The Legal 500

Within Corporate and commercial: Hampshire, Thomas Eggar LLP is a third tier firm,

Leon Arnold’s team at Thomas Eggar LLP has transactional expertise across a range of sectors, including technology, financial services, insurance, manufacturing, leisure and healthcare. Kim Walker is recommended for commercial matters.

Within Corporate and commercial: Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Thomas Eggar LLP is a first tier firm,

At Thomas Eggar LLP’s Crawley office, Neil Hart heads a ‘friendly team’ of six partners that is ‘always available and willing to go the extra mile’. It acted for Lonhro in its LSE listing and £20m share placement.

Within Corporate and commercial: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40, tier 4

Thomas Eggar LLP is well known for corporate finance work in the engineering and technology sectors, and also has strong multi-jurisdictional experience, having handled transactions in Europe, Africa and the Middle East in 2011 alone. John Riddick has a strong background; having previously worked for an international law firm in its Bahrain and London offices, he specialises in domestic and cross-border M&A as well as commercial matters.

Within Licensing, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP’s team is led by by dispute resolution head Andrew Jackson and supported by associate Michelle Di Gioia. Clients include RC Inns, Newbury College and Chapman Group.

Within Commercial litigation: Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP’s ‘commercially astute’ team specialises in the insurance and banking sectors, and counts as clients Primary Insurance Group, Lloyds TSB Bank plc and UK General Insurance Group. Department head Victoria Brackett provides ‘City quality at a regional cost’.

Within Commercial litigation: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP ‘runs a good ship’ from its Newbury office, where lawyers deliver ‘top-notch support and very user-friendly advice’. Work highlights included complex disputes involving multimillion-pound claims and some cross-jurisdictional issues. Andrew Jackson is ‘pragmatic and down to earth, but also technically adept and a doughty fighter when he needs to be’.

Within Debt recovery Debt recovery

Within Banking and finance Banking and finance

Within Insolvency and corporate recovery, Thomas Eggar LLP is a third tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP’s ‘responsive and commercial’ team is led by Martin Cross, who has particular expertise in international and fraud-related matters. Martin Roderick and ‘knowledgeable and understanding’ associate Frank Bouette are also recommended.

Within Employment: Hampshire, Thomas Eggar LLP is a third tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP’s clients include Kenwood, Southern Water and Chichester University. The ‘very professional’ Esther Smith ‘gets to the point very quickly, and is clearly very experienced in the field’.

Within Employment: Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Thomas Eggar LLP is a first tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP advised on the employment aspects of a multimillion-pound acquisition of 17 gyms. It also has strong links to the higher education sector. Catherine Wilson is ‘extremely knowledgeable’, ‘innovative’ and ‘highly strategic’.

Within Employment: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP delivers ‘highly professional, well-informed advice’, and acts for clients such as Micheldever Tyre Services, Newbury College and new gain Novell UK. Simon Fenton leads the team, and has an ‘open and honest approach; his guidance is a breath of fresh air’.

Within Health and safety, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

Andrew Jackson’s team at Thomas Eggar LLP provides regulatory advice, in addition to prosecuting and defending HSE investigations. Steven Eldred is notable for his experience in noise-induced hearing loss claims.

Within Personal injury: claimant, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

Stephen Richards’ ‘highly specialised’ personal injury group at Thomas Eggar LLP includes Steven Eldred, who is ‘highly regarded in noise-induced hearing loss claims’. The firm also fields an industrial disease team based in Southampton.

Within Professional negligence, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP’s ‘excellent’ team, led by Victoria Brackett, concentrates on qualifying insurer defence work, but also acts for claimants. Recent work includes defending claims on behalf of Chartis and Marketform.

Within Regional review, Thomas Eggar LLP is a first tier firm,

Firms with widespread regional coverage include Shoosmiths, with offices in Reading, Basingstoke, Southampton, and Milton Keynes; and Thomas Eggar LLP, which has a presence in Crawley, Chichester, Worthing, Newbury and Southampton. Blake Lapthorn and Penningtons Solicitors LLP also have broad coverage, each with three offices across two South East counties.

Within Agriculture and estates, Thomas Eggar LLP is a first tier firm,

2011 highlights for the ‘first-class’ rural team at Thomas Eggar LLP included advising on the removal of a public right of way through a stud farm. Team head Richard Venables-Kyrke attracts praise, and was joined in September 2011 by James Pavey from Knights

Within Charities, Thomas Eggar LLP is a first tier firm,

The ‘very impressive’ Julian Chadwick heads Thomas Eggar LLP’s team, and attracts praise for his knowledge of religious issues. The team also has educational expertise. Clients include the Diocese of Chester, St Barnabas Hospice, and The London Christian School.

Within Family: Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP ‘easily matches the Magic Circle firms’ in assisting wealthy clients based outside London. In 2011 it acted in a number of cases valued at over £15m, and it is increasingly active advising on pre-and post-nuptial agreements.

Within Family: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP’s Claire Hamilton-Russell ‘always looks for solutions’ in all aspects of family law. Shashi Sachdeva is also recommended.

Within Personal tax, trusts and probate: Hampshire, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP’s ‘excellent’ department is led by Anthony Nixon, who is ‘technically strong on trust matters’, and has advised clients in the region for over 25 years.

Within Personal tax, trusts and probate: Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Thomas Eggar LLP is a first tier firm,

In 2011, Thomas Eggar LLP’s practice saw an increase in specialist tax planning work, and assisted in setting up LLCs in Dubai and the Cook Islands. The sizeable team is split into five sub-groups dedicated to covering the spectrum of private client work.

Within Personal tax, trusts and probate: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40, Thomas Eggar LLP is a third tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP acts for a range of high-net-worth individuals. Julian Chadwick has over 30 years’ experience, and practice head Sarah Phillips is also recommended.

Within Education, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

Catherine Wilson’s team at Thomas Eggar LLP represented Southgate College in its merger with Barnet College. It also represented Bromley College of Further and Higher Education in its merger with Orpington College, and provides ongoing employment advice to Queen Mary, University of London.

Within Health Health

Within Commercial property: Hampshire Commercial property: Hampshire

Within Commercial property: Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Thomas Eggar LLP is a third tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP provides real estate advice to banks including RBS and HSBC. It also handles property matters for Nuffield Health. Its ‘very good technical knowledge’ is ‘allied with practical interpretation’. Jeremy Wootton is ‘a good team leader’.

Within Commercial property: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

The 12-strong team at Thomas Eggar LLP is led by the ‘very experienced and approachable’ Biddy Walker. Sector strengths include leisure, retail and healthcare.

Within Construction, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP provides a ‘prompt service’, advising private and public sector clients including South Essex College and Chichester College. Mark Clinton ‘puts the issues into simple terms’.

Within Planning, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP recently advised Asda on its programme to develop over 50 stores nationwide, and News International on various issues surrounding its major printing facility outside London.

Within Property litigation Property litigation

Within Intellectual property, Thomas Eggar LLP is a third tier firm,

Pitmans LLP is noted for its ‘rapid response times and creative commercial solutions’, and recently acted for Live Nation in a European Court of Justice trade mark appeal. Practice head Jeremy Summers is recommended, as is Sally Britton; both divide their time between London and Reading.

Within IT and telecoms, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

Kim Walker leads the seven-strong IT team at Thomas Eggar LLP, which handles a healthy diet of reseller agreements, software services framework agreements and systems integration design contracts.

Within Sport, Thomas Eggar LLP is a first tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP acts for professional sports clubs, governing bodies, agents and athletes. Michael Taylor advises a number of sports individuals on tax matters; and associates Emily Osborne, Faye Bargery and Catherine Russell are also active.

Within Aviation, Thomas Eggar LLP is a second tier firm,

Thomas Eggar LLP’s aviation team is notable for its experience in multi-jurisdictional matters. Client wins in 2011 included Safi Airways, the international airline of Afghanistan and the first in the country’s history. Other clients include Bahrain Air and Cameroon Airlines.