Firm Profile > Boyes Turner > Reading, England
Boyes Turner Offices
ABBOTS HOUSE
ABBEY STREET
READING
RG1 3BD
England
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Boyes Turner > The Legal 500 Rankings
Clinical negligence: claimant Tier 1
Boyes Turner's 'extremely well-thought-of clinical negligence team' is led by Susan Brown and skilfully handles the full spectrum of matters ranging from cerebral palsy and brain injury claims to high-value complex medical negligence cases. Richard Money-Kyrle deals with high-value matters and is particularly proficient in cases involving cerebral palsy and birth injuries. Julie Marsh has expertise in claims involving cauda equina syndrome, which form the bulk of her caseload, and Vanessa Wand manages obstetric and birth-related injuries.
Practice head(s):
Susan Brown
Other key lawyers:
Richard Money-Kyrle; Julie Marsh; Vanessa Wand; Sita Soni
Testimonials
‘This is an exceptional team which should be top ranked; they consistently deliver results on liability and quantum at the highest level in the most valuable and complex cases.’
‘This is an experienced and realistic team. There is genuinely no weaknesses that exists in relation to professional competence.’
‘Susan Brown is exceptionally experienced and knowledgeable, especially in relation to complex and high-value clinical negligence claims.’
‘Susan Brown is a very tough negotiator, fights for every pound for her clients, and should be top ranked.’
‘Richard Money-Kyrle is smooth, unflappable, and always on top of his cases.’
‘Julie Marsh is up and coming, knows her stuff and fights hard for her clients. Definitely, one to watch for the future.’
‘Vanessa Wand is extremely personable, easy to deal with and very bright. She is highly organised, progresses her cases in a highly effective manner and has good tactical judgment.‘
Commercial property: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40 Tier 1
Boyes Turner leverages specialist practitioners in complementary areas such as planning, construction and dispute resolution. Nick Carter leads the 'very knowledgeable' four-partner team who have 'outstanding capabilities' in commercial and residential development, technology and real estate finance. Mark Appleton specialises in the purchase, letting and disposal of properties for owners, occupiers and investors, while Derek Ching primarily advises landowners and developers on land development issues, including aspects of site acquisitions and assembly, secured lending to developers (acting for lenders and borrowers), as well as environmental and planning issues. William Nassau-Lake has 'an outstanding reputation' in housing development. Rachel Duncan and Sarah Webb are also recommended.
Practice head(s):
Nick Carter
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
Castleford Homes Limited
Ericsson
Verifone
Montpelier Estates
Cygnet Investments Limited
Employment: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40 Tier 1
Boyes Turner has a strong track record advising technology, telecoms, hospitality and leisure and automotive clients on the full range of employment law issues. Barry Stanton heads the practice and is experienced in handling whistleblowing claims, directors’ misfeasance and in relation to employees’ misuse of confidential information and breaches of restrictive covenants. Also of note are key partners Helen Goss and Michael Farrier for all aspects of contentious and non-contentious matters. Director Laurie Anstis is a specialist of business immigration, equal pay, TUPE and employment status matters. Associates Andrew Whiteaker, Claire Taylor-Evans and Darren Smith are all recommended.
Practice head(s):
Barry Stanton
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Boyes Turner is valued for its pragmatism, responsiveness and good value for money.’
‘Barry Stanton and Helen Goss always provided very well thought-out, practical and robust advice.‘
‘Andrew Whiteaker is always very approachable and prompt in providing pragmatic advice. He is expert in his field and understands the commercial operating environment.’
‘Helen Goss is extremely experienced which she demonstrates by giving practical, candid advice and proposing workable solutions, she is also friendly and down-to-earth.’
Key clients
Tesla UK
Broadcom Inc.
Total UK
Hanson
RCL Cruises
Insolvency and corporate recovery Tier 1
Boyes Turner's insolvency team offers a 'comprehensive' service, carrying out a range of work involving complex contentious and non-contentious insolvencies, often with cross-border elements. Clients include a wide range of insolvency practitioners based nationwide, from both large and smaller practices. Recent work highlights include acting for an insolvency practitioner in a £2m claim in the liquidation of a cash and carry. Phil Smith heads the team and boasts over 20 years' experience as an insolvency lawyer. Chris Branson, who specialises in contentious insolvencies, asset-tracing, fraud and bankruptcies, is another key name to note, as is the 'excellent' Ollie Fitzpatrick.
Practice head(s):
Phil Smith
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Great strength in depth, experience with practical no-nonsense advice.’
‘A unique team of lawyers who are flexible and able to cover much ground.’
‘The firm offers one of the region’s best staffed bespoke insolvency teams; providing a significant breadth of experience ‘
‘The Boyes Turner insolvency team offers the most comprehensive and experienced specialist insolvency team in the region. They are quick to react and balance their offer between the technical and practical implications of any given matter.’
‘Where bankruptcy is concerned, Chris Branson knows it all and has been there, seen it and done it – a fount of knowledge.’
‘Ollie Fitzpatrick is always on the ball, keeps litigation moving with an eye on the commercial outcome.’
‘Phil Smith is an excellent lawyer who has a wide knowledge of the area and whilst pragmatic and practical also has a steel to his opinions which gives confidence .’
‘Demonstrates a wide ranging technical knowledge and provides reassurance throughout the process of advising on any given issue.’
Key clients
Grant Thornton
BDO
Begbies Traynor
CVR Global
Quantuma
Cork Gully
Wilkins Kennedy
Smith & Williamson
Antony Batty & Company
Harrisons Business Recovery and Insolvency
Intellectual property Tier 1
Boyes Turner is notable for its cross-border capabilities, working with several US and European firms across both contentious and non-contentious work. A key feature of the practice is its brand guardianship programme, which provides clients with a comprehensive brand protection service and this is combined with its litigation expertise. Practice co-head Bill Gornall-King specialises in the commercial exploitation of intellectual property, while fellow co-head Mark Blunden is the key contact for cross-border matters.
Practice head(s):
Bill Gornall King; Mark Blunden
Other key lawyers:
Chloe Fernandez; Georgia Shriane
Testimonials
‘Boyes Turner offers a great balance between IP and corporate knowledge and skills.‘
‘Mark Blunden is really good at understanding broader commercial needs of clients and bringing focused IP expertise to bear within the bigger picture.‘
‘They are local to us and always make themselves available.‘
‘The team is very professional but also accessible and down to earth.‘
Key clients
Auto Trader plc
Guardian News & Media Ltd
Mortgage Gym Ltd
Romax Technology Ltd
censhare AG
Culligan International
Bullitt Group
Edge by Ascential Plc
Signal Media Ltd
Wayfair
IT and telecoms Tier 1
Boyes Turner is a key firm in the Thames Valley market, advising a range of clients from across the technology sectors. The team has a particularly strong track record with clients operating in the data, automotive, fintech, and Adtech industries, and is particularly strong on contract negotiations. Mark Blunden heads the practice, and focuses on the commercialisation of clients' technologies, while licensing agreements expert Bill Gornall-King is another key name at the practice. Sarah Williamson departed the firm for Ashfords LLP in October 2018.
Practice head(s):
Mark Blunden
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
Auto Trader Plc
Wayfair
Opentext
Romax Technology Ltd
Censhare AG
Information Resources Inc
Redstor
Mortgage Gym Ltd
VirtualStock
Accelya Group
Kyocera Document Solutions (UK)
Guardian News & Media
Personal injury: claimant Tier 1
Boyes Turner advises clients on a range of personal injury matters, with specialist expertise across the areas of brain and spinal injury. Kim Smerdon is the key name to note in the team, handling large catastrophic claims, brain damage, spinal injuries, and serious orthopaedic injuries. Claire Roantree acts in mild to severe high-value brain injury matters and also has experience in musculoskeletal injury and chronic pain claims.
Practice head(s):
Kim Smerdon
Other key lawyers:
Commercial litigation: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40 Tier 2
Boyes Turner acts for individuals and corporate clients alike in commercial and contractual disputes, and boats a strong client roster in the technology sectors. The department has also expanded its offering in property litigation with the hire of Adrian Griffiths from Gordon Dadds LLP in July 2018. Key partner Jonathan Grigg and associates Stephen Baker and Rowan Turrall make up the 'knowledgeable and skillful' team.
Practice head(s):
Jonathan Grigg
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Boyes Turner is an excellent local team with local knowledge but sufficient resources to make a real difference.‘
‘Boyes Turner provide a very personal service with tremendous skill and industry knowledge‘
Key clients
Viavi Solutions UK Ltd
Auto Trader Ltd
Zimmer GMBH & Zimmer Biomet UK Ltd
Mortgage Gym Ltd
Technology One (UK) Ltd
Corporate and commercial: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40 Tier 2
Boyes Turner is best known for its strong expertise withing the technology sector. Mark Blunden assists technology clients on the commercialisation of their products and services, including outsourcing, licensing, product and brand development, often with an international aspect. Corporate partner Kate Eavis advises life science, biotechnology and software spin-outs. Senior associate Chris Dobson is recommended for M&A transactions in the technology and healthcare sectors. Robert Rice departed to Harrison Clark Rickerbys in December 2018.
Practice head(s):
Mark Blunden
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
Shareholders of BrandView Limited
Auto Trader Group plc
CIRCOR International Inc.
Panasonic
Wayfair
Debt recovery Tier 2
Boyes Turner has significantly bolstered its capabilities in debt recovery with the recruitment of head of practice, Donna Goddard and her team of associates, Natalie Roff and Rachel Brown from BDB Pitmans in late 2018. The practice acts for private and public sector clients and has recently won new instruction from corporate clients in the technology, professional services, construction, recruitment, retail and hospitality and property management sectors.
Practice head(s):
Donna Goddard
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
Greatwood Property Management Limited t/a Chaneys Chartered Surveyors
The Credit Protection Association Plc
ABS Europe Limited
H Young (Operations) Ltd, Divisions Madison, Animal, Leeda & Sportline
Media and entertainment Tier 2
Boyes Turner has a strong presence in the advertising and adtech sector, with particular emphasis on media monitoring and data harvesting. Another key sector for the firm is publishing, where it advises clients on commercial and intellectual property matters, including advertising , publishing, and distribution agreements. IP and cross-border work specialist Mark Blunden heads the team, and is notable for his media licensing expertise. Sarah Williamson departed the firm for Ashfords LLP in November 2018.
Practice head(s):
Mark Blunden
Key clients
Auto Trader Plc
Guardian News & Media Limited
Panasonic
Wayfair
Signal Media Ltd
Workbooks Online Limited
MSP Gather Limited
Chartered Institute of Journalists
CenShare AG
Property litigation Tier 2
In July 2018, Boyes Turner strengthened its real estate litigation offering by hiring Adrian Griffiths from Gordon Dadds LLP. The department is best known for assisting clients with challenging purchase order decisions, collective enfranchisement work and right-to-manage claims. Elsewhere, the group handles commercial landlord and tenant disputes and dilapidation claims. Associate Russell May works primarily for blue-chip clients and developers.
Practice head(s):
Adrian Griffiths
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
Guardian News & Media
Thomas Homes Ltd
Egretway Ltd
Computer Associates Limited
Oaklands (Reading) Management Association Ltd
Select Contracts UK Ltd
Education Tier 3
Advising exclusively on SEN and related matters, Boyes Turner is a key firm in the Thames Valley market for individuals seeking education advice. Practice head Laxmi Patel is highly experienced in SEN tribunal cases, and often works closely with the firm's clinical negligence and Court of Protection teams, as well as maintaining close relationships with various SEN charities. The team has undergone some personnel changes recently, with the departure of Janata Ali to Moore Blatch LLP and the arrival of Rachel Allison and Rachel Baxter from Weightmans LLP and an independent practice respectively.
Practice head(s):
Laxmi Patel
Other key lawyers:
Personal tax, trusts and probate: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40 Tier 3
Boyes Turner’s expertise spans the core areas of wills, trusts and estate planning as well as contentious probate, LPA’s and Court of Protection work. The practice also advises on the specific legal issues affecting elderly and vulnerable clients, including legal implications of moving into long-term care and the funding options, often working in conjunction with the firm’s financial experts. Paul Lowery is the key figure in the Reading-based wealth protection team.
Practice head(s):
Paul Lowery
Court of protection Tier 3
The team at Boyes Turner specialises in managing the property and financial affairs of children with birth injuries primarily. Around 50% of its caseload relates to managing the financial affairs of clients who are under 18. The team manages 58 professional deputyships and specialises in managing significant lump sum awards. In addition the team also manages 13 community care matters and 12 lay deputyship advice files. Ruth Meyer heads the team.
Practice head(s):
Ruth Meyer
Other key lawyers:
Alexander Wright
Testimonials
‘Ruth Meyer cares very much about her clients’.
‘Alexander Wright works very hard and the work is of a very high quality‘.
Boyes Turner > Firm Profile
Boyes Turner is one of the UK’s most vibrant and outstanding, full-service regional heavyweight law firms.
The firm: Boyes Turner has built a nationally and internationally recognised specialism in the technology and innovation sector. This is built on the firm’s roots as a leading regional law firm, based in Reading, in the heart of the UK’s ‘silicon corridor’, surrounded by globally innovative universities, and within 30 minutes of central London.
The firm has additional particular expertise in the leisure and hospitality and development and housebuilding sectors, as well as a nationally recognised claims group.
Committed to strong organic growth, the firm is able to use its geographic location to attract lawyers and support staff of the very highest calibre to service a client base which would sit comfortably with leading City and other national firms.
Types of work undertaken: Claims: the firm has a nationally recognised claims group, with solicitors on specialist panels for the Law Society, APIL, AVMA, Headway and Spinal Injuries Association. It has expertise in complex personal injury work and clinical negligence claims, including birth accidents, head injuries and spinal injuries.
Commercial: the commercial group provides advice on agency and distribution strategies, commercial and trading agreements, outsourcing agreements, protection and commercialisation of IP, regulation and competition, joint ventures and partnering, branding, media and marketing law, as well as data protection issues.
Corporate: the corporate group handles UK and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, buy-outs, disposals, joint ventures, partnership law, corporate governance, reorganisations and shareholder agreements.
Dispute resolution: the dispute resolution group is a leading commercial litigation services provider. The group acts for regional, national and international clients covering the full range of dispute services with a focus on the technology and international sectors. All members of the group have individual service specialisms and are leaders in their field, but a common thread is the group’s commitment to excellence in service delivery and a focus on delivering first-class commercial outcomes, whether through litigation, arbitration or alternative dispute resolution methods.
Employment: the employment group provides a comprehensive service tailored to individual clients’ needs on all contentious and non-contentious aspects of employment law and personnel matters. It also provides an HR consultancy service to help businesses cope with some of the more time-consuming tasks which they encounter on a daily basis.
Industrial disease: the firm’s significant industrial disease practice focuses on high-value asbestos-related disease litigation work, recovering maximum compensation for claimants.
Insolvency and corporate recovery: the business support and insolvency group includes a licensed insolvency practitioner and is one of the most highly rated in the UK. It acts for a wide range of clients in a number of industries and works closely with leading accountants and IPs, as well as banks and other professional advisers.
International: Boyes Turner provides advice and assistance on all aspects of inward investment into the Thames Valley and Europe, where the firm’s membership of LawRope provides clients with high-calibre, pan-European legal advice. It also assists its international clients by project managing cross-border transactions.
Private client: the firm advises high-net-worth individuals on wills, inheritance tax planning, probate and trusts.
Property: the property group has substantial experience of all aspects of commercial property work, including landlord and tenant, land development and sales, as well as construction and environmental issues. Notably, it has its own dedicated planning team. It also offers residential conveyancing services.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate | Kate Eavis | ||
| Clinical negligence | Susan Brown | ||
| Commercial property | Nick Carter | ||
| Construction | Rowan Turrall | ||
| Dispute resolution - property | Adrian Griffiths | ||
| Corporate recovery | Phil Smith | ||
| Debtco | Jonathan Grigg | ||
| Dispute resolution – commercial | Jonathan Grigg | ||
| Dispute resolution – property | Jonathan Grigg | ||
| Education | Laxmi Patel | ||
| E-commerce | Mark Blunden | ||
| Employment | Barry Stanton | ||
| EU and competition | Bill Gornall-King | ||
| Housing associations | Derek Ching | ||
| Industrial disease | Kim Smerdon | ||
| Intellectual property | Bill Gornall-King | ||
| IT | Bill Gornall-King | ||
| Personal injury | Kim Smerdon | ||
| Private client | Paul Lowery | ||
| Property development | Derek Ching | ||
| Property finance | Mark Appleton |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
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Mark Appleton | View Profile | |
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Mark Blunden | View Profile | |
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Chris Branson | View Profile | |
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Susan Brown | View Profile | |
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Nick Carter | View Profile | |
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Andrew Chalkley | View Profile | |
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Derek Ching | View Profile | |
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Kate Eavis | View Profile | |
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Michael Farrier | View Profile | |
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Bill Gornall-King | View Profile | |
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Helen Goss | View Profile | |
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Jonathan Grigg | View Profile | |
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Paul Lowery | View Profile | |
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Ruth Meyer | View Profile | |
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Richard Money-Kyrle | View Profile | |
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William Nassau-Lake | View Profile | |
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Laxmi Patel | View Profile | |
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Claire Roantree | View Profile | |
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Kim Smerdon | View Profile | |
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Phil Smith | View Profile | |
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Barry Stanton | View Profile |