The Legal 500 > United Kingdom - Solicitors > West Midlands > Corporate and commercial: Birmingham

‘An excellent range of experienced lawyers, great joined-up working with other specialisms within DLA Piper. Get the job done efficiently and effectively‘

‘Pragmatic, responsive and more then legal advisers. Rising star – Rob Shaw‘

‘Very pragmatic, responsive and personable – as well as being excellent lawyers.’

‘Theresa-Marie Stodell is very good – a quality lawyer. The honest advice is appreciated, both from a legal and commercial perspective.’

‘Mike Jackson – our partner at Browne Jacobson – is truly fantastic and a great source of both legal counsel and business and negotiation advice‘

‘Kirk Glenn & Daniel Thomas – Both exceptional associates that are on the ball and highly communicative. They manage to keep a lot of separate threads together in complex transactions‘

‘The team at Browne Jacobson has made a significant effort from our first engagement to not only get a real detailed understanding of our business but have gone a stage further to understand the different characters within the leadership team. This level of understanding helped enormously in our sale process that took a big effort from Browne Jacobson to get the drawn out process over the line‘

‘Mike Jackson (Partner) and his Birmingham team of (Clare, Francesca and Kirk) worked tirelessly on our transaction and, despite the lengthy process, remained focused and pushed all parties along. Where I think the team really stood out was its ability to see the challenges of the transaction from the ‘eyes’ of all stakeholders (management, Investors and buyers). This helped with decision making and resolving of conflicts by offering pragmatic solutions that worked‘

‘Partner-led service, deep sector knowledge, experienced team, excellent communication and delivery, solution focused.’

‘The team have really strong and detailed knowledge of IT and Cloud deployment particularly which was both highly unusual in our experience and equally incredibly helpful. One big positive with this firm is their pragmatism – the ability, and willingness, to tackle a thorny subject.’

‘Peter McLintock has extensive commercial experience; a highly credible individual and very pragmatic. Ability to cut through the fluff, agree exactly what should be done and how is compelling. Also able to flex things to meet our requirements.’

‘Mills & Reeve understands our business and offers guidance rather than just options.’

‘Pragmatic, supportive, easy to get hold of and high level of skill throughout the wider team.’

‘A trustworthy, reliable and very competent law firm‘

‘I have known Adam McGiveron for some 15 years. He is very professional, cost-efficient and highly attuned to the complex legislative framework in M&A and wider disciplines of law. He provides high quality and business friendly input‘

‘Shoosmiths appears to have an excellent culture, which translates into an excellent service (quality of advice and client service levels). Appears to have a clear policy of recruiting from large firms and providing opportunities for progression, which means that Shoosmiths partners and team members are typically technically talented / experienced whilst being engaged and motivated. Shoosmiths has a broad service offering, with specialists available for almost all of our requirements‘

‘Typically Shoosmiths partners and teams provide the ideal balance of technical proficiency and commerciality. They do not fail to highlight and explain risks, and also offer solutions to overcome issues and a pragmatic assessment of the impact of risks. They move at pace throughout a transaction and are never the cause of unnecessary delay, which is often not the case with their competitors. Ben Turner (Partner) and Nick Little (Associate) in particular typify this approach‘

‘Responsive, deep commercial knowledge, and with the scale to get things done efficiently‘

‘Stuart James, partner, is an exceptional intellect with extraordinary commercial knowledge and experience. The consensus here is that he is the most capable lawyer any of us has dealt with. He is incredibly effective and has single-handedly helped us generate revenue where we thought there was no opportunity. He has a decent team too‘

‘Seamless integration of the various technical segments offered through the corporate team. I have one point of contact who simply makes life easy and delivers high quality advice. Not just legal advice but a genuine commercial involvement in transactions and real assistance with forming a view of the issues before us‘

‘Andrew Glaze is engaged, always available and offers excellent technical, real world advice. I see him as my team mate on transactions not my lawyer. I really value his opinion. The practical issues of delivering the legal support are his and I don’t need to see them but he absolutely ensures that the big issues are surfaced early and clearly‘

‘Clear point of contact, attentive staff, value for money‘

‘Mark Gibson – practical and commercial approach. Understands our needs‘

‘Nick is very experienced, very energetic and well organised. His team has taken on all of these characteristics‘

“Nick Dawson:  experience, well connected, reasonable, able to take a firm line with his client (me!) and never loses his temper. he is everything you want in a lead partner at a law firm‘

‘Matt Smith: Matt is the perfect lieutenant. He works very long and hard, he is intelligent and experienced, yet when he is unsure of a point, he will always refer back to Nick. And he is not too proud to admit that he needs to do this. I am quite certain Matt will be a partner at the firm shortly‘

‘The main individual I worked with was Matt Smith. I valued his professional and knowledgeable approach. He was also very efficient and did not waste time, which I have known to be the case with some competitors‘

‘I work with Charlotte Avery. She is very supportive and professional. Her great strength is her attention to detail and overall understanding of any commercial challenges we face, not just the legal aspects‘

‘I think the strength of the team came from its timely responses, very organised approach and knowledge of the service I required‘

‘Very commercial and practical in how they approach problem areas.’

‘The team at Wilkes played a vital part in the successful outcome of the sale of my business. Their expert guidance was crucial in overcoming the complications presented by the international nature of this transaction and they gave me the confidence to move ahead at every step to completion‘

‘The individuals that I work with at Wilkes are approachable and present information, options and outcomes in an easy to understand way. I’d like to specifically mention Jeremy Parkin and Helen Smart, who’ve been outstanding when I’ve had cause to interact with them‘

‘Gareth O’Hara is an exceptional lawyer – highly commercial, practical advice. I would highly recommend him and his team‘

‘Feels like they instantly become part of your team and provide the advice and support required to aid you with reaching your goals‘

‘Gareth O’Hara is very personable, and leads each assignment, giving his full attention on the matters in hand‘

‘A strong team with a real can do attitude. Relentless focus on the client outcome and getting the deal done, with a refreshing approach to clear communication and minimal use of legal jargon‘

‘Gareth O’Hara – a great understanding of business and business people, thinks like a business owner meaning he focuses on the key elements and how to get the deal done. Offers wise counsel during the deal, and is honest and realistic in managing the sale/purchase process and timelines, which is crucial. An ability to “cut to the chase” helps in pulling all parties together and avoiding drift‘