The Legal 500 > United Kingdom - Solicitors > South East > Commercial property: Hampshire

‘Graham Bennett is exceptionally competent.‘

‘Blake Morgan is able to solve a range of complex site transactions through the wide experiences of their team.‘

‘Stephen Ball is the partner who is my principle contact. He is a very knowledgeable, personable and proactive lawyer. I would have no issue recommending to others within the Housebuilding and Development Industry.‘

‘The firm has a fantastic array of staff displaying competence in all manner of legal issues. Moore Barlow is a firm I would choose to use over many others due to their approach to the work undertaken.‘

‘The Southampton team is competent, excellent at working to deadlines, approachable.  Typically very close to quote.‘

‘Luc Algar is always available and friendly and differentiates himself with his desire to engage.  He balances understanding of the key legal issues with commercial competence rather bogging us down in “Legalese”.‘

‘Easy to approach. All round professional team who clearly enjoy what they do and display good interaction between their respective colleagues/departments.‘

‘Renowned professional legal services business.  They are supported and led by a very capable management team and provide leading service in a wide variety of legal services.‘

‘Joanne Spittles is a very approachable lawyer with an extensive knowledge of property law.  She is adept at providing common sense solutions which enable deals to happen and which ultimately benefit her clients in both a material and financial sense.‘

‘I’ve dealt with Paris Smith for approximately 15 years and what I’ve noticed is the Partners have been in place for a considerable amount of time and therefore there is continuity in the service. I also find that they have a great deal of pragmatism with their advice, which tends to result in transactions being less problematic.‘

‘Partners offer consistency, professionalism and continuity which more often than not results in transactions running smoothly. In particular Joanne Spittles provides sound advice whilst at the same time ensuring the commercial aspects of the deal remain in the client’s favour. Similarly Victoria Onoufriou, always takes a considered view on contractual matters in order to conclude a transaction.‘

‘Paris Smith are an extremely confident and professional firm to work with and knowing you have the team’s expertise behind you is very comforting. We used numerous practices in the past before having Paris Smith recommended to us and the fact we are still using Paris Smith after 12 years speaks volumes.‘

‘Experienced team who keep you informed in the process. Can take a common sense approach when required or explain the risks in making a decision to enable swift completion if up against tight time frames.‘

‘Ability to cut to the chase and prioritise actions in a very simplistic way. Peter Swinburn would be my standout individual.‘

‘Knowledgeable, focused and responsive.‘

‘Clarke Willmott have a responsive and professional team who we hold in the highest regard and trust to deal with our matters. They are nice people to work with and we consider them to be part of our team.‘

‘All of the team are an asset to the firm. I have worked with a few over the years and each has the same professional, committed approach to the work and not once do they seem phased by the amount of work we put their way. We consider them to be a valuable resource, in particular Paul Hinett who has been our main solicitor for a decade now and we see as the best in our specialist market.‘

‘Professional and diligent and always available and willing to find solutions.‘

‘Peter Swinburn is outstanding and leads his team by example.‘

‘The commitment to us is second to none – Lester Aldridge always put our commercial interests at forefront of mind; have an excellent commercial awareness, which they balance with the interpretation and application of relevant law and regulation; and are viewed by us as being an integral part of our business and in particular, of our Land, Planning and Development team…..rather than simply being an adviser to the company. Moreover, they are proactive in providing support, and consistently recommend improvements to our business operations, policies and processes.‘

‘Roger Woolley and Mark Benham are exceptional lawyers. They have both worked with and have supported us for many years, and have consistently provided a superb service via robust legal advice, while appreciating the wider commercial interests of the business. They are both highly talented and experienced property lawyers, who come with a good sense of humour and an ability to get on well with everyone (at all levels within our organisation), and both (together with  their teams) are prepared to go the extra mile in order to help us achieve our business goals and targets.‘

‘Knowledgeable and very pro-active in providing solutions.‘

‘ Sian Rowland is always upbeat and helpful.  Nothing is too much trouble and she has a pragmatic and practical approach to ensure transactions are moved forward promptly.‘

‘I feel the strength of LA is their team work. There is a very strong cohesive team with a great “can do” attitude. Any problems can quickly be answered and often with think out of the box solution.‘

‘Roger Woolley’s outside the box thinking is like no other. His thinking is strategic not just on the deal or problem we are working on but for the company as a whole.‘

‘Great service and full advice.‘

‘Georgina Massey is probably the best solicitor that we deal with.  Timely, approachable but, legally, rapier sharp and no-nonsense.‘

‘Very capable, professional commercial property team, able to deal with a wide variety of unexpected situations, in addition to the normal commercial lease renewals, rent reviews, dilapidations. All of the team are always quick to respond to telephone calls or emails in a calm, friendly but professional way.‘

‘Jessica Ready has a very organised and calm approach to dealing with everything that we throw at her and the team and is incredibly thorough and careful in all her preparation.‘

‘The Property and Planning teams have given me total and undivided support over the recent months and achieved results that seemed impossible/extremely unlikely in the timescale indicated at the outset of the tasks.‘

‘Tina  Webster worked all hours including weekends to motivate and  encourage her various teams to complete very complex and challenging projects.  She took control  from the outset and ensured/achieved  results from other professionals outside her own practice.‘

‘Samuel  Knight faced continual changes to his task but took them all in his stride.‘

‘The work that I have seen from them has been top notch – comprehensive, accurate, but easy to understand and very commercial and sensible in its outlook and recommendations.‘

‘Tina Webster gets to grip with the issues very effectively; spots the difficulties coming down the line, and asks all the right questions; very easy work with.‘

‘Peter Green is very experienced, reliable and not inclined to score points for the sake of it.  Samuel Knight is very professional and good at getting to grip with the details, he understands why something is important and follows through.‘

‘There is excellent teamwork amongst the property team and where specialist advice is needed, an individual will confer with an appropriately experienced colleague to come back with good advice. I find Tina Webster extremely experienced and she gives excellent advice.‘

‘Always available and on hand – nothing too complicated or difficult to handle.‘

‘Melanie Trim is a delight to work with. Knows how to handle lawyers on the other side and agents alike. Super efficient, excellent work ethic and gets the deals done!‘

‘Pragmatic solution-driven team, who have a thorough understanding of the work they are tasked with.’

‘They are very client-facing, are able to deconstruct a situation and create solutions.’

‘The team benefits from a broad practice area with great depth of knowledge in anything from planning and car parking issues to litigation. Foot and Anstey are our go to on all things property, providing high quality and innovative solutions.’

‘Carol Phillips is outstanding in every way. Having worked in house Carol really understands the key commercial drivers for businesses and her advice is always incisive and pragmatic. She is a calm presence who knows how to keep deals running smoothly. Carol is an impressive lawyer.’