Transport in North West
Backhouse Jones
Boutique firm Backhouse Jones specialises in the road transport law and provides a service completely tailored for logistics. The firm's regulatory department regularly handles public inquiries before the Traffic Commissioners and has represented transport operators at every level, up to and including the European Courts of Justice. Mark Davies heads the team and has extensive experience dealing with transport law covering goods and passenger carriage, in regulatory road traffic offences and in serious transport-related crime. James Backhouse advises on transport-related judicial reviews, national and international compliance, and regulatory schemes and policies.
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Key clients
Go North East
Catch 22
Ascot Transport Ltd t/a ATL
Clyde & Co LLP
The team at Clyde & Co LLP handles a wide range of work, including marine, aviation, logistics and motor claims. The marine practice has significant experience in cargo claims, international logistics, defence of transport liability claims, marine subrogated recoveries, yacht claims and recoveries, terminal incidents and policy coverage. Emma Rice, who heads the practice, focuses on marine insurance disputes. Other key areas of work for the group include aviation losses and defendant side insurance liability work, claimant side motor litigation and the defence of motor class actions. Associate Liz Watton specialises in shipping and transportation claims.
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Other key lawyers:
Robert Muttock; Sadie Sarjant; Mark Hemsted; Mike Farrell; Chris Murray; Liz Watton
Testimonials
‘They clearly know their market, industry and have great knowledge.’
‘High level services with high level individuals within the extensive team.’
DLA Piper
The 'knowledgeable and insightful' transport team at DLA Piper focuses on transport development and advising on rail, motorway, bus, tram and metro infrastructure. The practice also handles construction claims within the sector, as well as asset finance, IT procurement, smart ticketing, outsourcing and PFI/PPP disputes. Liam Cowell heads the team and has significant experience of project finance transactions.
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Testimonials
‘Knowledgeable and insightful.’
Key clients
Welsh Ministers
Transport for the North
Highways England
Work highlights
- Advised the Welsh Ministers on the development of its standard form MIM documentation, including the procurement documents, the project agreement and payment mechanism.
- Advised Transport for the North on its multi-modal account-based smart ticketing programme.
- Advised Highways England on a number of new highway improvement schemes as part of their RIS1 and RIS2 programmes.
Hill Dickinson LLP
Hill Dickinson LLP's cargo and logistics team focuses on the marine insurance, cargo, logistics and warehousing industries. Key areas of work include insurance and subrogated recovery, marine policy coverage issues, charterparty and bill of lading disputes, salvage and general average, freight recovery and liens, customs & excise issues and disputes, and risk and crisis management. Adrian Marsh heads the team and handles litigation arising from logistics, shipping and marine insurance coverage disputes in England and overseas. Caroline Bridge has significant expertise in drafting and advising upon service level agreements and standard trading conditions. Richard Allingham is also recommended.
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Testimonials
‘Adrian Marsh demonstrated excellent legal skills and gave us huge value for money.’
‘Hill Dickinson continues to be a standout firm.’
‘The advice you receive is excellent, they clearly have great knowledge, good understanding and great communication skills making them extremely easy to understand.’
Key clients
RSA
WE Cox Claims Group/WE Cox Recoveries Ltd
PCL Claims Ltd
CNA Hardy
AXA XL
Aviva
TMK
NMU (Specialty) Ltd
Agility Logistics
Hellmann Worldwide Logistics
Zurich Insurance
DSV
Work highlights
- Acted for Access World in Commercial Court proceedings.
- Acted for RSA in multiple cases defending high-value and cross-jurisdiction logistics and transportation claims.
- Advised on contractual issues arising from outbreak of coronavirus in China and impact on international sales transactions.
Weightmans LLP
Weightmans LLP deals with both contentious and non-contentious matters in the transport and shipping sectors. The practice also advises on risk management, risk avoidance, brand protection, and a range of liability issues in carriage of goods, port and terminals liability, and cargo sale and supply contracts. Phil James heads the team and acts for ship owners, ports, fleet hauliers and their specialist insurers. Mike Burns concentrates his practice on marine insurance, shipping and commercial litigation, combining both disputes and transactional work.
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Testimonials
‘Phil James is an absolute master of his craft.’
‘They are exceptional maritime lawyers. They have a detailed understanding of the industry and nothing fazes them.’
‘The expertise and knowledge both in terms of the process involved and legislative context of the issue has been second to none.’
Key clients
Peel Ports Group
Bibby Marine Limited
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty
AIG
Essar Oil UK
Hamburg Sud
Swissport
Zurich Insurance
UPS
First Group PLC
National Express Group PLC
Hoyer Group
Startstone Insurance
Kirklees Metropolitan Council
Turners
Addleshaw Goddard
Addleshaw Goddard is known for its rail and urban transit expertise. The practice covers all aspects of concessions and franchising, rolling stock, procurement, private investment and infrastructure matters for both light and heavy rail. Other key areas of work include rail disputes, regulatory issues and transport-related property matters. Legal director Ursula Gould heads the Manchester team; she advises on contracts for transport projects including expansion of light rail systems, performance payment regimes, infrastructure, tram supply and operating agreements.
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Testimonials
‘Dedicated, responsive and knowledgeable.’
Key clients
Department for Transport
Merseytravel
Road Haualge Association
London Luton Airport
Sealink Travel Group
West Midlands Combined Authority
Transport for Greater Manchester
Transport for London
Manchester Airport Group
Volkswagen AG
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Work highlights
- Advised the Department for Transport on a multi-year mandate for the West Coast Partnership Franchise.
- Advised the Road Haulage Association in collective proceedings to be brought before the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
- Advised WMCA in relation to the West Midlands Rail Programme, which involves the rebuild of two existing train stations and the construction of five new stations.
BLM
BLM specialises in personal injury, commercial, environmental and recovery claims in the coach, rail, tram, air and haulage sectors. The team handles matters including pre-litigation claims, driving prosecutions, public enquiries, credit hire, health and safety prosecutions, inquests, fraud and cost claims. Ruth Graham heads the team and specialises in catastrophic injury claims arising out of bus and coach accidents at home and abroad.
Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Simon Jones; Rachael Lumb; Joanne Francis; Andrew Millen; Helen Devery; Naomi Grant; Sarah Cartlidge; Simon Mattison
Key clients
AJG
Allianz
Brakes
DX
Expert Logistics
Hoyer
Manchester Airport
Marsh
Mersey Rail
Metroline
Metrolink
National Express
Network Rail
Northern Rail
QBE
RATP
Sainsburys
Shearings
Protector Insurance
Transdev
Warburtons
Wilis
Wolsley
XPO
DWF
DWF's dedicated transport group has extensive expertise in crisis management, health and safety, compliance, motor criminal defence, rail, coach and bus regulatory including inquests, prosecutions and investigations by the RAIB, and insurance and claims management. Defendant work for motor insurers includes advising on fraud and low velocity impact, large and catastrophic injury, subrogated recovery schemes, small and fast track litigation, legal expense schemes and credit hire schemes. Vikki Woodfine heads the team and specialises in transport regulatory and health and safety.
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Testimonials
‘The team always go the extra mile, particularly with RTA offence cases, where the policyholder is usually an individual , facing in some instances potential prison sentences. The support they provide, advice and technical knowledge reassures our policyholders at their time of greatest need. ‘
Key clients
Booker plc
Wincanton plc
Morgan McLernon
NFU Mutual
Aviva
RSA
QBE
WM Morrison Supermarkets Plc
Virado Transport Limited
Serco plc
Work highlights
- Provided 24/7 crisis response to a large UK transportation and logistics business.
- Advised a leading online retailer in relation to the transportation of hazardous goods.
- Defended a driver involved in a single vehicle fatal road traffic collision in which his front seat passenger died.
Pinsent Masons LLP
The team at Pinsent Masons LLP is adept at advising on transport infrastructure matters including rail, aviation, harbour and port projects, and large-scale road and highway projects. The team also takes on transport-related construction claims, and benefits from a close connection with the firm's specialist construction group. Other key areas of work include PFI and PPP models, international rail projects and urban transport infrastructure. Graham Alty heads the practice, and has significant transactional construction experience in managing transport projects and advising on innovative project structures.
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Key clients
Cayman Islands Government
Yapi Merkezi Insaat va Sanayi A.S.
Eiffage Genie Civil
Kier Infrastructure Overseas Limited
Heathrow Express Operating Company Limited & Heathrow AirportLimited
Vinci Construction Grands Projects
Balfour Beatty
Systra
The Manchester Airport Group
Scottish Power Renewables
Transport Infrastructure Ireland
Work highlights
- Advised on a number of matters relating to the HS2 project, including advising on an unincorporated joint venture to construct railway lines.
- Advised on procurement and project finance for the Dublin Metrolink project.
Aaron & Partners LLP
Aaron & Partners LLP advises on regulatory issues, provides representation at public inquiries, and gives strategic compliance guidance. Key areas of expertise include warehousing and the carriage of goods, waste and passengers by road; contracts and disputes, particularly those involving liens; operator licensing applications; and vehicle recovery after seizure. Tim Culpin leads the team.
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Testimonials
‘The team has a very high level of knowledge of the transport regulatory system across the country, as well as an ability to take a very complex case and distil it into a series of issue and then proceed to deal with each on its own merits in a very short space of time.’
Key clients
UK Warehousing Association
Work highlights
- Acted as honorary legal advisor to the UK Warehousing Association.
Dyne Solicitors Limited
Dyne Solicitors Limited specialises in road transport law, and handles matters including regulatory, defence and advisory work; contractual, commercial and non-regulatory work; and Trade Association-related work. John Dyne, who has extensive experience in road transport regulatory law, jointly heads the practice with Jared Dunbar, who has represented numerous national and international clients at public inquiries.
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Testimonials
‘The team’s detailed knowledge of our sector is second to none.’
‘Their approach to this field is excellent and extremely knowledgeable, working throughout the UK representing companies and individuals in public inquiries and driver conduct hearings.’
Fielden Marshall Glover Strutt
The transport practice at Fielden Marshall Glover Strutt advises on regulatory matters, particularly in relation to road transport; health and safety and environmental issue; and represents clients at public inquiries and in DVSA, police, HMRC and HSE investigations and prosecutions. Nicholas Marshall heads the Lancaster office and focuses on disputes in the transport and logistics sectors.
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