Simons Muirhead Burton > London, England > Firm Profile

‘Simons Muirhead Burton is the most diligent, passionate and expert firm I have ever encountered.’

‘The practice employs lawyers of deep experience and domain expertise in order to provide a very high standard of service.’

‘Henrietta Ronson was the standout individual on the team. My experience working with her is second to none.’

‘The criminal team is very classy – highly competent, down to earth, responsive and extremely experienced.’

‘Phil Smith is a first rate criminal solicitor. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to anyone. He gets great results – largely as a result of his hard work and ability to see points others often miss.’

‘The work they did for my case was beyond outstanding, and each of them was available at any time.’

‘The amount of research and attention to detail by partner Phil Smith and associate Henrietta Ronson was something I haven’t seen anywhere else.’

‘Best in class – huge expertise, deep understanding of their client’s business, innovative, ambitious for their clients.’

‘We work most closely with Martin Soames who is a class act – calm, extremely clever, thoughtful and responsive. He’s always our first choice.’

‘Very knowledgeable and experienced team. Work tirelessly to deliver the result. Great breadth of experience in house. Able to tackle challenging issues and people professionally and clearly.’

‘Simon Goldberg – experienced core team member who gets results.’

‘Simons Muirhead Burton was originally a human rights firm, and freedom of speech and access to justice have always been part of their DNA. This differentiates them – they go that extra mile when acting for publishers to minimise damage and to protect journalists.’

‘Partners Martin Soames and Stephen Shotnes – former book editor and journalist respectively – add their in house expertise to deep legal knowledge offer a high level of service.’

‘Emma Linch is a rising star.’

‘Martin Soames is exceptionally good. He is responsive, calm, pragmatic and I have absolute confidence in his excellent judgement.’

‘The legal advice we get is very good and the service is prompt and courteous. They find excellent counsel for us as needed.’

‘Louis Charalambous is has vast experience in media law defence, especially libel trials. He is very hard-working and conscientious. He is always “there” for the clients and very popular with them. He is particularly good (very calm) in dealing with difficult litigation situations.’

‘Jeffrey Smele is a good tactician in litigation and very easy to deal with.’

‘One of the best reputation management teams in the UK. Great knowledge of all parts of the media and extensive work defending and advising with the press.’

‘I have worked with Saul Lehrfreund for over 20 years on cases. He is passionately committed to his work. His knowledge is second to none. He has immense energy and positivity. He is a joy to work with.’

‘Parvais Jabbar and Saul Lehrfreund have unrivalled experience in criminal appeals to the Privy Council and in the representation of those facing the death penalty worldwide. Parvais Jabbar is brilliant, hard-working and innovative.’

‘Saul Lehrfreund and Parvais Jabbar are the pre-eminent experts in legal challenges concerning the death penalty and have been for over 30 years.’

‘Saul Lehrfreund and Parvais Jabbar have done more to abolish the death penalty across the globe than any other individuals in the last 30 years. They truly are trailblazers, and this is recognised by the MBEs that they have both received for service to international human rights.’

‘Parvais Jabbar is the consummate death penalty litigator. His breadth of work shows Parvais’s dexterity and ability to work across a number of practice areas at the national and international level. Such skills are very rare, in my experience.’

‘The Death Penalty Project which is run by this firm is unique in providing specialist advocacy in strategic cases involving the death penalty worldwide.’

‘Saul Lehrfreund and Parvais Jabbar are excellent, committed and intelligent lawyers who always go the extra mile.’

‘The premier team in the UK for death penalty work.’

‘The team work and communicate seamlessly behind the scenes always presenting clear information and options while progressing through the divorce process. Quick, efficient, knowledgeable and personable’.

‘I had a very personal service and I was always very confident that I was in safe hands. My divorce was settled effortlessly and Tessa was key to making sure the friendly relationship I have with my ex wife was maintained. Strong support between partners and associates. Good team ethos. Tessa Bray – sound judgment, good with clients and easy to work with’.

‘A diverse and talented team of family lawyers with a wealth of international experience and a great deal of expertise for clients in the media world. They are a vibrant and energetic group who are totally committed to achieving the best possible result for their clients’.

‘Jane McDonagh is a class act. She acts for many clients who work in the media and creative industries and has a real feel for those businesses and the issues which arise. She is shrewd and her gentle manner belies a steely approach to negotiation which brings great results for her clients. I could not recommend her more for complex financial work’.

‘First rate team who get excellent, high value work. They organise and prepare the case extremely well, and are very ready to put in the effort on the most complex disputes. Jane McDonagh – First rate litigator, beloved by clients and counsel alike. Fine strategic and tactical thinker, gives very sound advice on both outcome and process to achieve the best result’.

‘They standout by their profound knowledge and ability to handle international projects, involving two or more jurisdictions at the same time. All lawyers from Simons Muirhead & Burton LLP are excellent communicators and professional’.

‘Jane McDonagh – very solid and sensible advice, the true leader, highly expertized and recommended. Tom Farley Hills is a phenomenal lawyer. Sound judgment, commercial nous and very approachable’.

‘SMB is an excellent, confident, and classy outfit. They are slightly under the radar which in ways gives them the edge over their competitors. Jane McDonagh has done a truly excellent job in leading the team and building it to the size it is today. Tessa Bray is stand-out brilliant – tough but fair and a joy to deal with. Tom Farley-Hills is excellent’. 

‘Very strong team, highly capable.’

‘Natalie Wright is an excellent corporate lawyer, with strong attention to detail and highly pragmatic commerciality.’

‘The team seems to combine a very good understanding of global norms and deal practices.’

‘Peter Weiss combines a solid understanding of US vs. UK market norms and typically deal related practices.’

‘Provide support in all aspects of possible transactions, from the development of the transaction structure through the drafting and negotiation of contracts to the handover of a company.’

‘Neal Hodges is a skilled negotiator with a commercial mind.’

‘This practice has been outstanding working on cross border transactions that were certainly complex in nature and coordination.’

‘Attentive and commercially minded.’

‘Attention to detail was very impressive.’

‘Phil Smith was absolutely amazing and very well supported by Henrietta Ronson. They were extremely professional.’

‘Phil Smith and Henrietta Ronson have instilled dynamism into an already established high end practice.’

‘The overriding objective to provide a complete service for clients in this sector sets the practice apart.’

‘Under the leadership of the redoubtable Phil Smith, the team works in unison to make the client feel totally at ease and as if they are the most important client at the firm be their case large or small. Very well resourced technologically.’

‘No task is left undone and client care remains a top priority. Collaboration with counsel throughout the proceedings is a key feature in establishing a team ethos with strategy and time management at its core.’

‘Department head Phil Smith remains a force of nature: he provides leadership, huge ability, wisdom and the personal touch. Strategically astute, he gives no quarter in the pursuit of the best result for the client.’

‘Strength in depth and goes the extra mile.’

‘Prepared to work hard and gets into the detail, keeping overall strategy well in mind.’

‘Consultant Peter Gould always pulls in interesting cases and has a good nose for a deal.’

‘Associate Lisa Gowers – great case manager, eye for detail, and encyclopaedic knowledge of the facts. Very dedicated to her clients.

‘Associate Shirin Vakilzadeh is brilliant to work with and works hard to make things run smoothly.’

‘Maninder Gill is always at hand when I need legal advice. He was super helpful and always ready with knowledge in whatever case I need help with. He is easy to access and will always be on hand to help you out. Maninder Gill is professional, courteous and extremely knowledgeable in his field.’

‘Simons Muirhead Burton has very experienced and very capable senior lawyers, who are personally engaged with their clients.’

‘We have a fantastic relationship with Maninder Gill who has been providing us with outstanding support. He is exceptionally competent, flexible and supportive.’

‘We have always enjoyed a really strong working relationship with Simons Muirhead Burton. Billing is accurate and they always check in with us first before submitting their invoices. Their response and accessibility is second to none. They have a very good feel for our business and have finely tuned their advice based on this.’

‘Maninder Gill stands out. Maninder helped us steer a very difficult path last year. He provided us with cast iron legal confidence to make some difficult business decisions and guided us robustly every step of the way. Maninder has a real skill in being able to interpret a situation very quickly, understand the stakeholders and provide no nonsense/unfaltering advice. His availability and accessibility is excellent, often at very short notice. He has a strong consultative and collaborative approach to business.’

‘SMB team have a range of international partnerships that enables them to handle trade mark licensing work globally.’

‘Maninder Gill has been leading all our trade mark work. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with Maninder. He has been very supportive, flexible and competent.’

‘The team is very strong and experienced and have repeatedly given very good advice on how to deal with disputes and challenges.’

‘Maninder Gill is clearly very experienced and practical and is constantly working with us to find solutions in cases of conflict. His advice has always been aimed at limiting the hit to the company.’

‘The firm is friendly, reliable and well-organised. Work was completed in a very timely manner and I felt entirely supported throughout the process. All correspondence was always responded to extremely quickly, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the firm to others.’

‘I had a really excellent and impressive experience with both Nadia Zegze and Maninder Gill. They are super responsive, available to talk at short notice, and the work is done very quickly. Nadia and Maninder are both very friendly and reassuring, and I always feel confident with their knowledge and advice. The work done was of the highest standards and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to others.’

‘The team is unique because they react quickly, understandable, friendly and realistic. They are experts in the practice and know their competitors.’

‘I mostly work with Maninder Gill and Raoul Lumb. They both are very approachable, experienced and react quickly.’