The Legal 500

Within Corporate and commercial: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40, Boyes Turner is a third tier firm,

Boyes Turner fields six partners who focus on corporate and commercial matters, with Robert Rice heading up the corporate team, and the ‘excellent’ Mark Blunden leading on the commercial side. The ‘very professional’ group delivers ‘rock-solid advice’, and advised Culligan on the sale of its subsidiary company to Austrian water technology company BWT. New clients include Cambio Healthcare and 2heads Global. The ‘impressive’ Rachel Fitzpatrick is ‘excellent in every respect’ and has ‘great skill and diplomacy’. Philip Tranter is also recommended.

Within EU and competition EU and competition

Within Commercial litigation: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40, Boyes Turner is a second tier firm,

Boyes Turner impresses with its ‘excellent service’ and ‘fast responses’. Gary Parkinson leads the group, and in 2010 advised BDW Trading (Barratt Homes) in a dispute with a purchaser. The team is well known for its contentious construction expertise and property litigation work, for which the ‘highly commercial and practical’ John Starr is singled out. The firm gained a contentious IP practice in 2010 with the arrival of Sarah Hadland from Pitmans LLP, who counts Ty and Gant as clients. Former group head Mike Robinson is recommended.

Within Debt recovery , Boyes Turner is a third tier firm,

The ‘brilliant’ Ally Tow leads the ‘extremely professional’ team at Boyes Turner. It counts private companies, including Kelly Services and Avnet Technology Solutions, and public sector organisations among its client base.

Within Banking and finance, Boyes Turner is a second tier firm,

John Barker’s ‘highly competent’ team at Boyes Turner is rated ‘ten out of ten’ by clients. With a ‘very commercial approach’, the ‘entrepreneurial’ firm advises Santander, HSBC and Clydesdale Bank. The ‘very experienced’ Barker is ‘a pleasure to do business with’, and recently led in advising the Bank of Ireland in a term loan facility.

Within Insolvency and corporate recovery, Boyes Turner is a first tier firm,

Delivering ‘consistent first-class service’, Boyes Turner advises insolvency practitioners and banks, and has growing expertise in bank advisory work, asset tracing and fraud. Led by the ‘highly professional and commercially minded’ Phil Smith, the team advised the Asset Management Unit of the Bank of Ireland on the insolvency of Southern Care Home Group. Chris Branson is ‘excellent’, and associate Kathryn James is ‘solid and dependable’.

Within Employment: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40, Boyes Turner is a first tier firm,

Boyes Turner delivers ‘concise and on target’ advice to clients including Hitachi Data Systems, Ericsson, Historic Royal Palaces and LoveFilm. The team’s work spans High Court litigation, employment tribunal claims and corporate support. It recently advised Johnston Press in an injunction against the National Union of Journalists. Barry Stanton leads the team, with David Blomfield, Helen Goss and Michael Farrier all highly recommended.

Within Clinical negligence: claimant, Boyes Turner is a first tier firm,

At Boyes Turner, ‘very experienced’ practice head Adrian Desmond and the ‘extremely capable’ Susan Brown advise on complex birth injury cases, including cerebral palsy claims. The ‘outstanding’ team acted on a number of delayed diagnosis claims in 2010.

Within Personal injury: claimant, Boyes Turner is a first tier firm,

The ‘truly outstanding’ industrial disease unit at Boyes Turner is ‘genuinely specialist’. ‘Highly skilled’ practice head Linda Fletcher leads a team which has acted in numerous precedent-setting cases, and is experienced in catastrophic injury matters. Highlights included a £300,000 settlement for a former Rolls-Royce engineer.

Within Regional review, Boyes Turner is a second tier firm,

In the Thames Valley, Osborne Clarke remains top tier in banking and corporate work, with Manches LLP standing out for its family law and TMT expertise. Boyes Turner also stands out for employment, real estate, dispute resolution and insurance, and Pitmans LLP is noted for its litigation, pensions and property practices. In Essex, Birkett Long LLP has the strongest overall profile.

Within Personal tax, trusts and probate: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40, Boyes Turner is a third tier firm,

Boyes Turner fields a ‘small but highly professional and knowledgeable team’. Caroline Wallis advises high-net-worth and elderly clients, and associate Ruth Meyer has expertise in Court of Protection cases. Both are ‘very hardworking, knowledgeable and empathetic’.

Within Commercial property: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40, Boyes Turner is a first tier firm,

Boyes Turner’s ‘commercial, competent and prompt’ five-partner team provides ‘first-class advice’. The ‘customer-focused’ Nick Carter handles the UK property portfolios of Ericsson, Trader Media and Computer Associates; Gary Parkinson is ‘strong and solid’; Peter Daniel acts for developers; Mark Appleton is ‘personable, knowledgeable and incisive’; and Derek Ching advises on environmental and planning issues. Associate William Nassau-Lake has ‘exceptional knowledge’.

Within Construction , Boyes Turner is a third tier firm,

The ‘first-class’ team at Boyes Turner has ‘in-depth knowledge of the practice and procedure involved in construction disputes’. Practice head John Starr is ‘highly experienced’, with expertise in arbitration, adjudication and mediation.

Within Planning Planning

Within Property litigation, Boyes Turner is a third tier firm,

Gary Parkinson is at the helm of Boyes Turner’s property litigation team. His expertise spans lease renewals, rent reviews, service charges and dilapidation cases.

Within Intellectual property , Boyes Turner is a first tier firm,

Sarah Hadland, former head of IP at Pitmans LLP, joined Boyes Turner in 2010, bringing contentious IP experience and clients including Marson Fabrics and Redsense Medical. The team advises retail, technology and pharmaceutical industry clients. Mark Blunden and Bill Gornall-King are recommended along with consultant Isabel Davies, who joined from CMS Cameron McKenna LLP in 2011 and is noted for patent and trade mark expertise.

Within IT and telecoms, Boyes Turner is a first tier firm,

With ‘excellent knowledge’, Boyes Turner’s recent highlights include advising Cambio Healthcare on its software licensing to a NHS trust, and advising Guardian Media Group on online advertisements. Mark Blunden is ‘extremely commercial and professional’ and ‘knows the wider software landscape thoroughly’. Bill Gornall-King is recommended.

Within Media and entertainment, Boyes Turner is a second tier firm,

With a ‘pragmatic approach’, Boyes Turner’s team is led by Mark Blunden, who advises on new media publishing and online communities. Blunden recently assisted Trader Media Group on the commission and implementation of new mobile technologies, including the Auto Trader application. The team also acts for several clients in the Middle East.