The Legal 500

Established in 1846, Wright Hassall is a leading commercial law firm in the Midlands acting for clients both regionally and nationally. Clients range from owner-managed businesses and plcs to not-for-profit, partnerships and individuals across a variety of sectors, including technology, logistics, financial services, social housing, charities, retail, sport and agriculture.

The firm: The firm has posted yet another increase in turnover for the seventh consecutive year. Clients like the fact that their lawyers, many of whom have ‘big firm’ backgrounds can deliver a full suite of legal services, regardless of complexity. A major attraction – for clients of all sizes – is the relatively low-cost base from which the firm operates: from its Warwickshire location, it does not carry the same level of overhead as its city-centre counterparts. In addition, no stranger to innovation, Wright Hassall is meeting the challenge of the changing legal landscape by continuing its investment in new technology to help deliver a more streamlined service to its clients.

Types of work undertaken: The corporate team has an enviable track record in meeting the needs and aspirations of owner-managed businesses and mid-corporates, advising on company formations, structuring and restructuring, mergers, acquisitions and disposals, MBOs and MBIs, financial structuring and investment capital, and shareholder relationships and joint ventures. The commercial team advises clients on all commercial matters including contracts, outsourcing particularly in relation to the technology, logistics and financial services industries, financial regulatory matters, intellectual property, business immigration, licensing, and employment, including share incentive schemes and cost-savings initiatives.

The commercial property team, described by clients as pro-active, commercially-driven and reliable, handles a diverse range of matters from complex corporate transactions to straightforward lease negotiations. It acts for a wide range of clients including blue chip corporates and science parks and has significant experience in acting for multiple retailers several of whom are household names. A specialist team advises on planning, environmental and highways matters. The social housing team, led by Carol Matthews, continues to be rated as one of the best in the country. The agricultural and rural business team acts for landowners, farmers, tenants and rural associations and, in Paul Rice, has one of the leading legal specialists in the single farm payment scheme.

The dispute resolution team continues to maintain its excellent track record in banking, finance and asset tracing litigation. A particular feature is the provision of advocacy services to clients of the firm. All types of commercial litigation are undertaken including contractual disputes, professional negligence, employment, intellectual property and technology disputes, insolvency and business recovery and contentious probate. The debt recovery team operates a leading-edge IT system, which enables it to undertake volume collections as well as complex litigation matters. The property dispute team is particularly strong on landlord and tenant issues, the Party Wall Act, boundary matters and noise compensation claims. The construction team, working alongside litigation and commercial property handles all aspects of contentious and non-contentious work and, through Philip Harris, a commercial mediator and chartered arbitrator, offers an effective alternative dispute resolution service.

The private client team advises many of the firm’s commercial clients’ directors, charitable trusts and high-net worth individuals on wills, trusts, tax and probate matters, matrimonial, particularly complex financial cases, and child-related issues, residential conveyancing, and clinical negligence cases.

Number of UK Partners 35

Number of other UK fee-earners 128