The Legal 500 > United Kingdom - Solicitors > North West > Corporate and commercial: elsewhere in the North West

‘Forbes are a business that we have used for around four years for advice on terms & conditions. They have excellent knowledge of this area and once they grasped our specific involvement in certain areas of the various industry sectors, they quickly became a source that we could rely on.’

‘John Pickervance is someone that I would recommend without hesitation. He is fully contactable and goes the extra mile to assist me whenever I need him and sometimes this is very much at the drop of a phone. He is a very professional and reliable source.’

‘John Pickervance was able to absorb himself and understand our business and our processes very quickly. His ability to work at the highest level with other enterprise legal adversaries has ensured that, even as a small business, we are able to compete with much larger competitors to offer solutions to our clients.’

‘John Pickervance has been outstanding. His efficiency and responsiveness have never delayed any contract negotiations and his pragmatic approach has ensured that our legal expenses have always been of value.’

‘Excellent levels of service.’

‘I have dealt with John Pickervance on a number of projects over several years. I have found John to be personable and attentive in protecting our interests whilst being pragmatic to helping us achieve a win/win situation with our client’s

‘They offer a comprehensive, friendly and knowledgeable service, where clarity is king. They operate as a team – not as disparate individuals – and I feel a sense of security from that.’

‘I would definitely recommend Napthens to others. We have worked with them over five years and have developed a good working relationship with them. They have a good understanding of our business and provide us with sound advice.’

‘I have had the pleasure of working with Jon Esner for a number of years and the commercial legal advice we receive from him is always timely, helpful and if necessary communicated in such a way that non-lawyers can understand it.’

‘Napthens are very helpful and respond quickly to communications.’

‘Excellent knowledge, always approachable, plain speaking and, most importantly, apply commercial reality to their work.’

‘Our experience with this firm is that they are very proactive, quick to respond to urgent requests when made and provide us with the information we need. The firm are responsive and provide us with a tremendous level of support – they provide us with first class advice in a timely way, explaining the detail with flair and clarity. The firm are commercial and sensible in their approach while providing practical and realistic solutions. We feel that this is a true partnership, and that DTM understand our company very well.’

‘The team is down to earth and communicates and advises in plain English and in layman’s terms. They are warm and friendly and respond to all forms of communication efficiently and promptly.’

‘The team at DTM Legal offer an exceptional service to their clients. They genuinely understand the business needs of their clients. This allows them to entirely engage in the legal analysis of the complicated areas of law whilst always having commercial realities at the forefront of their minds.’

‘DTM cut through to the issues at the core of a situation and amend their scope accordingly. The processing of working through a project with them is concise and targeted, which I’ve found to be rare amongst legal practices.They clearly know their stuff but they explain it in very accessible language, and show great patience with our slow understanding. They are proactive in spotting issues and rectifying them with only minimal time requirements on our side.’

‘There is a real sense of the importance of training and nurturing good young talent to ensure that they are retained.’

‘Ed Barnes always puts himself out to assist, irrespective of deadlines and work pressure, and covers all aspects of commercial and corporate work. 

‘We deal mainly with Fredrica Reid and Ed Barnes and have found both to be utterly professional, incredibly approachable, supportive and detail oriented. Both are extremely knowledgeable and reliable, able to bring complicated contract law to life and willing to go the extra mile. Fredrica is always client friendly in her communications, plain speaking and incredibly easy to deal with.’

‘Ed Barnes is our main contact, but we’ve had the same excellent service from Fredrica Reid on his team. Ed is patient and direct, using straightforward language and taking pains to reassure us that most things are normal – and pointing out anything that is out of the ordinary. He suggests amends to make things more in our favour and gives us a likely path for discussions, with the expected destination made clear. ‘

‘A very practical and experienced commercial practice.’

‘Robin Gill is a very experienced, first class corporate lawyer.’

‘A partner-led and joined-up team. Clients feel that the whole team has got their backs in every transaction.’

‘Simon Williams. Great experience and energy. Always gives the client confidence that obstacles can be overcome.’

‘Jolliffe are a very proactive legal practice and have become our first port of call for all legal matters. We have always received a pleasant straight forward service with straight forward answers and communication.’

‘Jolliffes has a refreshingly simple approach and a can-do attitude. They are particularly good at explaining why on requests from the other side of the transaction. Local and cost-effective; I value what they do and how they go about doing it.’

‘For me the key contact is Simon Williams who is incredibly hardworking and customer-centric.’

‘I’ve utilised the services of a number of legal firms but support I’ve received from Brabners and Nicola Whittle in particular has always been excellent and extremely responsive.’

‘My main support has been from Nicola Whittle, who shows great compassion for difficult situations but then guides you through what you need to come to a suitable conclusion. Nicola is very personable and shows true compassion when needed. She is very responsive and seems to resolve contractual matters quickly but with great thoroughness.’

‘I have always found the team at Brabners to be extremely professional and approachable.’

‘Nicola Whittle is just brilliant! Very knowledgeable but is able to explain matters in a very simple way which clients prefer. Nicola always responds quickly when contacted and that, in itself, is valued and I find her very commercially minded and always looking out for referral and new business opportunities.’

‘Very responsive and client-focused service with practical and realistic advice that support our business objectives.’

‘The practice is unique because it has been long established in Warrington and many of the partners have extensive experience.’

‘Stephen Poyner has resolved many issues for my company over the years and his long experience has proved to be invaluable to our development.’

‘The team at FDR react in a timely manner with practical advice clearly expressed. They are approachable and adapt readily to client needs. It is a small team with Margaret Evans at the head and she ensures that all team members adhere to her demands for client care in all respects.’

‘Margaret Evans as head of the team is an exceptionally bright individual. She has the ability to quickly grasp the needs of the client and to proffer practical advice. She is most approachable with an easy manner and has the ability to give the client confidence that they are in safe and competent hands.’

‘I have always found the team to be flexible; they have a structure that is dynamic across all disciplines allowing you to have one corporate law firm cover all areas you need – this in turn allows them to understand your overall family and objectives.’

‘Stephen Ponyer guided us through what we needed to know; he delivered a great service.’

‘Charles Agar is very knowledgeable about commercial matters, makes sure we get contracts across the line and will go the extra mile when timelines are tight.