Stone King LLP > Leeds, England > Firm Profile

‘The team provide a depth of knowledge and exceptional service. They are available at short notice for urgent matters, but also provide strong ongoing support and advice.’

‘Tom Murdoch provides top class support and service, balancing legal knowledge with sector expertise, and brings a real human touch to the engagement.’

‘Stone King approach is relational, not transactional. They proactively seek to learn about, and become invested in our business in terms of our vision and mission, and they incorporate these into their thinking and solutions.’

‘The standout strengths are the extent to which the team work to understand what we as a client are trying to do, moving well beyond explaining clearly what the relevant law says, putting themselves in our shoes, understanding what we are trying to do, and shaping the advice around that.’

‘We have worked primarily with Tom Murdoch. Key qualities include a palpable intellectual curiosity about how the law impacts practice, careful tailoring of advice to specific case studies, and ability to set out resourceful and practical options.’

‘Tom Morrison is a (further) education specialist who uses his experience to provide clear, pragmatic legal advice that supports our objectives whilst minimising our risks. ’

‘Stone King are well-versed in charity legal issues, and take an informed and pragmatic approach to our issues. When engaging with our social and impact investment programme, they have been very helpful, and have also collaborated well with other firms on the technical issues of investment structures. ’

‘Stone King LLP have been supportive and responsive professional advisors. The breadth of expertise they are able to provide has enabled me to provide proportionate responses to sometimes challenging circumstances.’

‘The absolute market leaders in education law. They have a phenomenal depth of knowledge and experienced, coupled with some really sharp talent.’

‘Laura Berman is a real leader in this field. Laura is exceptionally knowledgeable of education law, understands the competing needs of education providers perfectly and has excellent sense.’

‘Graham Burns and Nicola Andrews provide expertise and challenge to me personally and our organisation. They have been integral to our success and growth.’

‘Stone King LLP has significant and wide-ranging experience of the Education Sector. They foster positive working relationships with clients, taking a genuine interest in what we do in public service. Other specialist areas of practice e.g. HR, Information, Land, work well with the Education team, providing a bespoke service specific to the needs of our sector. Positive outcomes have been achieved for us across a wide range of matters.’

‘Roger Inman takes a personal interest in our work and ensure that his team and colleagues in other departments provide a timely service for us. Elizabeth Fortin and Roger provided excellent support for us. Stone King LLP provided legal and moral support in difficult times.’

‘Elizabeth Fortin was an extremely safe pair of hands and we felt well held during the process. There was much work to do but Elizabeth guided us through forensically, so we knew exactly what was needed. In addition Elizabeth listened well to what the situation was and the considerable impact it had had on staff, as well as understanding there was a job to do in getting the facts down ready for tribunal. This combination of ‘academic’ and pastoral support was vital.’

‘I found the team highly professional and capable in all dealings. They were hard working, frequently communicating to ensure all matters were dealt with. When a key figure was absent for a few days their colleague picked up the matter seamlessly and continued to provide the same level of support as their colleague.’

‘My view is that there is a culture of professionalism and performance within this team. Moreover, they were pleasant and easy to deal with – they put me at my ease and formed a good working relationship. They quickly became a very much trusted part of my wider team.’

‘The key lead on this project was great to work with. I found her very relatable and was always willing to take a call or advise me on matters. She had an engaging personality and sense of humour that made a gruelling and, at times, stressful process easier to cope with.’

‘Tom Morrison is our primary contact. He is a great supporter of the college sector and is always calm and pragmatic.’

‘As chair of a multi-academy trust I find Stone King’s specialist knowledge of education law extremely useful.’

‘The individuals I have engaged with are personable whilst also being extremely professional. Queries are responded to promptly and vital advice provided.’

‘Very professional service.’

‘Great communication from the team at Stone King. ’

‘Stone King has been excellent – always quick to respond and sufficiently resourced to meet our needs – even when out of the ordinary for an Education provider like ourselves.’

‘Highly responsive and experts in the field of all matters education. We are a large trust and have a diverse set of support requirements. The Stone King team dedicated to us is able to provide a high level of response and support on demand.’

‘I inevitably find my interactions with Stone King to result in a swift and productive outcome. Having a partner who acts as key contact and is able to promptly get the right colleague to pick up a matter we refer to them is extremely valuable. Really impressed with the way in which Stone King have fostered collaboration within the education sector.’

‘Dan Carter is extremely knowledgeable and pleasant to deal with.’

‘Strong expertise in real property and commercial litigation. Established and loyal client base, particularly of charities, educational establishments and high-net-worth individuals.’

‘Tony Pidgeon is exceptional in compiling the appropriate team and expertise for any dispute. He has a keen sense of the likely pressure points in litigation, and is able to leverage them to the advantage of his clients. He is commercial and user-friendly.’

‘A fantastic firm based in Bath.’

‘Luke Watson, who specialises in contentious trust and probate work, is hugely experienced and a delight to deal with.’

‘A good, strong firm.’

‘Stone King offers a completely comprehensive service from advice with difficult parents, SEND-related issues, school transfers and all employment issues. They explain things really clearly, never judge or confuse.’

‘They explain clearly, using good analogies and not legal jargon. They never judge, even when you have made mistakes, and always give sound and fair advice. They teach you ‘the good practice’ way of doing things and always provide templates and check any work produced.’

‘Always calm and approachable. Jean Boyle is excellent, as is James Barratt. I have dealt with both many times. I literally could not do my job without them.’

‘The team is always very quick to respond and always provides detailed and professional advice and guidance. Our organisation feels very supported by Stone King, and in turn empowered to make fair and informed decisions.’

‘James Barrett supported us in a recent tribunal case. Thanks to his knowledge and expertise we were able to navigate through the process confidently. James correctly identified the weaknesses in the case and subsequently the options available to us, resulting in the case being thrown out.’

‘James Barratt is excellent. A pragmatic lawyer, he communicates well and has a strong grasp of both the law and the facts in any given matter.’

‘Personalised support and guidance from James Barratt during a difficult employment case. Continuous communication and explanation regarding the case.’

‘Stone King’s employment law team has provided excellent advice and service to our organisation for several years now. They are highly responsive, empathetic, pragmatic and have a deep understanding of our sector (education).’

‘Caroline Fell was calm, clear, comprehensive and incredibly emotionally intelligent through a very protracted process. She advocated for collaboration rather than adversity, and this has resulted in an outcome which meets the needs of all parties.’

‘Experienced in all areas of family law. Excellent client care and great knowledge of local practice.’

‘Rebecca Eels is personable, approachable and not afraid to give robust advice.’

‘The team provides an extremely high standard of representation. They are both knowledgeable and efficient, which results in the clients getting a superb service.’

‘Daniela Nickols is incredibly smart, diligent, fantastic on her feet in court and a formidable opponent. ’

‘Rebecca Eels and Caroline Fell are outstanding partners of vast experience.’

‘Daniela Nickols is sensible and knows what she is doing. Utterly dependable and reliable.’

‘The family practice at Stone King is a strong team of experienced family law specialists committed to providing a client-focused service. They have the perfect mix of professionalism and empathy.’

‘The practice provides us with advice on all property and charity matters. The practice has members with differing talents depending on the specific piece of work being carried out.’

‘My dealings are generally with Hugh Pearce and Kathryn Williams on property matters and Tim Rutherford on charity matters. They always respond rapidly and cover each other’s briefs if one is unavailable. The fact that two lawyers are briefed on each project ensures we get answers rapidly and at all times.’

‘The team we work with at Stone King have been supportive, adaptive, resourceful and not condescending or patronising. They have made complex legal matters easier to understand and they have navigated challenging matters to enable progression for us. For us the benefit felt by us is in their people and their technical and people skills.’

‘I think the main unique factor is the ability of Stone King to respond in a very efficient and very responsive way.’

‘Hugh Pearce – provides clear and pragmatic advice, that takes into account the “real world” position, as opposed just to the legal details. He is very accessible to us, and one always feels he is giving his full attention and on top of matters.’

‘Kathryn Williams – hard-working, meticulous and diligent, and understands our strategy as well as the legal concerns. She continues to drive matters forward without needing direct input from us, and helpfully flags the issues on which instructions are required, with correspondingly sound advice.’

‘The team have provided backup and support in our real estate transactions and work well together, and all queries arising benefit from their wide experience. I have been very impressed with their thoroughness and attention to detail and the level of research that have gone to. There is very good collaboration between sectors within the firm.’

‘Stone King are experts in the charity sector, with a particular specialism for religious orders / the Catholic Church. It is therefore difficult to imagine another team that would have as much detailed knowledge and be able to bring together the different considerations that we require, such as canon law. Their approach to property matters is suitably commercial and pragmatic.’

‘We have been a client for over a year, and we are incredibly happy with the professional advice received. The professional advice and assistance received are around drafting template contracts of employment for permanent staff and casual worker contracts, liaising with the HR team on its handbook, drafting secondment agreements between TRAID and the relevant legal entities and drafting secondment agreement template letters for client to issue to seconded employees.’

‘We have been working with Emma Suzuki on employment legal matters and Lisa Basch on overall HR employment matters. The assistance and advice received are pretty clear and easy to understand and implement on the strategic direction of the charity.’

‘We are able to have a dedicated HR Consultant who has worked with us for a number of years and knows us incredibly well. Where additional support is needed this is provided and colleagues are always well briefed on issues before they contact us. We find it very reassuring that we are able to work with a team that knows us so well and are able to provide support in a way that is so efficient.’

‘They take the time to get to know us and keep up with policy changes that we make. They are pro-active and know our team well so know where to pull in additional support.’

‘I have received exceptional support from Ollie Daw with a number of ER queries and one complex ET claim. He was responsive and gave comprehensive advice with a good understanding of the education sector. When we had challenges reaching a settlement, he reached out to claimant directly and helped us to engage them in negotiations; he also requested a last minute extension to our ET response deadline, completing the necessary forms at short notice.’

‘The team at Stone King is highly professional and have a full range of expertise in the different areas of law which impact on education. They are highly responsive and effective in their clear communications. They have exceeded expectations during times when we have faced litigation, by providing an exceptional service during those times. They are a firm which are clearly committed to a collaborative way of working with clients to meet our changing needs.’

‘We have been consistently impressed with Ollie Daw, who has acted for us to defend complex employment tribunal claims. We appreciated his expertise and strategic thinking, which through his insightful advice and guidance have been instrumental in navigating complex legal issues and finding creative solutions.’

‘Wonderful to work with. Clever, measured and calm, the paradigm of professional legal services. The team has a good range of experience and the contentious trusts and estates team and non-contentious, private international and charity teams work seamlessly.’

‘Luke Watson leads the contentious trusts and estates team. Luke is highly experienced and a lovely person. Clients, the rest of the team, and opponents respect him.

‘Elle McDonald has been a specialist contentious trusts and estates lawyer since her training contract. She worked in 3 other well respected specialist teams before joining Stone King. At Stone King, Elle has developed into a capable and confident expert dedicated to getting results for her client’s efficiently.’

‘The team has a wealth of experience, and they are able to deal with all aspects of trust and probate work, providing a London-style service from a regional office.’

‘They are an extremely professional team. Andrew Mortimer in particular has a keen eye for detail.’

‘Dan Harris – he is a legend.’

‘Clear and concise advice, usually very prompt too.’

‘Andrew Mortimer is first class because he is always clear, prompt and really thinks about what is best for the client.’

‘The service we received was exemplary.’

‘The personal service we received from Alison Allen could not be faulted. She went out of her way to understand what we wished to achieve and produced documentation which exactly covered what we had discussed.’

‘The team has a wealth of experience, and they are able to deal with all aspects of trust and probate work, providing a London-style service from a regional office.’

‘They are an extremely professional team. Andrew Mortimer in particular has a keen eye for detail.’

‘They can advise any client on estate planning matters anywhere in the world.’

‘Dan Harris is a legend. He is very adept at navigating PIL.’

‘Excellent knowledge, especially of multi-jurisdictional matters, ensuring comprehensive advice and guidance. Maintaining excellent communications with clients and all third parties to administer an estate quickly and cost-effectively.’

‘Daniel Harris has outstanding knowledge and is extremely approachable with a relaxed approach to matters of great complexity. Superb communication with clients, keeping them up to date without bombarding them.’

‘Stone King offers a completely comprehensive service from advice with difficult parents, SEND-related issues, school transfers and all employment issues. They explain things really clearly, never judge or confuse.’

‘They explain clearly, using good analogies and not legal jargon. They never judge, even when you have made mistakes, and always give sound and fair advice. They teach you ‘the good practice’ way of doing things and always provide templates and check any work produced.’

‘Always calm and approachable. Jean Boyle is excellent, as is James Barratt. I have dealt with both many times. I literally could not do my job without them.’

‘The team is always very quick to respond and always provides detailed and professional advice and guidance. Our organisation feels very supported by Stone King, and in turn empowered to make fair and informed decisions.’

‘James Barrett supported us in a recent tribunal case. Thanks to his knowledge and expertise we were able to navigate through the process confidently. James correctly identified the weaknesses in the case and subsequently the options available to us, resulting in the case being thrown out.’

‘James Barratt is excellent. A pragmatic lawyer, he communicates well and has a strong grasp of both the law and the facts in any given matter.’

‘Personalised support and guidance from James Barratt during a difficult employment case. Continuous communication and explanation regarding the case.’

‘Stone King’s employment law team has provided excellent advice and service to our organisation for several years now. They are highly responsive, empathetic, pragmatic and have a deep understanding of our sector (education).’

‘We have been a client for over a year, and we are incredibly happy with the professional advice received. The professional advice and assistance received are around drafting template contracts of employment for permanent staff and casual worker contracts, liaising with the HR team on its handbook, drafting secondment agreements between TRAID and the relevant legal entities and drafting secondment agreement template letters for client to issue to seconded employees.’

‘We have been working with Emma Suzuki on employment legal matters and Lisa Basch on overall HR employment matters. The assistance and advice received are pretty clear and easy to understand and implement on the strategic direction of the charity.’

‘We are able to have a dedicated HR Consultant who has worked with us for a number of years and knows us incredibly well. Where additional support is needed this is provided and colleagues are always well briefed on issues before they contact us. We find it very reassuring that we are able to work with a team that knows us so well and are able to provide support in a way that is so efficient.’

‘They take the time to get to know us and keep up with policy changes that we make. They are pro-active and know our team well so know where to pull in additional support.’

‘I have received exceptional support from Ollie Daw with a number of ER queries and one complex ET claim. He was responsive and gave comprehensive advice with a good understanding of the education sector. When we had challenges reaching a settlement, he reached out to claimant directly and helped us to engage them in negotiations; he also requested a last minute extension to our ET response deadline, completing the necessary forms at short notice.’

‘The team at Stone King is highly professional and have a full range of expertise in the different areas of law which impact on education. They are highly responsive and effective in their clear communications. They have exceeded expectations during times when we have faced litigation, by providing an exceptional service during those times. They are a firm which are clearly committed to a collaborative way of working with clients to meet our changing needs.’

‘We have been consistently impressed with Ollie Daw, who has acted for us to defend complex employment tribunal claims. We appreciated his expertise and strategic thinking, which through his insightful advice and guidance have been instrumental in navigating complex legal issues and finding creative solutions.’