The Legal 500

Within Crime, Bindmans LLP is a first tier firm,

Neil O’May heads the team at Bindmans LLP, which is ‘one of the best criminal firms in the country’. Work included advising on high-profile murder cases involving unusual defences and the complex use of experts. Katie Wheatley ‘deals with everything thrown at her be it legal, factual, or emotional, or difficult judgment calls’.

Within Fraud: white-collar crime , Bindmans LLP is a first tier firm,

Bindmans LLP is ‘attracting more and more high-quality criminal fraud work’. Neil O’May is ‘a master tactician’; and Katie Wheatley is ‘very shrewd, and keeps the SFO on their toes’. The team is representing a former director of Mabey & Johnson in a multi-jurisdictional SFO investigation.

Within Defamation and privacy, tier 4

Bindmans LLP advises both claimants and defendants in libel and privacy proceedings, and recently represented Chris Bryant MP, Brian Paddick, Lord Prescott and Brendan Montague in high-profile judicial review proceedings against the Metropolitan Police. Department head Tamsin Allen is praised for her ‘practical and sensible approach’.

Within Professional discipline, tier 4

Stephen Grosz heads the team at Bindmans LLP, which acts for the College of Psychoanalysts UK, the Association of Child Psychotherapists, and the Association of Independent Psychotherapists.

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

The ‘high-quality practice’ at Bindmans LLP is ‘particularly capable’ on complex whistleblowing and discrimination claims, in 2010 acting in numerous high-profile cases including animal rights belief discrimination case Joe Hashman v Orchard Park Garden Centre. Shah Qureshi ‘gets things done in a very calm fashion, always keeping an eye on the bigger picture’; and Shazia Khan is ‘ruthlessly efficient’.

Within Immigration, Bindmans LLP is a third tier firm,

At Bindmans LLP, Alison Stanley is ‘in a league of her own’ for personal immigration applications with human rights (torture and private life) aspects, and is active in children cases. Liz Barratt specialises in Dublin II asylum cases, Turkish Association agreements, and trafficking matters. The team is also active on behalf of Tier 1 entrepreneurs and in Tier 2 enquiries.

Within Overview,

One area which has continued to show a high level of activity is litigation, in both the High Court and the employment tribunals. The number of trials relating to team moves, restrictive covenants, bonus schemes, and all kinds of discrimination has increased, with employees striving to maintain scarce jobs, and employers taking action to stem the flood of claims. Firms such as Linklaters LLP; McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP; Herbert Smith LLP; Farrer & Co; Fox Williams LLP and Simmons & Simmons have been at the forefront for finance houses and executives, and have witnessed the development of a new thread of litigation – data breaches and privacy issues in defections to competitors. Discrimination in all its forms has also been in the spotlight, with notable cases being fought by Leigh Day & Co; Bindmans LLP; and Russell Jones & Walker.

Within Clinical negligence: claimant, Bindmans LLP is a third tier firm,

Bindmans LLP provides ‘excellent service and value for money’, demonstrates ‘exceptional knowledge of medical reports’, and draws on the firm’s wider public law and human rights expertise as required. While it handles a broad range of clinical negligence cases, it has a particular emphasis on brain injury claims. The ‘superb’ Jon Crocker displays ‘excellent people skills’. Lynn Knowles and Siobhan Kelly are ‘very knowledgeable’, and ‘confident when reviewing reports’.

Within Personal injury: claimant, tier 5

Bindmans LLP is highly regarded for its ‘excellent level of service’, and ‘specialist expertise’ in areas including human rights.

Within Family, tier 4

Bindmans LLP has a superlative reputation for its private and public children’s law work, recently acting on the first-ever family referral to the Court of Justice of the EU. The practice also has significant expertise in international child abduction matters. Practice head Katherine Gieve is ‘astute, assiduous, intelligent and tenacious’, and ‘chases down each issue to great effect’; and Liz Dronfield’s advice is ‘pitch perfect’.

Within Administrative and public law, Bindmans LLP is a first tier firm,

‘Unparalleled in depth’, Bindmans LLP is ‘full of excellent practitioners’ and provides a ‘first-rate service’. The ‘talented, tenacious and incredibly effective’ John Halford is ‘arguably the UK’s best public and human rights lawyer’, and is currently acting in two judicial reviews against the Nursing and Midwifery Council. A ‘guru of public law’, Stephen Grosz leads the team with ‘great experience and skill’. Other ‘star performers’ include Saimo Chahal; the ‘remarkably versatile’ Tamsin Allen; solicitors Sara Lomri and Gwendolen Morgan, who have ‘tremendous imagination and judgement’; and ‘tireless worker’ Saadia Khan.

Within Civil liberties and human rights, Bindmans LLP is a first tier firm,

Providing ‘first-rate service’, the ‘pre-eminent’ team at Bindmans LLP advises on death in custody, mental health and disability cases, in addition to freedom of speech and police actions. John Halford provides ‘clear and unambiguous leadership and guidance’, and is valued for his ‘acute drafting skills, persistence and decisiveness’. Halford and ‘top litigator’ Stephen Grosz are advising families of the victims of an attack in colonial Malaya in 1948 in a challenge to the legality of the killings. Paul Ridge acted in respect of the Parliament Square protest, and Saimo Chahal acted for a paraplegic prisoner in a disability discrimination claim. Associate Chez Cotton is a ‘tenacious and committed litigator’. Sara Lomri offers ‘frank and realistic advice’; Saadia Khan is ‘invaluable’; and Gwendolen Morgan has the ‘tact and sensitivity to deal with sensitive and difficult issues’. Criminal partner Mike Schwarz is also recommended.

Within Healthcare, Bindmans LLP is a second tier firm,

For claimant litigation, Bindmans LLP is ‘absolutely excellent in every way’. The team has an enviable success rate, recently acting in R (Savage) v South Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, in which it was found the defendant had violated the victim’s right to family life. The team also acted in the right-to-die case of R (Tony Nicklinson) v MOJ. Practice head Saimo Chahal is ‘the firm’s expert in this field’, supported by ‘an array of talent’. John Halford is ‘an outstanding public law litigator’; Charlotte Haworth Hird is ‘highly intelligent, very thorough and incredibly concise’; and Sara Lomri has ‘a great eye for a novel legal argument’.

Within Overview,

In the public law arena, claimant and commercial firms are ranked together in one table. City firms Herbert Smith LLP, Hogan Lovells International LLP and Baker & McKenzie LLP all have standout practices, while Beachcroft, Bindmans LLP and Leigh Day & Co remain leaders on the claimant side. Bindmans LLP also has a market-leading human rights and civil liberties practice, with other firms such as Irwin Mitchell LLP, Bhatt Murphy Solicitors and Pierce Glynn Solicitors singled out for particular expertise in niche areas, including mental health and prison law cases.

Within Social housing: tenant , Bindmans LLP is a first tier firm,

Bindmans LLP ‘provides a Rolls-Royce service for legally aided clients’, and specialises in representing vulnerable clients, and in unusual, complex cases. It acted for the lead defendant in Mayor of London v Hall & Others. Practice head Paul Ridge is ‘exceptional’, and ‘has an encyclopaedic knowledge of obscure housing statutes’.

Within Media and entertainment, tier 5

Human rights expert Tamsin Allen heads the media and information practice at Bindmans LLP. She represents high-profile individuals in the arts, as well as the New Statesman and the National Union of Journalists.