‘Simon Wright is easy to get along with, responsive and always makes himself available. Special shout out for his associate Kirsty Underhill who is organised, thorough and definitely one to watch.’

‘Our partner was Tim Lake, who we have worked with for over 10 years. He set out his strategy clearly, both at a global level and before and during each work-stream, and then achieved all key points through the negotiations. I cannot speak highly enough of Tim.’

‘Other members of the team included Simon Wright, Kirsty Underhill and Peter McHugh. All three were excellent and we wouldn’t have achieved in the timescales without their efforts.’

‘Charles Cook: pragmatic, knowledgeable and available to provide counsel when needed Kirsty Underhill: helpful and knowledge for day-to-day company advice and listing rules.’

‘DLA Piper has advised the business for more than 25 years and supported our growth, including internationally. We find the quality of their people, their responsiveness and commerciality very good. They are not cheap and so would not use them for some types of work and we look to different providers of legal services. We haven’t experience of any particular service innovations.’

‘We get a good reliable service across the piste. Several individuals with whom we work closely with in the CoCo area in the UK are Robert Newman, Kirsty Underhill, Ryan Harrison and Kurt Davies.’

‘Ryan Harrison provides brilliant commercial advice with a quick turnaround and has really got to know the business well.’

‘Ryan Harrison gets to know the business and what is needed. Provides brilliant commercial advice quickly and always on point.’

‘Really collaborative, practical and commercial. Great to work with, always sees the clients’ point of view, but is not afraid to give strong advice when it is required.’

‘Nigel Cooke is a very practical and excellent advisor. A strong communicator, with the ability to break down complex legal issues into simple points which enables clean decision making. Very likeable and easy to work with, even in negotiations with other side. Most parties end up agreeing with him as he has a very practical and agreeable style that always delivers commercial outcomes that are best for the client.’

‘Great depth and bench strength within the team. Very client-focused and supportive with client initiatives.’

‘James Finney is across the details and provides an excellent service. Catherine Eley is very client focused.’

‘Responsive, proactive, knowledgeable.’

‘Ability to provide an end-to-end service, covering multiple disciplines whilst maintaining a single point of contact.’

‘Responsive and always provide excellent commercial advice.’

‘Steven Hacking has been an excellent relationship partner, ensuring we are being supported for whatever the project – employment law, administration, property or corporate advice. It is truly appreciated. David Gray was a standout support. Always at the end of a phone.’

‘Sarah Riding has an excellent knowledge of her field and applies commercial considerations to her advice.’

‘Personable, quick response, able to understand the sector. What was also important was the ability of the team to apply a more flexible, collaborative approach to the challenge we faced.’

‘I found both partners and associates to be easy to do business with and very responsive.’

‘Engaging, swift to deal with queries/contracts, and clear in advice.’

‘Gowling WLG took the time to really understand our business and tailor a package to provide support to us where needed in all areas of the business.’

‘Gowling WLG has a knowledgeable team and are able to answer any questions quickly and efficiently. They are able to utilise experts and specialists from within their organisation, and have a European office presence, which proves helpful when discussing commercial matters across geographical jurisdictions.’

‘Level of priority given to our work even if we haven’t instructed the firm for a period of time / quick turnarounds. Practical advice and solutions based on a good knowledge of our industry and background to the contractual arrangements we already have in place.’

‘Alistair Hammerton is exceptional from a technical and commercial perspective. He has a lot of deals under his belt,  and as a result, knows how to move a transaction along.’

‘A very personable and diligent team.’

‘Hard-working team that takes the time to understand client needs – its associate group is now very strong – Alastair Peet is a market leader, always available and has creative solutions to issues. Very reasonable fee structures.’

‘Alastair Peet is a standout partner. He has an exceptional attention to detail whilst making transactions happen within a tight time frame. He demonstrates great commercial acumen.’

‘The Shoosmiths corporate legal team focuses on your needs and outcomes. They bring a depth of knowledge and a thoughtful and practical approach to each stage of the corporate development journey.’

‘The team are open, good listeners who bring great advice and counsel. Trust is at the heart of a great deal and they have a collaborative style in shaping a deal. They set good expectations, meet deadlines and drive the process.’

‘Our experience with the Shoosmiths corporate team has been very good. They are responsive, cost-effective and work closely with each other to ensure pace is maintained on transactions.’

‘They work hard to identify solutions to known problems and have a good commercial awareness to deliver great client outcomes. In particular, I would name Alastair Peet, Marcus-Adam Tuck and Natalia Tombs as being a particularly effective team.’

‘Commercial, personable, mid-sized, pragmatic, with good value.’

‘Partner Gareth Davies and senior associate Clare Hanna always show excellent response time and get straight to the commercial and legal heart of each matter.’

‘Gareth Davies and Matthew Dorman are absolutely stand-out individuals. They work relentlessly to meet our needs, they are commercial in their approach, they tailor their style to meet the needs of different individuals. They are also fun to work with, personable and feel like an extension of our team.’

‘The people make the practice unique, they are relationship-driven and work relentlessly to meet their clients’ needs.’

‘The team is efficient, knowledgeable and very easy to work with.’

‘Ryan Hawley and Christina O’Brien are a fantastic team who quickly understand issues and are always pragmatic in their advice. They are also excellent on invoice transparency.’

‘The team is extremely knowledgeable and adept at applying legal solutions to the commercial reality, delivered with professionalism and good humour. When we instruct the team, they work as an extension to our in-house functions, which contributes to collaborative and cohesive working.’

‘Approachable, down to earth, responsive.’

‘Jayne Hussey is extremely experienced and gives sound, practical advice. Very helpful across all aspects of deals.’

‘Our main lawyer is Emma Bryant, who acts for us on all corporate and M&A matters. Emma’s dedication to getting us the right result is exemplary. Emma never brings problems to us without any proposed solutions.’

‘Adam McGiveron’s clients trust him highly. His high degree of enthusiasm is refreshing to see. He adopts a solutions-based approach when addressing unforeseen issues.’

‘They are an excellent firm with a hands-on and commercial focus which is important in corporate finance transactions. Always willing to help and provide constructive advice, they always go the extra mile.’

‘PMC’s partners did a fantastic job. They consistently demonstrated their competence, helping drive the transaction forward. I would have no hesitation in recommending them in the future.’

‘I have worked with two partners within PMC’s restructuring team: Adam McGiveron and Emma Bryant, and I have been very impressed with both. Their grasp of detail, understanding and application of the associated legalities, commercial rationale and approachable nature, makes them a pleasure to work with.’

‘A broad range of areas of legal expertise and specialist support within the firm all of which were relevant to the transaction they handled on our behalf.’

‘Excellent support, advice and communications throughout the M&A process from the team involved in our transaction, notably Jody Webb.’

‘Keith Spedding and his team are an absolutely top-notch unit, with great depth of experience on commercial and M&A matters. The service level is second to none, and the team combine great advice with a pragmatic approach, to get things done quickly and efficiently.’

‘The two people we work with most are Keith Spedding and Jennie Davis. Both of them do a superb job of marshalling their resources to get the best results in the shortest timescales. They have a fantastic customer service ethic.’

‘Team have the ability to combine both legal and technical/regulatory skills with their considerable market experience and commercial knowledge.’

‘Expertise in the VCT sector is provided by Peter Mayhew, who brings commitment and availability.’

‘I can always rely on Rick Smyth get to the heart of a business issue (not just the legal aspects) and come up with a creative solution that works for all parties. A skilled negotiator and trusted adviser to business owners.’

‘Gareth O’Hara: exceptional customer care/understanding, extremely efficient and total honesty with fees.’

‘I would strongly recommend partner Gareth O’Hara and solicitor Christie Nelson. Christie is very hard-working, and we trust her to complete any assignments we have. Both Gareth and Christie get to know their clients and have helped our business complete two large transactions over the past 10 years.’

‘Lucy Freeman (associate) has a calm manner, is well-organised and gets things done.’

‘Rick Smyth is able to effectively communicate complex legal issues in a clear and understandable way.’

‘Matt Hartas embodies the firm’s approach – pragmatic, with risks explained and mitigated as appropriate.’

‘Extremely knowledgeable, flexible and hard-working. The Clarke Wilmott team are very professional, embrace new technologies of communication and importantly translate very complex important legal terms/clauses with care and attention to ensure you fully understand.’

‘Kim Klahn is approachable, experienced and very knowledgeable. Kim will fight your corner with extreme vigour and advise you in layman’s terms. Kim is transparent, concise and efficient, and I would definitely recommend anybody to utilise her services.’

‘Technically capable, friendly and approachable, the complete package.’

‘Kim Klahn is a technically gifted lawyer. I have worked with her for many, many years. She is my go-to for those deals where I anticipate some complex issues may arise. She is able to break down complicated points of law into language that clients understand and knows how to drive through the required changes in an efficient and pragmatic manner.’

‘I have recently worked with Aidan Clucas in Kim’s team, who is a very talented young lawyer.’

‘The team provides a very supportive and collaborative approach which is flexible and fits our business’ needs well.’

‘We have a dedicated point of contact within the team, Matt Whelan, who takes the time to listen to our situation, help us sound out potential solutions and connect us with others within the firm who can assist us when needed. Our senior contact partner, Amardeep Gill, is also very supportive both in terms of general workload and support, and also for checking in with me to offer support and help plan for the future. Matt, Amardeep and the rest of the team we have dealt with, have all been excellent and paint a very positive picture of the firm.’

‘The Trowers team are all very personable, reliable, communicative and knowledgeable on all sizes of transactions.’

‘Highly responsive, accessible and commercial. Clear advice and easy to deal with.’