Property litigation in South West

‘Burges Salmon performs strongly in this practice area. They provide high quality commercial advice which adds real value to the client. Not only are they very knowledgeable of the law but they deliver advice successfully in the context of the commercial dispute and the negotiations.’

‘Impressive versatility taking on a case where most of the legal aspects where relatively clear cut but an unsophisticated client in distressed personal circumstances required careful handling. Adapted well to changing requirements and priorities and keeping focused on a sound legal strategy even when the viewpoint and priorities offered by the client were often varied and unpredictable.’

‘All of the people that have worked with us at Burges Salmon have been incredibly creative and versatile thinkers. This is essential when dealing in property litigation. They also have very good technical, legal knowledge, which provides the foundation for such advice.’

‘James Sutherland at Burges Salmon LLP is simply excellent. He is approachable and accessible and provides clear succinct high quality commercial advice. James has a strength of really understanding the commercial context of a situation, adding real value with his advice. His quality of work and response times are impressive. James is also very personable and a pleasure to work with.’

‘James Sutherland offered clear advice on strategy and dealing with the litigation counterparties involved – pros, cons and recommendations laid out concisely, backed up by experience.’

‘Rebecca Lee is to be noted for handling difficult characters well and showing remarkable patience.’

‘The people listen to the problem and offer very good advice. They are prepared to think outside of the box in order to come up with a solution. They are also prepared to advise against litigation and not waste the client’s money.’

‘The property litigation team has great depth in and experience of Real Estate property litigation. They can handle complex legal issues with incredible ease and have strong forensic tactical knowledge. The work with and around clients, providing in depth advice and focussed litigation assistance. This also work extremely well with other legal team members, such as barristers and experts. It is difficult to overate how strong their real estate property litigation team is.’

‘Emily Van Schalkwyk is a truly outstanding lawyer. She can seamlessly move from advising on and litigating on Compulsory Purchase disputes to doing the same on Electronic Communications Code disputes. She is incredibly hardworking, extraordinarily bright and has very sound litigation judgment. She is one of the best solicitors I have worked with in 40 years at the Bar and 18 years as Q.C.’

‘Leona Briggs is also a first class litigator. She is very hardworking, has sound litigation judgment and really knows the law in her subject areas.’

‘The team has excellent knowledge across the real estate litigation sphere and specialist expertise in telecoms disputes. In respect of the latter the team offers impressive commercial nous and knowledge of the industry, and an ability to work well with demanding clients in concert with counsel. They provide City of London firm level care and skill in case management, at extremely competitive rates.’

‘Leona Briggs provides invaluable oversight and guidance, managing the demands of clients with a level-headed sense of pragmatism whilst achieving solid results.’

‘The team we work with are always avaliable, prompt with any considerations and listen to our specific critera or concerns and revert appropriatly with a well rounded and helpful response – taking into consideration our business, commercial opperations and specific issues, concerns and criteria (of the owners). The team is concise and direct, which we appreciate.’

‘Emily Van Schalkwyk has a natural ease and confidence with clients and counsel, as well as a deep understanding of the telecoms sector and the interests of mobile operators. Sound and savvy.’

‘Always available, professional, understanding, engaged, focused, timely and with on-point solutions.’

‘Womble Bond Dickinson have first rate property litigation department. They have a wealth of talent from partner level down and a constant stream of top drawer work. I have worked with them for at least 15 years and dealt with a variety of commercial landlord and tenant matters, cases which have always been managed and prepared to the highest standard. I have recommended them to a number of other clients because I cannot think of a safer pair of hands for real estate work.’

‘Very strong property litigation team with a lot of experience of infrastructure related disputes.’

‘James Rees is a very experienced and knowledgable solicitor.’

‘The team are very client focused. They always think of the best legal team to use and when, and how, it is best to use Counsel. They are a very nice firm to work with.’

‘ James Rees gets on top of a dispute from the outset. He always structures the best team for the job and helps formulate and lead a sound strategy to resolve disputes quickly and cost effectively.’

‘Naomi Cunningham  is good at looking at problems from more than one angle, and she can be very persuasive in negotiations.’

‘Sasha Hinton – since promotion to partner, she has become a real presence in the sector and deals with some of the firm’s biggest clients and works hard to achieve results.’

‘Very strong real estate litigation practice working on matters such as complex repossession actions raising consumer mis-selling issues.’

‘Ashfords have a practical and realistic approach to their work.’

‘Warren Reid has great depth of knowledge and sound judgement on what is realistic and cost effective.’

‘James Helmsley and Sophie Michaelides are stand out performers with real expertise in real property law disputes. Both have good technical knowledge and combine that knowledge with commerciality. The team is a pleasure to work with and they attract very good work across the South West.’

‘Strong and genuine specialisation in this area, rather than general litigation practice. A significant number of partners and associates who understand real estate disputes and litigation very well. ’

‘A very strong team with great levels of experience, expertise, and understanding of the law and the commercial realities’

‘Rob Nicholson – really good lawyer; great commercial nous.’

‘This practice has a very personal approach and seeks to develop a lasting professional relationship with their clients. Compared to other firms in the area, Ashfords, quite simply “know their stuff”. Advice and guidance provided is concise and accurate according to the law with an application of “common sense”. All in all an excellent legal partner for any business.’

‘Bevan Brittan has an extremely strong, experienced and well-regarded real estate litigation practice. They have strength in depth, some very big clients and a rich stream of interesting work. They have impressed me this year by managing some heavy pieces of litigation seamlessly, and with good use of technology, during the pandemic period.’

‘Steve Eccles does a lot of work for local authorities and NHS bodies and is particularly strong in real property cases with a public law angle to them; and has good knowledge familiarity with how local and public authorities operate and litigate, which I know is much appreciated by those clients. He is clearly interested in the detail of the finer legal arguments, but never loses sight of the bigger, commercial picture – he keeps his eyes firmly on the prize. I would have no hesitation recommending him to clients.’

‘Excellent property legal knowledge. Practical, accurate advice and common sense approach. Attention to detail. Effective case management and ability to manage multiple cases. Swift assistance. ’

‘Kevin Dawson is an excellent and experienced Senior Associate, providing expert advice on property. Knowledgeable, professional, efficient, responsive, patient and easy to work with. Great from start to finish! ’

‘Bevan Brittan are a modern, pragmatic and commercially focused firm. They are very responsive to our needs and frequently provide usual updates or sector specific knowledge and advice.’

‘Kate Hicks – a good senior associate who is involved in management of the team and the client relationship management. Always thorough and well prepared.’

‘Excellent property legal knowledge. Practical, accurate advice and common sense approach. Attention to detail. Effective case management and ability to manage multiple cases. Swift assistance. ‘

‘Steve Eccles is a pleasure to work with. Down to earth, pragmatic with impressive legal expertise. I would strongly recommend his services.’

‘Strong local regional presence, personal service, partner led. Assisted on virtual reality arbitration with all documents and hearings conducted remotely via Opus Platform.’

‘Neil Ham – very knowledgeable in real estate (litigious and non litigious), personal service, thinks of all the angles.’

‘Their organisation and focus are very impressive. They are a well resourced and knowledgeable team.’

‘Kary Withers is superb.’

‘A very strong property litigation team with considerable experience in disputes about development land valuations and infrastructure as well as all the more common types of property litigation.’

‘A very strong presence in the real estate litigation market in the South West, attracting some significant clients.’

‘Rachel Small – good with the detail of a case.

‘Patrick Weatherall – a strong leader of the team.’

‘Patrick Weatherall and Edward Venmore both use their experience and expertise to achieve great results, often without appearing particularly hostile. I think the team follow the direction of Patrick who is calm and effective, but has a steel backbone where required.’

‘The team is solutions focussed and client centric, they adapt to our own internal processes and documentation and turn matters around quickly.’

‘A strong team with a high reputation particularly in the South West. As a mediator I get to see how they deal with opponents and their own clients and have seen they are effective and well respected.’

‘Lester Aldridge provides a high level of service. The Partners get involved in the work rather than just acting as coordinators. LA are able to view matters from the perspective of their client’s business and not only the legal perspective and are therefore able to present a range of options to their client.’

‘Kate Stewart has provided an excellent legal service and demonstrated an ability to tackle complex and tricky situations amidst the Covid pandemic and an ability to simplify legal matters and present options to her client in an understandable fashion.’

‘Rachel Gimson has achieved outstanding results in all that she has done for us.’

‘Rachel Gimson is our contact in the litigation team. She is always available to discuss matters and is succinct in her precise replies to our questions’

‘The TLT team is outstanding, clearly the best of its kind in the region. ’

‘Mark Routley is a seriously impressive litigator. He has a masterful appreciation of the law behind every case, and knows how to apply it to the facts in the most effective way, so he can secure the best possible outcome for his clients in every case.’

‘Knowledge and advice provided in hospitality, licensing and pubs code, and associated support on agreement strategy. Proactive and supportive, the best in the industry in these areas.’

‘Mark Routley – industry expert in his field, the go to person on Pubs Code advice.’

‘Kane Kirkbride has exceptional knowledge of the social housing sector which means that he understands the appetite for risk and the constraints we have in terms of our social purpose. It also means that he understand the importance of governance and the requirement for the board to be fully appraised of the risks with regards to litigation outcomes. He made himself available to the board and explained not only the process but the basic legal arguments and potential outcomes in a way which simplified without patronizing. This went a long way to helping the board make explicit their risk appetite in line with key regulatory requirements including value for money and financial sutainability. ’

‘They are approachable’

‘A strong team of talented professionals with considerable experience in real estate litigation across a range of fields. The team works seamlessly across its London and Cheltenham offices.’

‘Very good strength in depth. All members of the team I have dealt with, whether in the Cheltenham or London offices, have been excellent lawyers who are easy to work with.’

‘Emma Preece has a good sense of the merits of an argument and is responsive and personable.’

‘CRS are always on the ball. They provide clear and thorough instructions which are usually targeted at all the right issues. They are always willing to go the extra mile for the client even when the battle is extremely uphill.’

‘A pretty seamless team across both London and the South West – one team across both offices means that they can get the levels of experience, expertise, people and cost just right, which is what many property clients demand. Very responsive.’

‘Samuel Lear – really building up his expertise and experience; well attuned to client aims.’

‘Emma Humphreys – excellent lawyer; very commercial, with a good strategic mind; very focused on client aims, on managing a case efficiently, and on achieving the right outcomes.’

‘David Haines: simply brilliant. Very clever, measured but tough when necessary.’

‘Highly professional, forward thinking, personable – I have limited involvement but have found them to be a firm of “excellence”.’

‘Hannah Dare has been very easy to deal with, skilled and proactive.’

‘During a difficult time for us in relation to the dispute we are having and with the complication of the Covid-19 crisis, Steele Raymond have continued to provide a top class service utilising whatever technology was necessary. It is clear that the firm quickly got to grips with the requirements and through excellent teamwork have kept everything running smoothly.’

‘Amelia Williams has been on top of the case from day one, hugely supportive, always available and always willing to give the advice we need, favourable to our case or not. We wanted to do things correctly, no corner cutting, no opportunism and in Amelia we have found an advisor who fits the bill perfectly.’

‘Steele Raymond have in-depth knowledge of the local market on the South Coast and the needs of their particular clients which I think many regional firms do not. The team is very client focussed, even inviting Counsel to attend client events to demonstrate to their clients the full range of services they can obtain through the firm.’

‘Hannah Dare is a stand out of the firm and will no doubt make partner in a short space of time. She is incredibly capable at managing clients and takes a commercially sensible approach to litigation, ensuring clients enter into the process with their eyes wide open. Hannah is a collaborative lawyer and often involves other members of the team in her matters. Hannah is a delight to work with and I have no doubt she will go far within the firm.’

‘I have also been fortunate to work with Amelia Williams on a particularly difficult and involved neighbour dispute. Amelia has managed the case impeccably, especially in dealing with aggressive and unpleasant litigant in person opponents. Amelia works around the clock to ensure clients get the best service possible and I very much look forward to continuing to work with her in the future.’

‘I have worked with Amelia Williams and Laura Offer both at this firm and their previous one. They are both a pleasure to work with. They perform very well, whilst being very approachable and always having time to listen.’

‘Great practice which is particularly good at property issues for charities.’