Morgan LaRoche > The Legal 500 Rankings

Wales > Corporate and commercial Tier 2

Benefiting from well-established relationships with many local SMEs and owner-manged businesses from its Swansea head office, and also increasingly visible in the broader west Wales market by virtue of the continued growth of the firm's Carmarthen office, Morgan LaRoche continues to pick up a consistent flow of high-quality mandates across the waterfront of corporate and commercial work. Experienced team head William Barletta  is at the forefront of much of the most significant work handled by the firm, including a considerable amount of transactions in the energy, waste and healthcare sectors. Dividing his time between the firm's Swansea and Carmarthen offices, Christopher Evans has been pivotal to the firm's growing success in the West Wales market, with clients appreciative not only of his legal expertise but also his Welsh speaking capabilities.

Crime, fraud and licensing > General crime and fraud Tier 2

Under the guidance of Andrew Manners, Morgan LaRoche has developed a market-leading reputation for its regulatory compliance and enforcement-related defence work for independent early years and adult social care providers. Manners is also adept at handling white-collar investigations and litigation, and has developed a strong niche in relation to private prosecutions of commercial frauds.

Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation Tier 2

Led from the firm's Swansea and Carmarthen offices by the 'exceptional' Jason Williams  and the 'charming and charasmatic' Llyr Davies , respectively, Morgan LaRoche provides a partner-led approach to commercial litigation, ensuring that it is well-positioned to advise both regional and UK-wide clients across a broad spectrum of often very high-stakes and challenging work. As well as continuing to handle a steady diet of partnership and shareholder disputes, the team has also recently handled a significant number of force majeure-related contractual disputes, a reflection of the recent market conditions caused by the pandemic. In addition to his pure corporate and commercial disputes expertise, Williams regularly advises on complex property litigation, while Davies is increasingly active, from both an advisory and contentious perspective, for local IPs as office holders in insolvency matters. 'Excellent' Carmarthen-based associate Robert Davies  is 'definitely one to watch for the future'. 

Employment > Health and safety Tier 2

Although it perhaps lacks the breadth and size of some of its peer firms, this is to some extent counterbalanced by Morgan LaRoche's national reputation on behalf of independent early years and social care providers. This reputation has been nurtured as a result of team head Andrew Manners' deep and longstanding reputation within the sector and his aptitude at effectively defending clients in any health and safety-related investigations/civil and criminal enforcement actions.

Real estate > Property litigation Tier 2

The 'excellent and dynamic' team at Morgan LaRoche provides 'efficient and proactive advice' to local businesses, private individuals and public/quasi public sector entities across a range of property disputes. Praised for his 'business-minded approach', team head Jason Williams has 'significant experience in property litigation', and has been involved in numerous reported landlord and tenant cases (including a high-profile Supreme Court case regarding the interpretation of service charge clauses). 'Highly knowledgeable and easy to work with', Ashley Davies is also a key member of the team and since his arrival from Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP in January 2020 has hit the ground running, handling work for a varied array of existing and new clients, including businesses, property investors and private individuals.

Finance > Banking and finance Tier 3

Morgan LaRoche handles a considerable volume of finance-related work under the umbrella of the firm's broader business services group, which is headed by William Barletta. Real estate financing is a major driver for the practice, an area that the firm is particularly well-positioned to advise on, in part by dint of its ability to draw upon the strength of its overarching property and projects offering.

Real estate > Commercial property Tier 3

Led from its Swansea headquarters by Kevin Thomas and also benefiting from a growing presence out of Carmarthen, Morgan LaRoche has excellent credentials for a developer-focused client base across south and west Wales, as well as on some England-based matters. A significant and growing amount of this work relates to renewable energy projects, with both David Palmer and Alun Price appreciated for their 'second-to-none industry knowledge and willingness to think outside of the box'. Rosemary Morgan remains a key member of the team and benefits from vast knowledge of real estate transactions within the education and health sectors, in particular.

Real estate > Social housing Tier 3

At Morgan LaRoche, fluent Welsh speaker Ann Thomas  is the main contact at the firm for property-related social housing work, and provides 'authoritative advice' to numerous Wales-based RSLs across a range of transactional matters, including acquisitions and sales. On the litigation front, the team also regularly represents RSLs on tenancy covenant enforcement issues and anti-social behaviour management.

TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport Tier 3

Overseen by corporate partner William Barletta  and leveraging expertise from the firm's wider property, litigation and employment teams, among others, Morgan LaRoche deploys a multi-disciplinary approach to work in the sector. Carmarthen-based corporate and commercial partner Christopher Evans is a key contact, and is adept at advising local sports teams and governing bodies across a range of issues, including the recent 'invaluable advice' he provided to a local amateur rugby union club on its decion to incorporate as a company.

Employment > Employment: Recommended Firms Tier 4

Now headed from the firm's Carmarthen office by Hannah Belton, following the retirement of Timothy Jones  in January 2021, Morgan LaRoche provides 'pragmatic and robust advice' to companies throughout south and west Wales across a range of employment matters, including on GDPR compliance, as respondents in tribunal cases, and in the context of corporate support. The team has also been very proactive in terms of helping to guide clients through the myriad challenges and employment concerns arising as a result of the pandemic and also continues to grow the number of clients that have signed up the firm's increasingly popular retainer service. The health and social care sectors are particularly fertile sources of work, while the arrival in July 2020 of Sophie Ray enhances the team's credentials within the social housing space.

Real estate > Construction Tier 4

Led by Steve Mundy , Morgan LaRoche's three-strong team handles a range of local and UK-wide contentious and non-contentious work for developers and contractors. Adjudications account for a significant proportion the team's instructions, while on the non-contentious side it is handling a considerable volume of work for developers on student accomodation projects.