Legal500

Wilsons

BROAD QUAY HOUSE, BROAD QUAY, BRISTOL, BS1 4DJ, ENGLAND

Tel:: Work 0117 329 7001
Fax:: Fax 0117 329 0868
DX:: 7832 BRISTOL

Web:: www.wilsonslaw.com
Email:

Salisbury, London, Bristol

What we say about the firm's legal practice in South West

Corporate and commercial

Within Corporate and commercial: Dorset and South Wiltshire, Wilsons is a second tier firm,

Wilsons delivers ‘London service levels at reasonable prices’, and frequently advises in connection with the charities, rural landowning and private wealth activities of the firm, such as on private loans, partnership and shareholder disputes and the reorganisation of family companies. Stephen Whitmore is ‘first rate’, and Andrew Roberts is ‘brilliant on complex corporate transactions’.

Dispute resolution

Within Commercial litigation: Dorset and South Wiltshire, Wilsons is a first tier firm,

Wilsons’ ‘expert team of extremely tough litigators’ is a practice that ‘rivals London firms’ and includes the ‘utterly frank as well as very sympathetic’ Mike Parker. The group acted for a client regarding a challenge to testamentary dispositions.

Human resources

Within Employment: Dorset and South Wiltshire, Wilsons is a first tier firm,

Wilsons provides a ‘very responsive and reliable service’ to clients including Savills and West London Academy. Clients rate the ‘great understanding’ of Deborah West, the ‘outstanding’ Anthony Edwards, and team head Stephen Oxley.

Overview

Within Regional review,

Also of note are Wilsons in Salisbury, known for its strength in private client in particular; Charles Russell LLP and Rickerbys LLP in Cheltenham; and Withy King LLP and Stone King LLP in Bath.

Private client

Within Agriculture and estates, Wilsons is a second tier firm,

Burges Salmon LLP’s team acts for a number of high-profile clients including HSBC, The Crown Estate, the National Trust and many other landed estates. William Neville, and Charles Wyld lead the team, with Vivienne Williams handling contentious agricultural matters. Peter Williams departed to Wilsons.

Within Charities, Wilsons is a second tier firm,

Wilsons advised the Macfarlane Trust on restructuring the charity and its associated bodies, and advised The Edward Heath Charitable Foundation on the powers of the trustees to dispose of property. Charity legacy work is an important part of the practice. Peter Steer has an ‘excellent manner’, and quickly resolves problems.

Within Family, Wilsons is a second tier firm,

Wilsons’ team is led by Christopher Nisbet, who is ‘very commercial and provides clients with realistic, robust advice’. Katharine Shaw acts in a ‘sensible, professional manner’, and is ‘not phased by aggression from the other side’. The practice is attracting increasingly high-value instructions.

Within Personal tax, trusts and probate, Wilsons is a first tier firm,

Wilsons provides ‘exceptional service’ and expertise in advising foreign-resident and foreign-domiciled individuals on structuring investments and bringing funds to the UK. ‘Brilliant practitioner’ Frances Mayne heads the group, and Matthew Bennett is also recommended.

Public sector

Within Education, Wilsons is a third tier firm,

Wilsons’ ‘always excellent’ team represents many independent schools, and advises on school conversions. Stephen Oxley heads the group.

Real estate

Within Commercial property: Dorset and South Wiltshire, Wilsons is a third tier firm,

Wilsons’ ‘great practice’ includes Alison Bailey, team head Judith Beddow and Dominic Ogden, whose ‘service is second to none’.

Within Property litigation, tier 5

Practice head Peter Bourke at Wilsons specialises in litigation including rights of way cases, boundary disputes, and landlord and tenant matters.

Further information on Wilsons

Please choose from this list to view details of what we say about Wilsons in other jurisdictions.

London

Offices in London

South West

Offices in Salisbury and Bristol

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Legal Developments in the UK

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to

COUNCIL TAX

In Harrow LBC v Ayiku [2012] EWHC 1200 (Admin) Sales J held that the word “or” in the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992, art 3 Class N, had a disjunctive meaning, therefore it was sufficient for the non-British spouse of a foreign student to satisfy one or other of the two conditions, namely being prevented from taking paid employment or being prevented from claiming benefits, in order to qualify as a “relevant person” who was exempted from liability to pay council tax.

- 11KBW
QUEEN’S SPEECH

Bills already introduced pursuant to the Queen’s Speech on 9 May 2012 include Local Government Finance Bill and Electoral Registration and Administration Bill, both accompanied by Explanatory Notes, which in each case address ECHR compatibility.

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Standards

In R (Calver) v Adjudication Panel for Wales [2012] EWHC 1172 (Admin) Mr Calver was a member of Manorbier Community Council who successfully challenged the decision of the Panel to dismiss his appeal against a decision by Prembrokeshire County Council Standards Committee censuring him for a number of comments or blogs posted by him on a website he owned and controlled.

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A justified retrospective

Clive Sheldon - QC debates the pros & cons of retrospective tax legislation

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Public Sector Equality Duty (“PSED”)

In R (Greenwich Community Law Centre) v Greenwich LBC [2012] EWCA Civ 496 the Court of Appeal held that the Council had had “due regard to the PSED when making changes to its funding of community legal advice services”. At para 30 Elias LJ said:

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Public Sector Equality Duty

Surrey County Council conducted a review of its Library Service. This culminated in a Report to the Council’s Cabinet. The Recommendations in the Report included that there should be consultation about a community-partnership approach at selected Libraries.

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Judicial Review

The Judgment of Lindblom J in The Manydown Co Ltd v Basingstoke and Deane BC [2012] EWHC 977 (Admin) repays attention. The Claimant sought to challenge by judicial review 2 decisions of the Council: (1) the Council’s refusal to reconsider its position on the development of a site that it owns (and is the subject matter of a Joint Development Partnership Agreement with the Claimant); and (2) a decision of the Council’s Cabinet approving a selection of sites for development which did not include this site.

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The Health and Social Care Act 2012: impact on adult social services

After its torrid passage through Parliament, the Health and Social Care Bill received Royal Assent on 27 March 2012. The Act deals principally with healthcare reform, but it also contains some amendments to the legislative framework for social care. It will come into force on a day yet to be appointed by the Secretary of State.

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Immigration update May 2012

In this issue:

- Penningtons Solicitors LLP
Premium service for tier 2 and 5 sponsors to be launched

A premium service for sponsors will be launched by the UKBA on 6 April 2012. The service is designed specifically for companies that sponsor international employees under tier 2 and 5 of the points based system and aims to provide them with enhanced support.

- Penningtons Solicitors LLP