‘Noel Haywood is always available, even when matters are being dealt with by others.’

‘Vicky Hughes combines knowledge of the law with the utmost common sense. She is especially good at explaining complicated documents in the simplest possible terms and provides great reassurance.’

‘The breadth of knowledge and experience across the team, and the way everyone functions as a team, is particularly impressive. On complicated transactions, they are able to operate and collaborate across different work streams extremely effectively. From a client experience perspective, this is particularly reassuring.’

‘Tim Lake has been my point of contact for over 10 years – from when we were a very small family business through to present day. The service levels received from Tim haven’t changed a bit, and he has always handled any matter with attention and care. It’s reassuring to know I have Tim and his team looking after the legal aspects for me.’

‘ Absolutely brilliant and consistently a step ahead of the process.’

‘A high-profile team with top-tier experience working for and against on high-profile planning and development proposals. An extremely knowledgeable multi-office team which delivers great advice.’

‘Catherine Eley and James Finney have taken the trouble to really get to know our business and as a result do a first class advisory job. Quick, efficient and wide-ranging.’

‘We use Gowling WLG for industry advice that is second to none, their expertise in the automotive industry, particularly relating to health and safety, is excellent.’

‘Sarah Riding has extensive knowledge of the automotive industry, health & safety, and insurance, together with an understanding of franchising. All of this is also applied with practical commercial considerations.’

‘Genuine focus on real estate with strength in depth. Amazing client list and big deal exposure.’

‘Mike Twining is on top of every deal and offers commercial solutions.’

‘They care. They take their time to understand the business, understand the brief, and then come up with a timely and practical solution.’

‘Nick Smee, in particular, goes above and beyond. He understands the complex relationship between commercial expediency and legal necessity and manages to find the right balance.’

‘The team are very responsive and pragmatic in working with us to deliver a tailored service. The team are able to call in different departments, but the corporate department co-ordinates this in a project manager capacity.’

‘I’d like to specially mention Tom Brown, Mohammed Abbas, and Baljit Atwal for their dedication in getting a deal over the line and providing constructive solutions to mitigate any issues.’

‘Good personal touch with access to partner-level knowledge at all times.’

‘Nigel Gardner provides solid commercial advice and pays careful attention to detail. Nigel manages expectations well and delivers ahead of anticipated timescales, keeping you up to date throughout.’

‘Freeths delivers a market-leading combination of technical capability, commerciality and personal service. Access to senior members of the team is prioritised and the level of service is exemplary.’

‘Lee Clifford is an absolutely incredible partner. His ability to cut to the issues, understand what is important for his clients, and he delivers first time, every time. To get the level of capability and personal service is unusual and highly valued.’

‘Great team who clearly enjoy working with each other, which translates into a great product for their clients. This particular transaction had complexities that I have not seen in 25 years of doing deals. Mills & Reeves were outstanding.’

‘Julian Smith has a great, calming style and a good ability to step back and work out what really matters.’

‘Paul Krivosic is efficient and effective, but has a good commercial grounding coupled with pragmatism.’

‘Al Hammerton is by far the best transaction lawyer I have worked with. I have worked with him on over 20 deals for this reason. Helen Burnell is also excellent.’

‘Shoosmiths team works very well together – seamless experience working with Restructuring and Corporate team on the same transaction.’

‘James Keates is very commercial, a strong negotiator, proactive in suggesting solutions, and good at challenging the client’s thought process.’

‘Al Hetherington; very calm in difficult situations, good balance between being in the detail but still able to see the bigger picture.’

‘They are a very strong team across the board, from partner down to paralegal. An outstanding combination of market/industry knowledge, legal knowledge and deal management, delivered in a no-nonsense package.’

‘The team have an excellent attention to detail, diligent and have strong commercial acumen. What stands them apart from other lawyers, is they are approachable and are partners on the transaction rather than advisors and are low ego.’

‘The team, led by Alastair Peet, possess a unique blend of in-depth legal knowledge coupled with an entrepreneurial drive to identify and resolve issues proactively and pragmatically which enables them to deliver unparalleled client service. They collaboratively manage all aspects of a transaction to meet deadlines without fail and always develop cohesive, tested, well-balanced solutions.’

‘The individuals within the team collaboratively tackle complex issues to develop simple, achievable solutions throughout the advice they deliver. Alastair Peet is hands down one of the best lawyers I have ever worked with in any country (against a legal peer set that spans 4 continents).’

‘KPMG have a strong team to support all aspects of corporate M&A legal advice.’

‘The team were pragmatic, organised, and happy to go the extra mile when faced with late changes that challenged the completion timetable.’

‘KPMG have been very supportive and always available to provide advice for what became a very complex corporate M&A with difficult stakeholders.’

‘Jenna Ostrowski in particular has always provided timely and accurate advice and is very good to work with’

‘Thomas Swain – very responsive and collaborative and great communication throughout.’

‘Thomas Swain, Dean Chauhan and Amarit Dhaliwal were clear throughout process, provided additional support as required and remained focussed on the required work without attempting to expand scope beyond our requirements. The team were responsive to changes in scope and timing and ensured the ultimate deadlines were met.’

‘We have worked with the team in Birmingham for many years, particularly on M&A and divestments. The team is extremely capable, commercially astute and highly agile and responsive. We would wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone in this area.’

‘Keith Spedding is a top-notch lawyer who never fails to deliver on M&A and related transactions.’

‘Peter Mayhew’s team is hugely responsive and keenly aware of our often firm tax year-end driven deadlines. They really understand how our business works, both at a team and individual level, and tailor their advice and working practices accordingly. You always feel that you are their number one priority, and they work very collaboratively with us.’

‘Peter Mayhew is very responsive, highly engaged and extremely intelligent, especially on EIS and VCT tax issues. He is a walking knowledge bank of both tax matters and our previous deals, often recalling unique details of previous deals from many years ago, which proves invaluable when negotiating deals.’

‘Gweni Rees-Evans is a very strong and efficient lawyer with good deal management and communication skills.’

‘Wilkes has a genuine focus on the SME market and an understanding of the key issues that impact deals in this sector. Always pragmatic and commercial. Excellent in effectively working with other professionals.’

‘Rick Smyth is the stand-out legal adviser for SME/owner-managed businesses in the West Midlands. Yes, his legal knowledge is second to none, but beyond that he comes up with commercial and creative solutions for clients facing a range of business challenges. For owner-managers who want trusted business advisers rather than legal technicians, this skill set distinguishes Rick from his peers.’

‘The team were very personable when dealing with us, if we didn’t understand anything they would find a way of explaining it. Nothing was too much trouble or too simplistic. We were given an estimate at the beginning and informed along the way if anything was an additional cost before it was started, so there were no surprises.’

‘The corporate team guided us every step of the way, making recommendations when appropriate, being patient when needed, and robust when necessary. For us, this was a foreign environment, and they guided us through the process and made us feel very comfortable with each step.’

‘I have dealt with Wilkes for almost 20 years on a wide range of legal issues, using a number of different partners. Everyone I have dealt with has been very professional and reliable, giving sensible and solid advice.’

‘I have worked closely with Gareth O’Hara over the years, and recently on the sale of my business. I have always been reassured that all the details would be dealt with conscientiously. On the recent sale Helen Smart did a fantastic job, making sure every minute detail was dealt with, and this led to a very smooth process.’

‘Matt Hartas is our go-to at the firm.’

‘Solid firm with a proper team of skilled lawyers who are prepared to cover all business areas.’

‘John Irving is hugely experienced, which makes him very close to the business’ needs of our company. He provides effective legal advise and support, always with a view to the real world of business. He is always ready to effectively bridge the gap between the business needs and the legal frame.’

‘An extremely friendly and pragmatic team, committed to delivering client service in an accessible and sensitive manner without compromising on professionalism.’

‘Kim Klahn is a technically excellent lawyer, particularly on complex, challenging cross-border transactions. Delivers advice to her clients in a jargon-free and friendly manner.’

‘The Irwin Mitchell corporate team provides exceptional commercial support with our acquisitions. They are both competent and professional, but also easy to work with and provide focused advise. These qualities run across the team – both associates and partners – so we feel reassured whoever is acting on our transactions.’

‘Nick Dawson is an outstanding deal-doer who we have full trust and confidence in. Having acted for us on multiple acquisitions in the last 12 months, he never fails to deliver the goods. Providing commercially focused advise and an efficient service, we would not hesitate to recommend him for any corporate acquisition or disposal instructions.’

‘We have been working with PMC for a number of years now, and we remain clients because the team are reliable, efficient, challenge to us to ensure we make the right decision, timely and effective. All things we need as a client as part of our M&A process. What we like compared to other firms is the total focus from senior staff and partners. The team has sought to collaborate with us to ensure they fully understand our business and needs.’

‘The individuals are very knowledgeable in their subject matter and always seem up-to-date with key topics. They are rigorous. Always prepared to go into battle for us and not back down. We are kept up to date on issues, so nothing is last-minute. Emma Bryant is particularly tenacious and someone we have worked with for over 10 years. She understands our business and the risks we might face.’

‘The partners are very hands-on, provide exceptional advice on a timely basis, and have a fantastic network of clients making them an enjoyable team to work with. The model is very agile and the advice offered is very competitively priced.’

‘Adam McGiveron is highly commercial, has a real ability to handle difficult client situations very well and manage complex personalities, particularly during very tricky legal negotiations. Adam is very honest and trustworthy, bringing a very practical application of the law and a thoroughly rounded sounding board on a variety of business issues.’

‘Strong, experienced partners who are very good at understanding the underlying commercials and objectives, ensuring that the documents achieve and support those objectives while providing good practical advice.’

‘I have worked with Richard Wrigley for a number of years, including on various complex reorganisations, and always found him approachable, practical and commercial.’

‘You feel like you are receiving a highly personable service from a quality regional law firm, complemented by significant depth and diversity of experience that you would expect from a large international practice.’

‘Emma Bryant and Adam McGiveron tend to work as a team, providing a double headed partner service. Emma is an exceptional lawyer, with an ability to meet deadlines and make things happen. She is personable, dynamic and highly creative at resolving issues. Adam McGiveron is commercial, always demonstrating a strong grasp of a situation ahead of most other people on a transaction, but with an acute eye for the detail and an ability to articulate issues succinctly to clients. The combination of the two partners is formidable.’