The Legal 500

Within Corporate and commercial: Leeds and West Yorkshire; North Yorkshire, Walker Morris is a first tier firm,

Walker Morris’ clients value its ‘partner-led approach’, and praise its industry knowledge and ‘excellent judgement in assessing the significance of issues’. It recently advised Endless LLP on the closing of its third fund at £220m, and is advising on the financing side of the sale of Dyson’s Saffil business to US company Unifrax. John Hamer leads the team, and Richard Naish is ‘always helpful’.

Within Corporate tax Corporate tax

Within EU and competition, Walker Morris is a second tier firm,

Walker Morris’ recent mandates include representing Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO), a public sector group made up of local authorities, in an OFT cartel investigation about the marketing of goods and services to schools across the country. Jeremy Scholes heads the department.

Within Banking litigation, Walker Morris is a second tier firm,

Walker Morris has ‘a great team overall’; its lawyers are ‘commercially aware and able to drive cases on to resolution’. Clients include Bank of Scotland, which instructed the firm in relation to a claim by a borrower challenging the validity of a possession order. The team is led by Andrew Beck, who is ‘an expert in his field’, and includes Louise Power, who is a ‘star’.

Within Commercial litigation: Leeds and West Yorkshire; North Yorkshire, Walker Morris is a first tier firm,

The team at Walker Morris ‘understands the value of client relationships’, and is noted for the ‘quality of its work’. Recent instructions include acting for FG Wilson in a dispute with its former distributor in Kenya, and acting for Persimmon Homes in a rectification claim. Gwendoline Davis heads the department, which includes Malcolm Simpson – a ‘bright, practical, responsive and proactive thinker’ – and David Williams, who is ‘a pleasure to work with’.

Within Banking and finance, Walker Morris is a third tier firm,

At Walker Morris, the ‘legal advice and the quality of service is excellent’. It recently acted in relation to the acquisition of Aesica Pharmaceuticals, advising the three banks – Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC and Clydesdale – which provided acquisition and refinancing facilities for Silverfleet Capital and the private equity investment arm of Lloyds. Ian Akitt is ‘an expert in the field’, and his advice is ‘consistently of a high standard’. Michael Taylor heads the department.

Within Insolvency and corporate recovery, Walker Morris is a first tier firm,

Walker Morris is ‘a strong competitor in this area’, and is noted for its ability to ‘inject pace into negotiations’; ‘the service is excellent, as is the advice given’. The firm was involved in the administration of Romag and its subsidiaries, advising Lloyds TSB and Deloitte. It also acted for the latter in relation to the administration of shoe retailer Barratts. Philip Mudd heads the team, which includes the ‘calm and considered, but also commercial’ Simon Clark. John Roche is ‘approachable and personable’, and David Hinchcliffe and Duncan Lole are also recommended.

Within Employment: Leeds and West Yorkshire; North Yorkshire, Walker Morris is a second tier firm,

Walker Morris’ ‘cost-effective’ team is led by the 'very commercial' and 'pragmatic' David Smedley. It acts for clients including Moss Bros and Caterpillar in relation to employment tribunals, TUPE transfers and redundancies.

Within Health and safety, Walker Morris is a third tier firm,

Walker Morris assists regional emergency services, national retailers and care home operators in internal accident investigations.

Within Pensions, Walker Morris is a second tier firm,

The two-partner team at Walker Morris acts for national corporations and trustees on transactional pension matters, complex restructuring, and sectionalised schemes. Trusts specialist Andrew Turnbull heads the team, and Jo Ratcliffe is noted for her experience in Beckmann liability matters.

Within Clinical negligence: claimant Clinical negligence: claimant

Within Personal injury: claimant, Walker Morris is a third tier firm,

Walker Morris acts for insurers in relation to road traffic accidents, and increasingly advises on claims relating to employers’ liability and military injuries. Chris Caisley is a key contact.

Within Professional negligence: defendant, Walker Morris is a second tier firm,

Walker Morris draws on its real estate, banking and commercial resources to handle cases involving solicitors and surveyors. Persimmon Homes is a key client.

Within Regional review, Walker Morris is a first tier firm,

Walker Morris differs from its peers in that it operates out of a single office, in Leeds. The firm is something of an institution in the region, and has prospered across a number of key practice areas such as corporate, real estate and litigation.

Within Personal tax, trusts and probate Personal tax, trusts and probate

Within Project finance and PFI, Walker Morris is a second tier firm,

Walker Morris has ‘excellent knowledge of the complexities of PFI’, and ‘high service standards’. It recently advised Covanta Energy and Kelda Water Services on their joint venture bid for the Leeds Residual Waste PFI. David Kilduff oversees the department, which includes the ‘pragmatic, sensible and approachable’ Ben Sheppard.

Within Education, Walker Morris is a second tier firm,

Walker Morris provides a ‘very good service’, and has ‘sound knowledge of the higher education sector’, advising on matters such as campus redevelopment, employment law and commercial transactions. Huddersfield University is a key client, and David Smedley recently represented Burnley College in an employment tribunal. Simon Anderson heads the group.

Within Health, Walker Morris is a third tier firm,

Led by David Kilduff, Walker Morris represents regional public health organisations and national care home providers. Recent work for Andrew Uprichard includes advising the NHS Business Services Authority on procurement. Regulatory expert Jeanette Harwood has expertise in fatality inquests. Key clients include Bradford Community Health NHS Trust, and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Within Local government, Walker Morris is a first tier firm,

Led by David Kilduff, Walker Morris acts for local authorities throughout the UK on IT, waste and social enterprise projects. It recently assisted Leeds City Council with regulatory guidance in relation to statutory powers, and West Yorkshire Joint Services in relation to procurement issues. The practice was boosted by the arrival of consultant Stephen Cirell from Eversheds LLP in 2011.

Within Commercial property: Leeds and West Yorkshire; North Yorkshire, Walker Morris is a first tier firm,

Walker Morris is ‘fleet of foot and tends to approach matters in a very commercial manner’, providing ‘excellent value for money’. Jeremy Moore heads the practice, which recently advised Bexley Borough Council on the sale of its Civic Offices to Tesco. Unite is a key client, with recent instructions including the acquisition from Westfield of a development site in Stratford, valued at between £60m and £80m. Nicholas Cannon has ‘good business acumen and a determined approach’.

Within Construction, Walker Morris is a first tier firm,

Walker Morris’ ‘advice is succinct and effective’. Martin Scott heads the group; Tom Peel is ‘very good on property contract matters’ and Simon Anderson is ‘organised and proactive’ and ‘very straightforward; he gets to the point and doesn ’t sit on the fence’. Key instructions in 2011 came from clients including Unite, Arla Foods and ASD Lighting.

Within Environment Environment

Within Planning, Walker Morris is a first tier firm,

Walker Morris, ‘a regional firm with the quality of a national’, has a winning combination of ‘top-level experts supported by a close-knit team’. In 2011, it advised Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes, among others. Richard Sagar ‘can deal with big picture and detail, and has the benefit of the perspective of being an advocate’; Chris Slater ‘has delivered some difficult agreements in a timely and unflustered manner’; and Andrew Williamson is an ‘excellent, thorough and meticulous advocate’.

Within Property litigation, Walker Morris is a first tier firm,

Walker Morris provides ‘commercially tailored advice’, and is ‘very responsive’. It recently acted for Persimmon Homes in a claim involving construction and rectification issues, and for Montpellier Estates in a claim against Leeds City Council. Andrew Beck heads the department.

Within Social housing, Walker Morris is a second tier firm,

Walker Morris acts for a variety of registered providers including Hyde, InCommunities and Accent. Chris Woodthorpe ‘takes time to explain things properly’, and ‘can move quickly when needed’.

Within Intellectual property, Walker Morris is a first tier firm,

Walker Morris’ ‘very responsive’ team has seen an increase in contentious IP work and brand protection mandates. The ‘technically proficient’ and ‘strategic’ practice has significant ‘depth of knowledge’ in trade mark infringement and patent litigation, and is led by Patrick Cantrill. Clients include Lisle Licensing International and Hague Plant.

Within IT and telecoms, Walker Morris is a first tier firm,

Active in energy and retail, the five-partner team at Walker Morris provides ‘good, honest advice’ on outsourcing projects, procurement and software implementation. Michael Stevens leads the ‘excellent’ group, which represents clients including Drax and GDF Suez.

Within Media and entertainment, Walker Morris is a second tier firm,

Walker Morris advises digital advertising groups, gaming companies and regional corporates on marketing, image rights and brand licensing. Eurostar and Amscreen are key clients. Commercial lawyer Patrick Cantrill oversees the group.

Within Sport, Walker Morris is a first tier firm,

Walker Morris’ three-partner team advises sports clubs on player contracts and stadium purchases, and is also noted for its experience in football insolvency matters. David Hinchliffe is ‘very experienced’, and ‘a great team leader’. Leeds United FC and Portsmouth FC are key clients.