The Legal 500 > United Kingdom - Solicitors > Yorkshire And The Humber > Corporate and commercial: Leeds, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire

‘The team provides practical commercial legal advice which is appropriate to the challenges we face.’

‘They find solutions to the various challenges we present to them in, at times, a challenging environment

‘The dependability is a key strength and along with their excellence in experience, skill and judgement. Their support is valued.‘

‘Customer-centric, pragmatic, commercially focused advice.’

‘A good client-centred corporate team well led by John Gallon.‘

‘Milena Falciano-Padron brings a practical, commercial approach to all matters she is engaged on. Her common sense approach is invaluable support.’

‘Matt Duncombe is a highly experienced partner who brings a sense of calm to all instructions. Focusing on the areas that make a difference in a matter, he is a great support.‘

‘Mark Cliffe is a great performer in the corporate team.‘

‘John Gallon was a strong negotiator, excellent at communicating complex ideas to his clients, very responsive and quick to deliver any required work.‘

‘Robin Skelton – exceptionally strong technical knowledge, experience and commerciality across a wide spectrum of legal subject matter.’

‘Speed of response, depth of knowledge across a breadth of areas, PE experience, international network.’

‘The team all demonstrated very strong technical skills, but importantly showed a detailed understanding of what we were trying to achieve and how it would be best achieved with the characters involved.’

‘They are very proactive, pragmatic and commercial. They never give the impression of being on the clock and are very comfortable bringing in other experts from around the firm to provide advice early in a process. As with most corporate sales processes, our sale was complicated and at times stressful, the team managed this process effectively and did much of the heavy lifting, only involving management in material issues as they arose.’

‘Hannah Kendrick is a very good relationship partner and marshals her resources well. The team is very accessible and always available.’

‘Jonathan Jones is a class act – making law simple for clients.’

‘Paul Mann has an attentive nature and makes you feel like a key client.’

‘Jonathan Jones was tireless and dedicated to explaining the deal to all parties on our side. He was also passionate about making it work for us.’

‘Jonathan Ross has been our key contact and he has orchestrated all of the firm’s resources very effectively. In a short space of time he has become a real trusted advisor. I find him to be very pragmatic in finding solutions – he seems to keep things simple when trying to solve a problem.’

‘Despite the significant size of the firm they have a very personal approach. Pragmatic and deal experienced.’

‘Dan O’Gorman is an outstanding lawyer who charges reasonable rates.’

‘Schofield Sweeney offers a very friendly and personal approach. In my experience they are effective in shielding their client from the the worst parts of the legal process, and providing us with effective solutions. This is much more effective that the “what do you want us to” approach. They have a strong team with broad experience and they undertake in-house consultations behind the scenes, delivering solutions in the clearest most helpful way.‘

‘We engaged Schofield Sweeney to provide legal support previously provided by a large London law firm. We have been impressed with the firm’s breadth of offering, clear unambiguous advice and reasonable fee structures. The range of support is important to us and it is clear the firm has excellent individuals across a range of legal areas. In addition to corporate support we have had property advice, employment advice and investment support. In a relatively short period the firm has become a trusted adviser.‘

‘First and foremost they behave like human beings, not knowledgeable automatons. They look at issues as if they were their own – taking real ownership rather than advising from the sidelines. John Robinson is an exponent of this approach. He acts as a full member of your team, rather than an external adviser.‘

‘I have very much enjoyed working with Daniel Bisby. Daniel’s main strengths include an ability to simplify complex terms and clauses for clients and to provide examples of how and when certain clauses may take effect and hence, what the implications are.’

‘David Strachan and Lucy Holroyd have the ability to communicate complex procedures to all audiences. They also look at situations practically, with an aim to finding a suitable solution.‘

‘Across the team we have found partners and staff to be very personable, responsive and a pleasure to deal with. Also a common feature is explaining some complex legal matters in simple terms- this is essential from our perspective and supports our decision making process. From experience this is not always the case with other firms.’

‘Very strong balance of capability across the team, from a technical and commercially pragmatic perspective.‘

‘Simon Pilling always goes the extra mile.‘

‘James Cook is very detailed and technically able, bringing legal to life in a commercial environment.‘

‘A friendly and approachable team with good values.‘

‘Really personable service, no-nonsense talk in simple terms, trusted advisers.‘

‘The team at Blacks Solicitors is both friendly and professional. Its most important characteristic, however, is that it gets results and produces positive outcomes. The team works across disciplines and can therefore provide a holistic service. It is also widely experienced and has a very positive reputation across the city of Leeds.‘

‘Really gets to know clients and works hard to understand their business and their transaction. Very personal service. Fantastic for MBO’s, trade acquisitions and disposals.‘

‘Dave Paterson has exceptional communication skills and always provides practical, real-world advice alongside the legal position. Very good at empathising with clients and helping get the job done.‘

‘Nick Dyson has excellent industry knowledge and the experience to find solutions, not problems; Lewis Goodwin has a breadth of knowledge and the ability to manage complex and diverse issues; Ben Finley is client focused and produces the right results efficiently and on time.‘

‘Nigel Hoyle and Alex Hall showed tremendous levels of commitment to the role, attention to detail and diligence in ensuring the end result was achieved within their clients’ expectations.‘

‘The people make this practice unique. From the partners down to executives, all are proper professionals.‘

‘We are always made to feel like their most important client, regardless of the complexity of the work requested and their advice is clear and takes into account commercial considerations.’

‘Alex Kenworthy – his attention to detail and professionalism are second to none.’

‘The Shoosmiths team provided impeccable attention to detail in their work. They were also keen to dive in and understand the nature of the business and the specifics of the deal being negotiated rather than just drafting documents as I see many firms do. In my experience, this has been the key differentiator between excellent and just acceptable representation. It was a pleasure to work with someone who was truly on your team.‘

‘Fantastic corporate, banking and property departments.‘

‘I primarily worked with Philip Goldsborough and his team. Philip was extremely attentive and detail oriented. He got down to the details of the transaction and our long-term interests to make sure that we were negotiating the best possible deal for our firm.‘

‘The legal team is quick to respond, regularly goes the extra mile when client timescales require it and always works to the agreed cost budget. There are many capable lawyers with outstanding internal communication amongst the team.‘

‘The corporate law team lead by Andy Francey have performed excellent work for us, and I consider him a trusted adviser. He and team far exceed other UK firms I’ve worked with in terms of quality of advice, quality of work, attention to detail, and speed of response. In addition, this team make transactions go more smoothly by the way all members treat all interested parties – with a professionalism that positively impacts the process and closes transactions.‘

‘The legal team is quick to respond, regularly goes the extra mile when client timescales require it and always work to the agreed cost budget. There are many capable lawyers with outstanding internal communication amongst the team.‘

‘Andy Francey is an exceptional corporate lawyer combining accessibility, responsiveness and a friendly approach with his strong knowledge of complex commercial law.‘

‘Andy Francey is a rare combination of competence and speed along with an ability to really understand and adapt to my company, board and investor’s working styles. He knows when and how to leverage the larger capabilities within Freeths, but does not abdicate the lead legal adviser. I feel very comfortable tackling complex work with high levels of uncertainty with Andy. He is dependable at addressing and eliminating risk, then ensuring all material parties are satisfied. Yes, Andy is an expert, but it is his character and his definition of excellence that makes me recommend him without reservation. Olivia Brown has also helped on investor, board and corporate matters and her strengths mirror Andy’s. She provides competent, thoughtful work very fast. She’s technically more savvy than many attorneys with whom I’ve worked. We are fortunate to have Olivia on our team.‘

‘Very strong at partner and associate level.’

‘Both Gavin Maddison (partner) and Catherine Hinchliffe (associate) very accomplished operators, and work well together as a team, they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.’

‘McCormicks’ knowledge of professional sport in general and professional football in particular made them ideal legal partners. Their calm approach and attention to detail were perfect for what was a particularly complicated deal. James Towler and Emily Steed deserve special mention.‘