The Legal 500

Within Corporate and commercial: Birmingham, Browne Jacobson LLP is a third tier firm,

Browne Jacobson LLP provides ‘practical, not pedantic’ advice, and acts for a range of corporates, insurers, charities and public sector bodies; notable names include The National Trust and Mace. The ‘commercially minded’ Roger Birchall led the team in advising Lloyds Development Capital on its investment in Angel Springs. Jo Bligh has left the firm to set up her own practice.

Within Corporate tax, tier 4

Browne Jacobson LLP’s Andrew Noble ‘explains technical issues in a very comprehensive way’. Deal highlights included advising the Dutch-based Macintosh Retail Group on the tax aspects of its acquisition of Jones the Bootmaker, the UK shoe retailer, for approximately £40m.

Within EU and competition, Browne Jacobson LLP is a first tier firm,

Browne Jacobson LLP’s team attracts many accolades from clients. The ‘extremely knowledgeable’ Matthew Woodford is appreciated for his ‘commerciality and rapid responses’, and has particular experience in behavioural competition law and merger control. The practice has an impressive array of national and international clients in sectors such as retail, grocery, automotive, manufacturing, construction and leisure; names include Sol Construction and North Midland Construction.

Within Banking and finance, Browne Jacobson LLP is a third tier firm,

Browne Jacobson LLP has a broad practice. Led by the ‘impressive’ Paul Ray, it acted for RBS on the provision of a buy-and-build acquisition finance facility to Spicerhaart Group. The team also handles real estate financing, through associate Nina Armstrong.

Within Employment, tier 5

Browne Jacobson LLP has a significant number of public sector clients, and is also strong in the sports and retail sectors, acting for clients such as TK Maxx. Iain Patterson and Robin Broughton are recommended.

Within Clinical negligence: defendant, Browne Jacobson LLP is a first tier firm,

Sarah White leads an ‘efficient and highly effective’ team at Browne Jacobson LLP. The group has been representing one of the NHS bodies involved in the Mid Staffordshire Hospital Public Inquiry. Other active clients include the Medical Protection Society, and Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust. The ‘pragmatic’ Sarah Manning successfully defended the NHSLA in a complex and high-value cerebral palsy case at a seven-day trial.

Within Personal injury: defendant, Browne Jacobson LLP is a second tier firm,

Browne Jacobson LLP acts for clients including NFU Mutual and West Midlands Police Service. Paul Cox ‘gets fantastic results’, and was instructed by the defendant in the case of Folgate London Market Limited v Chaucer Insurance plc, in which the team recovered approximately £1m for its client in the Court of Appeal. The team includes Bridget Tatham, who ‘cuts to the chase’, and new arrival Juliette Shaw.

Within Professional negligence Professional negligence

Within Education, Browne Jacobson LLP is a third tier firm,

Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP has a niche acting for faith community schools and special educational needs schools. It successfully completed the conversion of the John Taylor School to academy status. Simon Ramshaw heads the ‘efficient’ team, which counts The Marches School and Cedars High School as clients. Richard Freeth is now at Browne Jacobson LLP.

Within Health, Browne Jacobson LLP is a first tier firm,

Browne Jacobson LLP is well known for its clinical negligence work, and regularly advises on health law, commercial property and employment issues for NHS trusts. It acted for Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals on the conditional sale of its former Eye Infirmary site. Sarah White and Neil Ward provide ‘excellent support’ during inquests, and Simon Tait and Oliver Pritchard in the Nottingham office are also recommended. Other clients include the Care Quality Commission.

Within Commercial property: Birmingham, Browne Jacobson LLP is a third tier firm,

The ‘very experienced’ Victoria Camfield heads the department at Browne Jacobson LLP, which has recently completed a significant number of store acquisitions for new client Cash Generator. Other significant clients include UK Mail, Poundland and Inspired Gaming. Thomas Howard is rated for his healthcare expertise. The group attracts a steady flow of instructions from privately funded property developers and investors.

Within Construction Construction

Within Property litigation, Browne Jacobson LLP is a third tier firm,

Browne Jacobson LLP acts for UK Mail and Kirklees Borough Council, among others. The ‘personable and efficient’ Tim Rayner advises on the full spectrum of property-related disputes.

Within Intellectual property, Browne Jacobson LLP is a third tier firm,

Browne Jacobson LLP assisted a subsidiary of Ballyvesey Holdings subsidiary in relation to a passing off claim, and also advises Camelot Group and Mace Group. Declan Cushley heads the team, which provides ‘clear and balanced advice’.

Within IT and telecoms, Browne Jacobson LLP is a second tier firm,

Browne Jacobson LLP’s team is ‘pragmatic and commercially aware’, and has particular expertise in cloud computing matters. Declan Cushley and Richard Nicholas are recommended. Major clients include Amcor Group, Digiplex and Inspired Thinking Group.