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 2

Beswicks Legal

Beswicks Legal ‘provides a quality service to clients and punches well above its weight with a number of highly experienced solicitors more than able to hold their own against much larger firms and wider teams’. Many deals concern sales of owner-managed businesses, many of which to private equity interests. Peter Ellis ‘takes a focused and commercial approach especially in light of the specific dynamics of private equity transactions’ – he advised the four partners of a veterinary practice on the sale of the business to Linnaeus Group (which is owned by Sovereign Capital), and also advised Certeco’s owners on selling the business to P2 Consulting, a portfolio company of Lonsdale. Consultant Tom Sutcliffe advised a UK subsidiary of the US Zampell Group on purchasing Cobb Lloyd Refractories. Other work for the team includes management buyouts, corporate restructurings, joint ventures and family business succession planning matters.

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West Midlands: Crime, fraud and licensing

Crime: general

Crime: general - ranked: tier 3

Beswicks Legal

Beswicks Legal  is ‘a very professional firm’ , known for its ‘attention to detail’ and ‘ensuring its clients’ interest are well presented’. Andrew Turnock   co-heads the practice and is ‘very confident’ and ‘experienced within the Crown Court arena’. Fellow practice head Charlotte Riley  is also heavily involved in Crown Court as well as Magistrate Court matters. Other key figures include associate Rebecca Dulson , who specialises in criminal court advocacy, and Lee Yates , who was recently made associate and has experience working in the Magistrates 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 1

Beswicks Legal

Beswicks Legal attracts praise for its ‘personal and professional approach – the lawyers show interest and engagement, and the size of the firm allows it to take care of each client and case with a personal and individual approach’. The practice handles a range of work – sport is a core area for the firm, with clients including football clubs and agents. Gareth Wilkinson, who handles contractual, directors’ duties, equitable winding-up, insolvency and tax disputes, heads the practice with Karen Elder. Elder and associate Sean O’Toole (who joined from Gowling WLG in January 2017) are ‘lawyers with a remarkable level of knowledge and strategy, with an outstanding talent for negotiations’. Stephen Taylor  is also a partner of note.

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Debt recovery

Debt recovery - ranked: tier 2

Beswicks Legal

At Beswicks Legal , Richard Anderson continues to advise South Lee School on dealing with non-payment of school fees, as well as handling various matters regarding student accommodation and tuition fees for degree-awarding institutions. Other work concerns unpaid invoices in a range of sectors, including sports industry related matters.

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West Midlands: Finance

Insolvency and corporate recovery

Insolvency and corporate recovery - ranked: tier 3

Beswicks Legal

In Stoke on Trent, Beswicks Legal’s Richard Preston handles a range of work for receivers, debtors and directors of companies in liquidation. Personal bankruptcy, for both debtors and trustees in bankruptcy, is also an area of expertise.

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West Midlands: Human resources

Employment

Employment - ranked: tier 6

Beswicks Legal

Beswicks Legal provides 'straight-forward advice', 'good response times' and 'peace of mind' to its clients. Managing partner Nick Philips  leads the team and is 'extremely knowledgeable' and 'proactive' in his work. He advises on re-organisations, disciplinary actions and restrictive covenants. Also recommended is solicitor Laura Franklin , who possesses 'the soft skills necessary to deliver a sometimes difficult message to staff with both clarity and empathy'. She is an expert in tribunal claims and TUPE regulations.

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West Midlands: Private client

Family: elsewhere in the West Midlands

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

Beswicks Legal

Beswicks Legal's broad practice works on both financial proceeding and complex childcare cases. The practice is headed by Sarah Johnson  and Sarah Jones . Johnson is an expert in all aspects of relationship breakdown cases  and highlighted for her 'listening skills' and 'ability to keep clients positive'. Jones is similarly skilled in these areas and has worked on a number of high value and complex matrimonial disputes. Also recommended is consultant Fiona Craig  who handles financial proceedings cases which often involves safeguarding assets and earmarking pensions.

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Personal tax, trusts and probate

Personal tax, trusts and probate - ranked: tier 3

Beswicks Legal

A key development at Beswicks Legal is the appointment of senior associate David Birchall  as its new practice head. Birchall joined from Scott Fowler and is an expert in estate planning matters. Consultant solicitor Howard Heath is an expert in inheritance tax planning, elderly care services, wills and probate. Other notable names include solicitor Juliette Carter, who specialises in estates.; wills and probate specialist Sarah Mellor ; and Kate Sutherland, who focuses on succession planning and elderly care services.

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West Midlands: Real estate

Commercial property: elsewhere in the West Midlands

Commercial property: elsewhere in the West Midlands - ranked: tier 4

Beswicks Legal

Beswicks Legal in Stoke on Trent provides ‘excellent service on all counts’. Associate Simon Abbotts is ‘prompt, efficient and a solid performer – totally user-friendly’; he handles deals concerning assets such as care homes and leisure properties, as well as advising house builders and pension investors. Senior associate James Cullen is also a key contact. At partner level, Ian Johnston handles a number of blight claims concerning HS2.

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Construction

Construction - ranked: tier 4

Beswicks Legal

Beswicks Legal ’s Karen Elder  is ‘able to grasp the fundamental points in the case and quickly start addressing the issues’. She represents employers, contractors and subcontractors in various disputes before the Technology and Construction Court and is experienced in alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

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Planning

Planning - ranked: tier 4

Beswicks Legal

At Beswicks Legal in Stoke on Trent, consultant Ian Johnston handles a range of planning and compulsory purchase matters, many of which concerning HS2. The firm also handles transactional property matters, as well as blight claims and representation of individuals subjected to planning enforcement actions.

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Property litigation

Property litigation - ranked: tier 5

Beswicks Legal

At Stoke on Trent’s Beswicks Legal, Gareth Wilkinson , Karen Elder  and Stephen Taylor handle work such as boundary disputes, nuisance claims, misrepresentation of sales and trespass. Trusts of Land Appointment of Trustees Act cohabitation claims are another area of expertise.

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West Midlands: TMT (technology, media and telecoms)

Sport

Sport - ranked: tier 1

Beswicks Legal

Beswicks Legal is known nationwide for its strengths in sports law and represents both athletes and clubs mainly in football, cricket and boxing. Gary Mellor  heads the practice and has notable expertise  in employment, commercial, regulatory and contentious issues. Tim Bailey is also a key figure and works predominantly on high profile transactions and crisis management situations. Gareth Wilkinson advises on high-value disputes, particularly in football. Sean O'Toole specialises in boxing-related work and recently advised Callum Smith on image rights and contractual matters.

Leading individuals

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