recently advising Adinsight on setting up a share scheme structure.

Within EU and competition, Pannone LLP is a third tier firm,

Pannone LLP’s team, led by Amanda Howlett, is noted for its efficient service and knowledge of UK and EU regulations. It recently advised on corporate transactions, commercial agreements and cartel investigations.

Within Crime, Pannone LLP is a first tier firm,

Anthony Barnfather leads the regulatory and corporate crime team at Pannone LLP. It is handling major SFO, HMRC and FSA investigations, and has an increasing number of international clients. Highlights included successfully representing former Detective Chief Inspector Graham Mouncher in the Lynette White police corruption investigation.

Within Commercial litigation: Manchester, Pannone LLP is a second tier firm,

Pannone LLP acted for DRL in a £5m-plus damages claim, which was settled following a favourable Appeal hearing, and advised a minority shareholder in the High Court case Williams v Williams & others. It also handled claims related to the Arch Cru investment fund scandal. Paul Jonson leads the team, which includes Simon Pedley and Kit Sorrell.

Within Debt recovery, Pannone LLP is a first tier firm,

Pannone LLP’s ‘service is second to none’, and ‘every client is treated with a personal touch’. Karl Williams heads the team, which acts for major property company The Emerson Group.

Within Banking and finance, tier 4

Pannone LLP has a ‘partner-led approach, with capable, experienced banking lawyers that offer a real focus on the North West’. Rob Fawke is ‘one of the best technical banking practitioners in the region’, and recently acted for Santander on £45m-worth of debt facilities for retail property acquisitions. Andrew Gosnay advised on Bardsley Construction’s £65m refinancing by National Westminster Bank.

Within Insolvency and corporate recovery, tier 4

Pannone LLP acts for major lenders, IPs and corporates. The highly regarded Richard Drinkwater is ‘good on tactics and has a solid grasp of heavy litigation’. Michelle Shean joined from Eversheds LLP, and is ‘a real fighter for a client’s cause’. Both Richard Glithero and Dylan Quail left to become insolvency practitioners.

Within Employment, Pannone LLP is a second tier firm,

Pannone LLP has a number of high-profile clients, with Admiral Sportswear and The Universe Media Group among its wins in 2011. The team also handles significant work for third sector clients. Fiona Hamor is ‘extremely knowledgeable and thorough; she crafts the best solution for the client’. Team head Jim Lister is ‘robust and pragmatic’.

Within Employment: employee/union firms, Pannone LLP is a second tier firm,

Pannone LLP’s David Carmichael advises individuals, and specialises in executive terminations.

Within Health and safety, Pannone LLP is a third tier firm,

Anthony Barnfather is recommended at Pannone LLP.

Within Clinical negligence: claimant, Pannone LLP is a first tier firm,

Led by Stephen Jones, Pannone LLP’s team is known for its breadth and depth in clinical negligence matters, recently acting in complex brain injury and cerebral palsy cases. Chris Gawne has ‘excellent knowledge and is very savvy’. Julia Hurstfield is ‘supportive and has an exceptional attitude towards cases’.

Within Personal injury: claimant, Pannone LLP is a first tier firm,

Pannone LLP is an ‘excellent, top-rank firm’, and handles a wide range of work, including catastrophic injury claims, child abuse cases, actions against the police and travel claims. Richard Scorer heads the practice. Catherine Leech, who mainly handles high-severity cases, has a ‘calm head and is hardworking, thorough and detailed, but never misses the big picture’.

Within Professional negligence Professional negligence

Within Regional overview, Pannone LLP is a second tier firm,

With strongly rooted local corporate and private client bases, Pannone LLP is experiencing something of a transitional period; a firm restructuring included the launch of a ‘white label’ legal services division and an increased focus on developing its London office, along with the closure of two smaller regional offices. Clinical negligence and personal injury remain key strengths.

Within Charities, Pannone LLP is a second tier firm,

Pannone LLP’s team is praised for its ability to convert ‘legal jargon into plain English’. It handles the full range of matters, including the transfer of services to the voluntary sector, and governance, development and funding issues. It continues to act for UK Biobank Limited and Manchester Sport and Leisure Trust.

Within Family, Pannone LLP is a first tier firm,

Although it saw a number of departures in 2011, Pannone LLP still has a sizeable and experienced (and ‘refreshingly different’) team. Department head Andrew Newbury specialises in complex financial cases and is valued for his ‘calm manner and sensible approach’. Fiona Wood provides ‘expert guidance’, and Louise Halford specialises in child abduction matters.

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

Hugh Jones leads a large, dedicated Court of Protection team at Pannone LLP, which deals with diverse mental capacity issues. Liz Braude leads the wills, trust and probate team, which was boosted by the arrival from Addleshaw Goddard LLP of Jane Lee, who has expertise in offshore trust and taxation issues. The firm has an ‘excellent rapport with clients, and provides excellent communication and extreme efficiency’.

Within Project finance and PFI, Pannone LLP is a third tier firm,

Pannone LLP’s Udo Pope is well regarded for public transport related work. He advised Transport for Greater Manchester on the Metrolink system.

Within Local government, Pannone LLP is a third tier firm,

Pannone LLP fields a cross-disciplinary team, and was reappointed to the North West Legal Consortium. Nicholas Dobson is a leading local government lawyer, and provides ‘good, practical advice and a prompt response’.

Within Commercial property: Manchester, Pannone LLP is a third tier firm,

Pannone LLP has a strong focus on redevelopment and public sector matters. The team is led by Stephen Lintott, who ‘enjoys handling complicated issues, is very good at working with other side, and understands what decisions he can take on a client’s behalf’. Penny Cranston joined from Cardiff-based Hugh James.

Within Construction, tier 4

Pannone LLP’s Sean McCay has ‘a sharp, methodical mind and the ability to quickly analyse issues and determine an appropriate strategy’, with a focus on the waste and energy sectors. Clients include SITA UK, TfGM, Persimmon, Magnox and Centro.

Within Planning and environment, Pannone LLP is a third tier firm,

Pannone LLP focuses on environmental work, advising on aspects of real estate and corporate deals as well as on insurance-related, regulatory and contentious matters. Keith Davidson leads the team, and has experience advising chemicals industry clients. David Delaney leads on planning matters, recently advising on appeals against Salford Council for proposed energy-from-waste schemes. The practice lost John Gollaglee to DLA Piper UK LLP and Jason Cropper to DWF LLP.

Within Property litigation, Pannone LLP is a second tier firm,

Pannone LLP ‘takes the time to understand a client’s business and the difficulties faced’, and inspires ‘complete faith in its technical ability and understanding of the law’. Practice head David Brown acts for public sector bodies and developers, and recently handled new instructions for The Flint Group and Enterprise. Kate Hamilton-Ryan is acting for Picadilly Gateways in a dispute with Network Rail. Senior associate Wayne Nash has the ‘ability to lead a matter forward whilst involving all parties’.

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

Pannone LLP retains a strong retail sector client base, and acts for Go Outdoors and Wasabi Frog, which trades as boohoo.com, on both contentious and non-contentious matters. Melanie McGuirk is recommended. The team saw the departure of Samantha Livesey, who moved to Pinsent Masons LLP, and Bill Lister.

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

Pannone LLP’s ‘excellent’ team handles a range of disputes and contract matters, including software and website agreements and licensing issues. Clients include Wasabi Frog and UK Biocentre.

Within Media and entertainment, Pannone LLP is a second tier firm,

Pannone LLP has a strong client base, and recently advised Alex Marunchak regarding the News of the World computer hacking allegations. Melanie McGuirk is recommended. Bill Lister has left the firm.

Within Transport , Pannone LLP is a second tier firm,

Pannone LLP acts for Manchester Airport Group and Centro (the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive). Udo Pope is recommended.