‘Very on the ball and proactive.’

‘Louise Eldridge offers a stellar service. Always on hand to assist and can get to grips with technical legal issues but dovetail that with commercial acumen.’

‘Louise Eldridge is exceptional and brings commercial sense to the table as well as good advice.’

‘Louise Eldridge is the personification of calm assuredness.’

‘The team is excellent and capable at dealing with complex transactions.’

‘Louise Eldridge is technically able and excellent at managing large complex transactions with many lawyers and third parties involved.’

‘Richard Swaine is very highly recommended and a first choice for mid-level M&A and insolvency advice.’

‘Everyone on the team, from partner to associate, is technically highly capable with a good understanding of all legal aspects of a deal. In particular, having a high calibre associate helps save both time and money. Everyone on the team is highly proactive and this helps manage the timeline very efficiently. Everyone on the team also has great interpersonal relationship skills which makes it a pleasure to work with them. The team also go out of their way for any client requests.’

‘The team is very knowledgeable in this space and combines it with a commercial outlook which is really helpful. They are adept in getting deals done in a tight timeframe and cut to the heart of the issues with ease, meaning the in-house team can concentrate on the material points that really matter to the business.’

‘David Collins is my key reason to be at this firm. David is an excellent legal mind with a very pragmatic and commercial attitude. He is always keen to ensure a fast practical solution. David Collins is a star in his field.’

‘Strong, balanced and committed team. Considerable effort taken to understand our business prior to analysing the proposed transaction. Considerably better availability than other firms.’

‘Extensive knowledge and experience.’

‘We felt well covered and represented and they were not afraid or holding back on challenging their own opinions – regardless of the seniority from which the opinion was coming.’

‘The individuals had a really good understanding of interpersonal and deal centric situations and gave proper guidance. They were providing the support, were trustworthy and were guiding us in each step of the way.’

‘The team is always quick to respond and generally provide very sound and pragmatic advice.’

‘Calm intelligence and good embracing of technology, particularly in relation company secretarial.’

‘Jon Haley – a calm and re-assuring problem solver.’

‘India Benjamin is very responsive, thorough and extremely pleasant to deal with.’

‘Richard Lane is also very responsive, helpful and commercially minded.’

‘Tom Bruce – best in the business for mid-market M&A – all over every aspect of a transaction while remaining commercially focused and pragmatic – very crisp execution.’

‘The team at Fladgate give 110%. They also work whatever hours are required to get the deal through to completion as quickly and efficiently as possible.They are extremely professional and their communication is outstanding.’

‘We have used Fladgate’s corporate team over the years both as support on cases as well as for our own transactional work. We have also recommended them to others. They are generally proactive and user friendly.’

‘Julian Lewis excelled in his field. He is articulate and precise and explains everything in detail so everything is fully understood. He is extremely accurate and precise in all his work. He is extremely diligent and is dedicated to ensure the process is dealt with efiently and effectively.’

‘Charles Wander is a superb lawyer, who provides sage advice and finds solutions to problems.’

‘Anthony Shatz is solutions oriented, and creative with that. He is also thorough and careful.’

‘Very strong depth on the team. Associates moved in and out of a file seamlessly, particularly during COVID.’

‘Richie Clark is an exceptional leader and adviser. He brings calm and poise to the deal and has a “can do” attitude when faced with challenging timelines.’

‘The team are extremely fast and always have time to discuss. They have a strong blend of experience and energy to get the job done. They have great patience and temperaments, so when the pressure gets very intense they are able to take a view that is measured and uncluttered’

‘Incredibly knowledgable, excellent negotiators and very good communication.’

‘We have been using Harbottle for M&A matters for over 15 years and have always been delighted by the quality and breadth of advice received. Harbottle have advised us on deals in the UK and also helped coordinate advice on multijurisdictional transactions.’

‘Colin Howes is incredibly knowledgable.’

‘They work extremely hard. Their sector expertise is second to none. Ed Lane and Colin Howes have both got encyclopaedic memories and experience’

‘Mark Phillips and Ed Lane have both been a delight to work with, and always go the extra mile to get the best deal possible for us.’

‘Katerina Capras was a pleasure to work with. Being new to the role, I had a number of questions and Katerina was normally my first point of contact. I was never made to feel like any question was a stupid question and there was always a professional response.’

‘Katerina Capras – excellent communication, attention to detail. Diligent and always available.’

‘Uniquely equipped to advise clients in the communications/data space on sophisticated legal matters. Very experienced team, capable of driving a deal efficiently and in a cost-minded fashion, involving its client on key decisions. We’ve been using Lewis Silkin for over 15 years and would recommend using them without any reservations.’

‘The team is very reactive, understands business issues and knows how to adapt to the needs of international transactions’

‘Paul Rajput is an incredibly experienced partner, with strong business acumen and great negotiating skills.’

‘Lewis Silkin lawyers are very business oriented, they know how to work with foreign correspondents, they know how to adapt their advice and assistance to any request of foreign clients. We have particularly worked with Paul Rajput and Sadiq Tajbhai who are very professional and have a great capacity to adapt to the needs of the clients.’

‘Over a very long and protracted deal, the Lewis Silkin team stayed focused and were always available with excellent advice. Quite frankly, on some areas of dispute they ran rings around the other side and when the deal broke down and there was a threat of litigation from the other side, Lewis Silkin had put us in such a strong position that the other side did not proceed.’

‘Paul Rajput was very strong and capable throughout the transaction. He is very calm and thoughtful and always makes himself available. He led his team well in the allocation of work. On this transaction he was streets ahead of the lawyers on the other side in anticipating potential problems and nullifying them from our side, so when a dispute did arise within the transaction, the other side did not actually have a leg to stand on and the threat of litigation went away.’

‘Value added advice with a practical approach allows us to delegate much of the process as appropriate’

‘Excellent team, available and nimble able to unlock complicated situations.’

‘Excellent team. Alison Chivers is our go-to partner at the firm.’

‘Always available to offer sound advice and guidance.’

‘Alison Chivers and her team offer excellent support and are very prompt in responding to our requests for assistance.’

‘The team is highly capable of dealing with complex matters with a hands-on mentality. Always available when needed.’

‘The team is extremely committed and available, while being very knowledgeable and always seeking for solutions.’

‘Edward Craft is fantastic. Totally aligned with his client’s commercial needs and works relentlessly hard to achieve the best for his clients. Very practical, pragmatic and a real gentleman to deal with.’

‘Janice Wall: love the way she acts. She is very smart; full focussed on the matter at hand.’

‘Nigel Taylor and his team are efficient friendly and accessible. Good practical commercially driven advice with sound corporate legal knowledge. Great communication. Access to related and complimentary services.’

‘Wiggin make every client feel as if they’re the only client. They’re responsive, communicate clearly, and always cut to the chase. Their team works together seamlessly ensuring you never have to repeat briefs or context.’

‘Ben Whitelock is the consummate professional. Highly commercial, personnable and an excellent sounding board for his clients, he gets the job done quickly with the minimum of fuss.’

‘Full partner engagement – technically first class married to a practical approach and always personable and available. this firm stands out in the legal market.’

‘The very high touch partner attention to deals and their willingness to invest time in getting to know your business and priorities when undertaking M&A.’

‘Jason Fisher is an exceptionally capable and diligent M&A and Corporate lawyer who can be trusted to take a deal through to success at reasonable rates, even when the client has limited internal resources to devote to the transaction.’

‘They are extremely knowledgeable about the mergers and acquisitions market and are very creative in finding solutions. They are deal closers and are extremely responsive.’

‘Rahul Thakrar is extremely intelligent, responsive and exudes confidence that is very helpful in having matters resolved.’

‘Incredible efficiency while managing sharp attention to detail.’

‘Rahul Thakrar is an excellent team leader and clear communicator.’

‘Very commercial in their approach and very reasonable fees compared to other legal firms of the same size.’

Rahul Thakrar is very commercially minded, with a measured approach to negotiations and very good at introductions.’

‘I particularly like their ability to focus on what matters and not make a meal of peripheral issues.’

‘Neil Foster is a very reassuring presence who deals calmly with difficult situations and people.’

‘Tim Davison is a very careful and thorough corporate lawyer who does not miss a trick.’

‘Michael Corcoran is a very commercially minded lawyer who provides balanced advice appropriate to the real world. He is not afraid to advocate a course of action that may carry some risk, instead pointing out the risks, the worst case scenario and what he feels the more likely outcome.’

‘What could have been a nightmare was turned into a manageable and successful experience under the calm and supremely professional leadership of Shantanu Sinha.’

‘The team is extremely well versed in shipping and very flexible to the needs of the clients. They are proactive, efficient and put forward effective solutions to unexpected hindrances to the conclusion of the agreements.’

‘Diverse and deep knowledge on M&A, property and technology matters. Excellent availability of associates and partners.’

‘We have had a superb work done by the team on our transaction. We felt very confident in their hands; and they helped to push and resolve all the issues that popped up in a timely and a professional manner.’

‘David Baverstock – skilled in M&A and commercial transactions. Exceptional advice, support and availability.’

‘They offer leadership, professionalism and the ability to mitigate over all issues, small or large.’

‘The perfect combination of knowledge, insight, experience, dedication, patience, hard work and of course sage advice. Always delivered on demand and on time.’

‘Jon Sweet is the perfect corporate advisor – his knowledge, experience and legal expertise is a foundation for tailored, direct advice in difficult and challenging situations.’

‘Daniel Jacob is an excellent lawyer but also a fantastic manager of his team and his clients. He is very impressive to observe in action.’

‘Detailed sector knowledge.’

‘Mehboob Dossa is professional, detailed and diligent.’

‘Great at weighing commercial matters with legal ones.’

‘Mehboob Dossa is always aware of market trends and transactions.’

‘Small expert team with high levels of service and advice unique in a world of large firms.’

‘Professional, knowledgeable and experienced. Well written clear unfussy advice which is on point.’

‘The team from Wallace knows us well as a client, hence also very good at integrating with our internal team of finance, HR and management team to distribute the work to be done across all the resources. The same goes for other external advisory teams, Wallace helps us figure out who does what.’

‘We highly rate David Judah. He is very experienced and knowledgeable lawyer and takes a straightforward approach to addressing legal issues. He really understands the needs of his clients and knows how to get the right result for them.’

‘The individuals care about doing the right thing for us – they are rightly questioning why/how/what when work gets done to make sure everything is done correctly first time.’

‘The one factor that stands out with Wallace is the ease with which one is able to approach them right through the process from start to finish.’

‘Highly competent team offering solid commercial legal advice.’

‘The Wallace team are a joy to work with, are skilled at explaining complex themes to their customers, are always available and ensure a fair result.’

‘I have worked with John Woodhouse for well over 15 years on many transactions and continue to do so as I find him not only as able but a person who pre-empts events and delivers a service which is both cost effective and timely.’

‘Andrew Cooke – always available to us and always provides grounded and thorough advice.’

‘Every aspect of the deal support process was great. Great communication, very thorough advice, great work with other teams within the firm for structuring.’

‘Jamal Saleh – very knowledgeable, extremely professional.’

‘Vast experience and a very switched-on, sharp team with diverse expertise of different jurisdictions and industries/businesses supported by a firm with high calibre branches/associates all over the world.’

‘Graham Webster is one of the shrewdest of legal minds in this area. His ability to weed out issues both legally, business-wise and team wise during the due diligence process is unparalleled. I not only value his legal advice but his business acumen as well – he can see the whole picture both now and pitfalls in the long term and is very straight and honest when giving counsel. Not only is he brilliant at negotiating but a joy to work with – his lightning fast thinking is a plus when speed is of the essence.’

‘The team feel part of the business, similar to having your own in-house legal team who are available and respond immediately with a full understanding of our business.’

‘Martin O’Donoghue was amazingly patient and calm with us taking the time to explain all the legal technicalities, the legal impacts of our decisions and steering us into a sensible position. Time was never an issue, whether on holiday, evenings or weekends, Martin was always available to call even if it was a non-legal subject. Their advice was always a blend or technical and commercial ensuring we held firm on the most important decisions.’

‘Armstrong Teasdale provides cost effective specialist advice across a wide range of sectors. The corporate team has some fantastic individual partners, and client service is partner-led.’

‘Yvonne Costello and Una Deretic are brilliant M&A lawyers loved by their clients.’

‘Commercial and technically brilliant.’

‘Full-service firm across a broad range of legal areas. Provides seamless one-stop-shop solutions. Partners seem to truly collaborate internally which is felt outside of the firm by clients. Proactively embraced a new industry we were exploring as a client and made it their own as specialisation area.’

‘Tessa Trevelyan Thomas provides a down to earth and friendly approach with a focus on practical solutions for legal issues to minimise time and expenditure. She really focuses on what the client needs and quickly builds a relationship as a trusted advisor that can be relied upon.’

‘All partners are truly personable and give clients the impression of dedication and focus associated with a boutique firm, with the added benefit of the ability to deliver a full service offering.’

‘Stephen Ronaldson gives each project a great deal of personal attention. ‘

‘Highly skilled and highly responsive individuals who clearly put client care and practical support at the forefront of their service. Collaborative in their approach to transactions, working closely and efficiently with the wider client advisory team.’

‘I have found Claire Rigby to be very personable and approachable. She delivers advice on complex points to clients in an understandable and practical way and delivers impressive quality work to often tight timescales. Her clients are give a sense of being a priority and transactions are moved along promptly.’

‘Very attentive and practical’

‘They have the necessary breadth of skilled resources to handle almost all of our legal requirements.’

‘Freeths have great experience on private equity bolt-ons with a specialist focus on portfolio work. They are particularly adept at managing transactions on the buy-side where the sellers are owner/founder managers. I particularly liked their succinct fee proposals, very commercial in approach and easily understood by my deal team colleagues. They approach to fees is straightforward, commercial and transparent. They see their role as a partner and not just a service provider. They are more than a match for many of the larger City firms we work with.’

‘Francis Dalton is a skillful and shrewd negotiator, legally exceptional, easy to work with and very responsive. While he is very hands-on, he lets his very competent senior associate take a lead role in negotiations and only leans in when required to emphasize the importance of his client’s position.’

‘Naomi Spring is a class act. She is type of senior associate your want to bottle and give to your other relationship firms. She is personable, bright, fastidiously organised and very responsive. She is a great deal executioner, with good recall and attention to detail.’

‘David Nathan is extremely diligent and thorough in commercial transactions.’

‘A strong team across all aspects of business. We particularly use them for M&A – due diligence and SPA drafting – and we have never been let down over more than 10 years and at least 10 deals.’

‘Technically very astute. Good team leadership and delegation. Very effective communication with client and counsel.’

‘I have confidence in their strategic and technical judgement. They make the right calls. You feel in safe hands’

‘Ashley Reeback has been the partner we’ve worked with for many years. He pulls the team together based on what and when we need it – and he’s always involved so no balls get dropped.’

‘Experts over a large range of issues’

‘I really enjoy working with the members of staff. They are people’s people. They don’t use to much jargon and someone is always available’

‘Pragmatic, client focussed team that understand private company businesses’

‘Ease of access, clear responses’

‘Theirs is a very personal service with genuinely invested, talented individuals, who offer tremendous skills and knowledge. When this is coupled with their calm efficient approach and slick process management, it makes for a very productive combination.’

‘Although we worked with a talented team our main contact and anchor was Bryan Bletso. Bryan is a very professional individual, an excellent communicator and a genuinely nice person to work with. What ever challenge we faced you always knew that you were very safe in Bryan’s hands.’

‘Strong commercial focus, with advice always balanced between legal best practice and what makes sense in the real world. Solution driven approach, rather than rigid. Responsive and strong communicators.’

‘Nick Alfille is approachable, commercial, clear in communication, and manages expectation well. His approach has helped navigate a couple of deals for us and overcome issues along the way.’

‘David Ponsford understands the commerciality of a transaction and is prepared to depart from the standard norms to provide the advice and contracts needed for each individual transaction.’

‘Go-to choice when it comes corporate and M&A related matters.’

‘David Ponsford is always dedicated to the work, very honest and transparent, commercially oriented and offers great reliability.’

‘The firm is very strong in debt listings on various stock exchanges and has an excellent team, led by partner Martin Kay, which provides very timely advice and execution of all aspects.’

‘Excellent negotiators. Always with client’s objectives at the top of their mind Worked for the client deal and offered a high degree of protection. The team was simply outstanding’

‘Martin Kay is a standout specialist in his area, is always available, prepares excellent documents and gets the job done quickly. Direct access to a partner with his skills is a big attraction compared to other competing firms.’

‘Dov Katz – simply brilliant, client champion, measured and outcome focused.’

‘Stojan Essex is our commercial partner of choice, knows what matters to us and guides and shapes objectives accordingly.’

‘Commercial and pragmatic advice backed up by sound legal knowledge.’

‘A very tightly organized team, which means you have access at any point in a transaction to a wide variety of in-depth expertise – but the process is coordinated and driven by a single partner, which makes it very easy and efficient to interact with the team.’

‘Leading practice in the InsurTech segment.’

‘Commercial and pragmatic advice backed up by sound legal knowledge and an incredibly personable team.’

‘Jon Snade is a very experienced and very patient no-fuss problem-solver.’

‘Jon Snade and Harry Pearson always do a stellar job.’

‘They are able to assist with all areas on a pragmatic basis and complement our own team’s knowledge to achieve the desired end goal.’

‘Access to partners when needed.’

‘Always adaptable to changing circumstances, with a good understanding of the business of the client and context of the deal. A good legacy of knowledge from a relationship going back many years.’

‘We have worked with Catherine Williams over many years and she has maintained a strong knowledge of the business and its deals, all of which she has worked on. She is very focused and works hard to deliver on time. Good provider of sensible comprehensive advice to non-lawyer clients.’

‘Agile team of pragmatic lawyers. Very reasonable rates/price in the market.’

‘David Davies – Simply great to work with. Highly accessible and dedicated. Business-minded and open to discuss ideas, both legal and business. We worked more or less seamlessly, with the aim of getting the deal done with the best possible result for our client.’

‘They invest strongly into client relationships, putting strong team members onto assignments, and acting as counsel through to completion.’

‘We worked very closely with Andrew Solomon. Andrew was a master of his brief, and extremely responsive. He considered all of the key issues, and was a master guide throughout the process. He dealt with sell-side queries with grace, and deconstructed complex questions into easy to understand prose that we were able to take action on. He was a rare breed of intellectual, knowledgeable, responsible, grounded, and personable.’

‘Russell-Cooke understood what was needed and engaged well with all parties. They were pragmatic and always looked for solutions.’

‘Russell-Cooke are a highly responsive, pragmatic and capable organisation. Not only are they legally highly competent but are also skilled at explaining opportunities, risks and impacts with respect to different courses of action. We highly recommend working with them.’

‘Their attention to detail, and clarity of information was greatly appreciated by us, as we are a very small company with no previous experience of management buyouts, and we never felt talked down to, and were always given the attention and detail that we required. We felt in very safe hands throughout the whole process.’

‘The ability to balance objective legal advice with participation in round table discussions in ways that weren’t overly formal or legalistic. An affable style that assisted when matters became difficult. Willingness to think tactically and to use the strength of their relationships with the other lawyer to provide options that diffused potentially disastrous situations. The tenacity to maintain momentum through apparent deadlock and to see the end goal as achievable.’

‘Along with the high level of professionalism and wealth of knowledge, the firm shows a level of engagement which provides for their integration with the business. This results in a way of working based on a partnership approach.’

‘We are lucky to have Jonathan Thornton as our main corporate partner. Very easy to get on with and a good sense of humour yet unbelievably knowledgeable. A rarity in his field, he never turns up with an ego and so whilst he tends to have very good practical ideas he is not immune to alternatives. He intellectually adores what he does which makes it easier for him to be consistently up to the challenge.’

‘David Webster really stood out for us. He always explained everything very clearly, and made us feel supported, and important. He was always available, even at short notice, and even though we must be a small client, we never felt undervalued, or taken for granted.’

‘Very strong team, highly capable.’

‘Natalie Wright is an excellent corporate lawyer, with strong attention to detail and highly pragmatic commerciality.’

‘The team seems to combine a very good understanding of global norms and deal practices.’

‘Peter Weiss combines a solid understanding of US vs. UK market norms and typically deal related practices.’

‘Provide support in all aspects of possible transactions, from the development of the transaction structure through the drafting and negotiation of contracts to the handover of a company.’

‘Neal Hodges is a skilled negotiator with a commercial mind.’

‘This practice has been outstanding working on cross border transactions that were certainly complex in nature and coordination.’

‘Attentive and commercially minded.’