The Legal 500

Within Corporate and commercial - Newcastle, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway provides ‘ excellent services and punches well beyond its weight’. With a growing focus on high-end work, 2007 was a record year with 98 deals totalling £843m completed. Martin Hulls’ team includes Andrew Hoyle, former senior partner at Watson Burton LLP, and Mike Spetch, who recently arrived from Eversheds LLP.

Within Corporate tax, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway is increasingly strong in property and entrepreneurial tax. Paul Christian and his team acted on the establishment of employee share structures for a number of listed companies, including Tanfield.

Within Crime, Ward Hadaway is a first tier firm,

Stephen Graham heads Ward Hadaway’s motoring and regulatory defence team, representing clients charged with regulatory criminal offences.

Within Licensing, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway’s client base features English Heritage, Malmaison and Hotel Du Vin. Stephen Graham is team head.

Within Commercial litigation - Newcastle, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway had a strong 2007 involving new client wins and a continuing flow of high-quality instructions from the North East region and beyond, and is particularly recommended for professional negligence, insurance, and private wealth disputes. With six partners led by Ian Collinson, it has the strength in depth to deal with large, complex cases, and is noted for its efficiency. It acted for the gambler who recently brought a widely publicised £2m claim against William Hill.

Within Debt recovery, Ward Hadaway is a first tier firm,

Ward Hadaway has a 13-strong, ‘ straightforward and accessible’ team led by Pauline Appleyard. New client wins include Anglia Regional Co-operative Society.

Within Banking and finance, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway’s Julie Harrison is recognised as ‘ a particularly strong practitioner’ and one of the leading banking lawyers in the region. The team handles refinancing work for banks including Barclays; it was reappointed to Barclays’ national panel for business banking, and is newly appointed to Lloyds TSB’s corporate finance panel.

Within Insolvency and corporate recovery, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway’s ‘ very amenable and approachable’ team is challenging the top tier. Jim James is handling a growing amount of public sector and pensions-related work. A varied caseload includes a large volume of pre-pack administration work, with over 30 cases completed for a range of IPs.

Within Employment, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway is increasingly perceived as a major player. The six-partner, ‘ very good value’ team, led by Bernard Hodgson and Joe Thornhill, numbers 16 fee-earners including three part-time Judges in the Employment Tribunal. It has worked hard to broaden its client base and has an increasing profile for public sector work. The team is ‘ sharp, personable, and effectively identifies and concentrates on the main issues’.

Within Pensions, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway has a team of eight fee-earners led by Tushar Bhate, and is gaining ground in the area. It was one of seven firms in the country to win a place on the OGCbuying.solutions pensions panel.

Within Clinical negligence - defendant, Ward Hadaway is a first tier firm,

Ward Hadaway has a four-partner team led by Jeffrey Keeble, who has over 25 years’ experience of working with NHS clients. Managing partner Jamie Martin is also widely respected, and they are both panel members of the NHSLA Clinical Negligence panel. County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is a new client.

Within Personal injury - claimant, Ward Hadaway is a third tier firm,

At Ward Hadaway, Roger O’ Donnell leads a growing team. Areas of expertise include industrial disease claims, and noise-induced hearing loss claims in particular.

Within Personal injury - defendant, Ward Hadaway is a third tier firm,

Ward Hadaway acts on a national basis for English Heritage on its defendant PI work. Jeffrey Keeble and Kathryn Myers deal with claims brought against the firm’s sizeable NHS client base, acting for over 60 NHS organisations.

Within Agriculture and estates, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway, under the ‘ knowledgeable’ Christopher Hewitt, counts English Heritage, Northumberland National Park, and The National Trust among its clients. It also acts for a substantial range of farming interests and private individuals across the North East and Cumbria. The firm advised on eight options for wind farms during the year.

Within Charities, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway has a developing charities practice, and advises North East Museum Libraries and Archives, the Institute of Historic Building Conservation, and the Arts Council. Colin Hewitt is recommended.

Within Family, Ward Hadaway is a third tier firm,

Ward Hadaway reports a marked increase in the complexity and value of cases undertaken in the past 12 months. Practice head Jonathan Flower and Tim Scott are recommended.

Within Personal tax, trusts and probate, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway is experienced in the area, with Andrew Facer and Alison Hall both specialising in succession planning for landed clients and businesses.

Within Energy, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway and the ‘ highly accomplished and experienced’ Watson Burton LLP are known for the construction aspects of energy projects.

Within Private finance initiative (PFI), Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

The arrival of Melanie Pears and her team has brought a new dimension to the practice at Ward Hadaway, which is increasingly gaining clients outside the region. The firm’s ongoing portfolio of project work stands at over £1.5bn.

Within Public sector, Ward Hadaway is a first tier firm,

2007 saw Ward Hadaway substantially build up its local government portfolio in particular, including being appointed joint legal adviser to five local authorities in the Tees Valley area. It is now advising on public sector projects worth over £2bn. The team features practice head Melanie Pears, Chris Hugill and the highly recommended Jeffrey Keeble.

Within Commercial property - Newcastle, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway’s increasingly dynamic practice, led by Malcolm Lloyd, is expanding beyond the housebuilding work for which it enjoys a pre-eminent reputation and in which Alan Harkness‘ excels’. Leading the charge is Chris Hugill. Public sector work represents a growing portion of the overall workload; clients include a consortium of 18 South Yorkshire NHS trusts.

Within Construction, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway’s construction and engineering team over the past year advised on projects worth more than £500m. Led by Ralph Wrighton, the team advises commercial and residential developers and contractors, and process engineering is a key sector. Jonathan Marshall has left the firm for Burnetts.

Within Environment, Ward Hadaway is a first tier firm,

Ward Hadaway’s practice continues to expand under Neil Robson, with focal areas including waste management, contaminated land, and contentious regulatory issues; it has advised on high-profile waste contracts for clients in the chemical and alternative energy spheres.

Within Planning, Ward Hadaway is a first tier firm,

Neil Robson’s team at Ward Hadaway- which includes planning lawyers and town planners - continues to attract clients from both the public and private spheres. It is advising Northumberland National Park on a conjoined inquiry into three separate planning applications.

Within Intellectual property and information technology, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway is increasingly busy on contentious patent and unregistered design rights issues, and had a strong year with fee-income up by a third. Led by the ‘ formidably able’ Alex Shiel, the team acts for household names such as Barratt Developments plc and the Arts Council. Judy Baker is singled out for her freedom of information practice.

Within Media and entertainment, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Mincoffs Solicitors LLP has longstanding experience in the field, and Ward Hadaway also advises a range of media and entertainment clients.

Within Regional review, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway is increasingly viewed as a major player, in the region and beyond. Strategically, its focus on public sector work is proving successful, with the firm advising on over £2bn-worth of public sector projects across the country in 2007. On the private side it is regularly instructed on significant deals, with deal values almost trebling in the last two years. The firm is set to extend its presence outside the region by opening a Leeds office by the summer of 2008.

Within Transport, Ward Hadaway is a second tier firm,

Ward Hadaway maintains a stable client base of companies from the travel, leisure, transport and tourism sectors following the arrival of Melanie Pears from Eversheds LLP in 2006. Clients include One NorthEast, Center Parcs UK and Hotel Du Vin.