The Legal 500

Within Corporate and commercial: Bristol, Beachcroft LLP is a third tier firm,

John Williams leads Beachcroft LLP’s two-partner practice, and Jocelyn Ormond is also recommended. Highlights included advising Spire Healthcare on its long-term joint venture with CancerPartners UK, and acting on the €500m acquisition of Spartan UK and Trametal by Metinvest.

Within Commercial litigation: Bristol, Beachcroft LLP is a second tier firm,

Beachcroft LLP’s four-partner practice offers a ‘gold standard‘ level of service. It is led by David Pollitt and was boosted by newly elected partner Dan Preddy. The practice enjoyed significant client wins in 2008 including Lincoln Assurance, Zurich Financial Services and Thinc Group. Stephen Metcalfe is recommended for his banking experience. Ben Daniels is highly regarded.

Within Commercial litigation: Bristol, Beachcroft LLP is a second tier firm,

Steven Eccles, Ed Husband and Emily Heard have been promoted to partner level at Bevan Brittan LLP, following the departures of Ben Daniels to Beachcroft LLP and Tim Boyce to Osborne Clarke. Tom Ellis is ‘knowledgeable‘ with a ‘strong commercial approach‘. Key clients include Eurotunnel and Orange.

Within Debt recovery, Beachcroft LLP is a second tier firm,

David Treasure leads the ‘quick and effective team‘ at Beachcroft LLP. It acts for clients such as Imperial Tobacco, Tyco, Mitie Group, Burdens and ADI Gardiner. Giles Hindle is the national practice head.

Within Banking and finance, Beachcroft LLP is a third tier firm,

Stephen Metcalfe leads Beachcroft LLP’s ‘strong‘ three-partner practice, which continues to act on a number of new investment and development finance deals for lenders. Notably, it represents the Bank of Ireland regarding a loan exceeding £40m.

Within Insolvency and corporate recovery, Beachcroft LLP is a second tier firm,

Beachcroft LLP continues to act for major insolvency practices and is increasingly acting on turnaround and reconstruction work for a variety of stakeholders. Giles Hindle leads the practice, and associate Kevin Hawthorn is also recommended. Key work for the team included advising on the solvent winding up of a Bermuda-registered investment fund, and providing cross-border insolvency advice relating to an English-registered Bollywood production company based in Germany.

Within Employment: Bristol, Beachcroft LLP is a third tier firm,

Beachcroft LLP enjoys an ‘excellent reputation‘ and was appointed to the American Express employment panel. Alex Lock advised on a sex discrimination and victimisation claim. Citigroup instructed the team on flexible benefits package and outsourcing matters.

Within Health and safety, Beachcroft LLP is a first tier firm,

Through ‘very good service‘ Beachcroft LLP has built a ‘strong client base‘ that includes clients from the consumer goods and services, financial institution, health and public sectors. Clients recommend the ‘very sensible‘ Andrew Stokes and Sally Roff. Duncan Reed joined from Ashurst LLP.

Within Clinical negligence - defendant, Beachcroft LLP is a first tier firm,

Beachcroft LLP’s service is ‘second to none‘ and the team is ‘always ahead of the game‘ with ‘excellent customer service‘. Nigel Montgomery heads the four-partner group, which recently acted for the defendant NHS trusts in a case involving a failure of sperm storage units, and also represents NHSLA and Medical Defence Union. Justin Whitmore joined from Halliwells.

Within Personal injury - defendant, Beachcroft LLP is a first tier firm,

Market leader Beachcroft LLP excels in specialist and high-value cases with ‘flexibility being the key factor that jumps out‘. The team is appointed to the Zurich, Allianz Insurance and Fortis panels, and is headed by James Morris, who ‘knows his clients‘. Sally Yuill focuses on catastrophic injury cases.

Within Professional negligence, Beachcroft LLP is a first tier firm,

Beachcroft LLP’s Marcus Campbell handles substantial brokers’ negligence claims. The nine-partner team enjoys a ‘fantastic reputation‘ and has been appointed to Zurich Professional’s panel nationally. Other major instructions come from Catlin, Markel, Travelers, Liberty Mutual and HCCI.

Within Private finance initiative (PFI), Beachcroft LLP is a first tier firm,

Bristol-based Malcolm Austwick leads Beachcroft LLP’s six-partner team, whose highlights included advising a John Laing and Interserve joint venture for a £150m accommodation office and communication project for the MoD, and advising CSC in relation to the extensive NHS National Programme for IT in England.

Within Health, Beachcroft LLP is a first tier firm,

Nigel Montgomery leads Beachcroft LLP’s ‘excellent‘ and ‘highly regarded‘ healthcare department. The team has experienced an increase in instructions for private sector clients such as Spire, Alliance Medical, Mitie and G4S. Corinne Slingo leads the healthcare risk team.

Within Local government, Beachcroft LLP is a second tier firm,

Giles Taylor leads Beachcroft LLP’s four-partner team, which is known for its ‘good response times and thorough investigations‘. Active clients include Somerset County Council and Morgan Sindall Investments. James Morris leads the ‘user-friendly‘ local government litigation group.

Within Commercial property: Bristol, Beachcroft LLP is a third tier firm,

Beachcroft LLP’s property lawyers are ‘reactive and efficient‘ and possess ‘a wealth of knowledge‘. The team advised Westfield Shoppingtowns in relation to 300 lettings, and acted for Spire Healthcare on a joint venture with Cancer Partners UK. Graham Brothwood ‘gets the job done‘.

Within Construction, Beachcroft LLP is a second tier firm,

At Beachcroft LLP, ‘safe pair of hands‘ John Vasey heads the practice, and the team is notably ‘strong in the insurance sector‘. New clients include Queen Mary, University of London as well as The National Trust, for which the team acted on an historic building refurbishment. The team is on the Office of Government Commerce Catalyst full-service panel.

Within Environment, tier 4

Anne Harrison’s team at Beachcroft LLP recently advised Caerphilly County Borough Council on waste matters.

Within Planning, Beachcroft LLP is a third tier firm,

Beachcroft LLP acted for Deeley Freed Estates on a public inquiry into a town green application, and for Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust regarding a new children’s hospital.

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

Beachcroft LLP’s team is ‘excellent in all aspects‘, and is led by Nick Knapman. It was involved in several high-profile matters including a number of instructions from landlord clients in connection with tenant default matters. Clarks Shoes, Johnsons Drycleaners and Brighthouse instructed the practice in lease renewal matters.

Within Regional review

Within Intellectual property and information technology , Beachcroft LLP is a third tier firm,

Helen Simpson heads Beachcroft LLP’s two-partner IT/IP practice. Highlights included advising CSC on matters relating to the NHS National Programme for IT, including the renegotiation of CSC’s £3bn LSP contracts across the UK.