Firm Profile > PwC LLP > Manchester, England

‘PwC is an emerging force in employment law, expanding beyond its core business of corporate advisory and business consultancy work and providing a full suite of legal services directly to clients.’ 

‘Laura Nadel is highly intelligent and inquiring. She likes to test each argument from multiple angles to ensure they withstand scrutiny. Very client-focused.’ 

‘Because of PwC’s role in the financial world and as trusted advisers in all things tax-related, it makes it uniquely positioned to provide support in employment status/tax status cases/claims.’ 

‘Grounded, approachable and pragmatic – they go straight to the heart of complex legal matters and explain them in a way which is user friendly and easy to work with.’ 

‘The practice is able to operate with the other parts of PwC to provide an integrated legal service which means they can meet all the client needs with a multidisciplinary team.’ 

‘The firm worked for us as the overall advisers for a cross-border, multi-country Brexit project. I was very impressed by the legal team. Cynthia Chan led the work effectively and efficiently and ensured a highly responsive overall approach from her team. The advice was clear, practical and to the point, and the team was very responsive to any queries that arose. The team also co-ordinated the cross-border aspects of the work very well, working extremely effectively with their international network.‘

‘Cynthia Chan is responsive, highly practical and focuses on meeting client needs in the most cost-effective way possible. Cynthia kept abreast of all aspects of the project during more than two years and when further matters came up several months later she immediately grasped the issues and proposed how best to address them.‘

‘Laura Freestone is able to offer clear, practical advice and is extremely responsive, typically coming back on queries in a matter of hours. A lot of complicated restructure documentation (much of it cross-border) was produced to a very high standard.‘

‘The PWC Legal team is the most established of the legal functions offered by the Big Four accountants and that depth of experience shows. In my experience, the greater knowledge within the team and the fact that they have a number of now senior partners who have grown within the PWC Legal team means that they offer a service equivalent to the leading UK law firms in the transactions fields. They have a particular expertise in transacting cross-border mergers and probably have the industry leading practice in that area.’

‘The team is run well by Georgie Blyth and Cynthia Chan, supported by a number of excellent associates.’

‘A stable of strong reorganisation specialists with a physical presence in almost every significant market. Smooth one-shop operation for international reorganisations.‘

‘Detail oriented, quality controlled, centrally coordinated process in running international reorganisations.‘

‘The team has a specific focus on multi-jurisdictional corporate restructurings. This has enabled them to hone their tools, precedents and ways of working to maximise the efficiency with which such restructurings can be undertaken. Outcome-focused and cost-effective.‘

‘Laura Freestone is technically strong and has great underlying knowledge on how to ensure delivery of corporate restructuring across multiple jurisdictions and to aggressive timelines.‘

‘The team is fantastically supportive and always willing to go the extra mile to help.‘

‘Strong knowledge, great experience, engaged and interested.’

‘Personal interest in success, keen understanding of our business priorities.’

‘A highly effective team of solicitors, in-house barristers and accountants with unrivalled specialist knowledge of this sector. Involved in many of the cutting-edge pieces of litigation challenging HMRC decisions.’

‘David Anderson is calm in a crisis – proficient, personable and effective.’

‘Prinal Nathwani is an effective litigator, and a pleasure to work with.’

‘An excellent team that is able to deal with any form of serious tax dispute with HMRC.’

‘A highly effective team of solicitors, in house barristers and accountants with unrivalled specialist knowledge of this sector.’

‘David Anderson is a superb litigator with a wealth of experience.‘

‘Mark Whitehouse has vast experience of dealing with and litigating against HMRC and is able to deploy it in a strategically savvy and highly effective manner.‘

‘A highly effective team of solicitors, in house barristers and accountants with unrivalled specialist knowledge of this sector. Involved in many of the cutting edge pieces of litigation challenging HMRC decisions. They bring real tactical acumen to any case. Also proven track record of negotiating successful outcomes before litigation develops.’

‘The people I have dealt with are highly knowledgeable, professional and engaged. Also excellent at helping non-legal people understand the implications and nuances of dealing with legislation and HMRC.’

‘David Anderson has deep knowledge of VAT law and is pragmatic.’

‘The huge range of work that the PwC empire brings to its pensions team makes it stand out from the crowd‘.

‘The ability within the firm to access actuarial and benefit design expertise is a real strength, which sets them apart from solicitor firms‘.

‘Their team thinks about issues and problems from the client’s perspective, considering understanding the broader environment rather than simply the narrow legal issue‘.

‘Oliver Reece manages with aplomb an enormous workload and numerous competing claims on his time; he is tireless, energetic and a great creative blue-sky thinker. Fraser Sparks is more low key than Oliver, and they form an excellent double act; careful, perceptive and persistent, he is always looking for novel solutions to his cases. David Farmer is forceful, commercial and a considerable presence both personally and intellectually‘.

‘David Farmer has extensive pensions experience in specialist pensions departments in solicitors firms. He has a very practical approach, even when dealing with rather impractical clients. He is someone whom clients clearly respect and have confidence in‘.

‘David Farmer is especially client-friendly. He gets inside their business and helps to address issues that really matter to them‘.

‘The team is very commercially focused and runs a highly efficient operation.’

‘Amit Unadkat is attuned to the business needs of the client and is very commercially astute, making sure he provides a first class service.’

‘The team is well organised and run by people with high expertise in the real estate sector. One of their strengths is that they can provide sophisticated professional services of not only legal matters, but also other professional areas such as tax and accounting.’

‘An extensive global reach to service cross-border deals. Strong on tax and structuring.’

‘Amit Unadkat is very commercial and has a good understanding of cross-border deals. Strong also on inbound real estate investment into the UK.

‘Amit Unadkat is very knowledgeable on all aspects of transactions, however complicated. I have a great deal of confidence in his capabilities of the transaction he is dealing with for me. There are various members of his team who are very efficient in assisting him with this matter. They are all very polite and informative.’

‘The practice is unique in that they provide traditional law firm services alongside other necessary deal services which are provided by accountancy firms. My observation is that this integrated model delivers significant benefits in terms of joined-up thinking and approach, and coordination efficiencies. The team itself is dynamic and innovative, and delivers to a very high technical standard, in a commercial and pragmatic way. I have enjoyed working with them.’

‘The team at PwC are well rounded and effective collective to work with. Their insight into all things property is admirable. The industry knowledge and site specific detail is far superior than other firms we have met.’

‘Amit Unadkat is a subject matter expert in this field. It would be fair to say that many of the acquisitions our firm made were transacted with his skill, but more importantly, guidance. His inside track on deals all over the city is to be admired. There are many within this field but he stands out as one to watch. A rising star at the top of his game.’

‘Amit Unadkat is an excellent communicator and business connector. An excellent legal professional who understands the wider context of clients’ businesses.’

‘Their ability to leverage the experience and skills of a broader accountancy and professional services practice makes PwC’s Legal team a great choice for a complex multi-disciplinary project. Solutions are worked through with tax and accounting colleagues in an efficient manner, before being presented to clients, which is reassuring given the number of issues to manage on any transaction.’

‘Amit Unadkat is strong technically and commercially and leads his teams exceptionally well.’

The PwC employment team have excellent technical knowledge of the area, and, as you might expect, are also extremely good at managing a contentious matter.

Chris Perkins is an excellent employment lawyer, with great depth of understanding of the field, and a delight to work with, too.

Tom Ince – Attentive and thorough client service

Ed Stacey is a charmingly urbane partner who gets his hands dirty when required but is a reassuringly and charismatic leader

Tom Kerr-Williams has extensive industrial relations and national minimum wage practical experience. He has an excellent strategic brain and is also very pragmatic and innovative in his thinking.

A powerhouse in addressing all employment matters. Strength in depth across the experienced team. Stars shine out at every level and a fantastic team approach ensures that specialist knowledge is shared between them. A joy to work with. Work extremely hard for the client to get the right result.

 Tilly Harries is a good leader. Able to take great tactical decisions whilst overseeing her cases.

The team that we work with is much, much more than legal advisers; they bring tremendous value to the relationship and this is something we have truly appreciated over the years. They put themselves in our shoes, are encouraging of questions and not at all fazed by challenges. We have truly valued the excellent support, advice and expertise that they have provided. It is always a highly positive client experience.

Dipti Hunter (Senior Associate) is smart, tough and widely experienced. She has litigated all sorts of disputes (with all sorts of interim applications) in all sorts of different jurisdictions. There’s nothing she can’t handle.

PwC has a robust disputes team with experienced focused litigators.

Dipti Hunter is an exceptionally tenacious litigator who leaves no stone unturned.

I have worked with Dipti Hunter who is a superb Senior Associate. She has the mental agility to administer large commercial matters of significant complexity. A real interest in commercial and banking law. A superb team leader of the sort that is vital in a commercial matter of any scale. A loyal team player who is unrelenting in the service of her clients.

‘The PwC team is establishing itself well in this highly competitive sector, with a range of forensic investigation and advisory skills’.

‘Nabeel Osman has strong investigative skills and is very adept at putting together the right team to meet corporate clients’ needs’.

‘Nabeel Osman has a very “can do” approach and is instrumental in establishing his team as a market force’.

‘The team has very good experience in what is a specialist area’.

‘The team was competent, approachable and delivered results in the expected timescales’.

‘A close-knit team that works together to solve problems and deliver for clients. They know their clients inside and out and are well led by Annalie Croney. They are commercial in their approach and don’t engage in intellectual point-scoring.’

‘They stand out for their knowledge and diligence, and seem to be available almost 24/7. We love working with Annalie Croney; she builds great relationships with both us and the opposing counsel to ensure deals progress.’

‘The team customise their advice to the exact needs of the client.’

‘The standout partner is Annalie Croney. All the individuals in the team are receptive to any issues that arise during a transaction and seek to work around the issues to the client’s satisfaction.’