48 LAW SOUTH EAST – THE LEGAL 500
Blandy & Blandy: ‘Excellent acumen and common sense’
Corporate & commercial
Recent highlights include advising George Homes as vendor shareholder on the sale of GTK (UK) to GTK (Holdings) under an MBO funded by YFM Equity Partners. Deborah Brett specialises in commercial contracts, and team head David Few attracts praise as ‘a very strong corporate lawyer with excellent business acumen and common sense’. Nick Burrows, the other main contact, also heads the firm’s charities group.
Licensing
Sue Dowling heads a four-fee-earner team at Reading-based Blandy & Blandy LLP, which specialises in the sports, hospitality and leisure industries. The firm remains appointed to the panel of The FA Group, and recently advised in relation to the operation of Wembley National Stadium.
Commercial litigation The team is now jointly led by Philip
D’Arcy and David Murray following the latter’s recruitment from pre- merger Morgan Cole LLP in July 2014. They are supported by associate Jessica Irwin, who has been handling some impressive property- related disputes. Commercial team head Deborah Brett is also recommended for her experience in disputes. The experienced Jacques Smith left the firm in June 2014.
Employment
Blandy & Blandy has a strong record in tribunals, with recent successes including achieving a compromise settlement for a client in a tribunal claim alleging disability discrimination and unlawful deduction from wages. Tim Clark is ‘proactive, and explains the law clearly’. Also recommended are Sue Dowling and associate Sukhpal Mutheroo, who focuses on non- contentious work.
Charities and not-for-profit
Blandy & Blandy has an ‘exemplary’ team which is ‘accessible,
Gardner Leader: ‘A delight to work with’
Corporate & commercial
Gardner Leader LLP’s 2013 highlights included acting on two substantial M&A deals and negotiating a range of commercial contracts. Greg Humphreys heads the team, and managing partner Derek Rogers is the other key contact.
Commercial litigation
Team head Christopher Felton attracts high praise from clients, who describe him as ‘a delight to work with’ and ‘a match for any Magic Circle litigator’. Felton is supported by Michelle Di Gioia, who was promoted to partner in January 2014, and associate Caroline Benham. Former barrister Clare Osborne has ‘a great eye for detail’.
www.businessmag.co.uk Health & safety
Michelle Di Gioia joined Gardner Leader from Thomas Eggar. Her recent work includes advising two property investors in relation to a fatality on a property development site.
Contentious trusts & probate
Highlights included successfully representing the claimant in Michael Brooke v Louise Purton, led by ‘intelligent, articulate and professional’ associate Tara McInness. Alastair Goggins is ‘fantastic’.
Family
The three-partner team is led by Seona Myerscough, supported by Jenny Buchanan and Colette Bailey.
Greg Humphreys
knowledgeable, imaginative, and prompt’. Practice head Nick Burrows is ‘an extremely experienced practitioner’, and Tim Clark is also recommended.
Family
Blandy & Blandy is ‘a standout firm for family law in the Thames Valley’. Team head Andrew Don’s ‘vast experience is a real asset’, and Brenda Long is ‘very accurate in her prognosis of a case’s outcome’. Associate Claire Dyer and solicitors Jessica Reid, Siobhan Baillie and Claire Burton all come highly recommended by clients.
Personal tax, trusts & probate
The large, well-respected team is led by the highly-regarded Graham Benwell and includes eight other fee-earners. Jonathan Gater and associate Catherine Diamond ‘can explain processes in a layperson’s language’, and both attract praise for their deputyship expertise.
Philip D'Arcy Commercial property
Blandy & Blandy’s team includes Jane Gunnell, Katja Wigham and associate John Dingle. Solicitor Julian Spence and experienced legal executive Julie Studwick are ‘approachable and efficient, with a no-nonsense approach to matters’.
Planning
The firm is ‘helpful, knowledgeable and reliable’. It is handling a number of planning application issues for Bewley Homes in relation to 400 dwellings in Surrey; and is assisting Reading Transport in opposing an application to convert an adjoining pub into housing. Department head Karen Jones has ‘a sound grasp of planning’.
Herrington & Carmichael
Wokingham and Camberley law firm Herrington & Carmichael features in The Legal 500.
Corporate & commercial
Yavan Brar leads Herrington & Carmichael LLP’s team, which was appointed to the panel of a major bank in 2013, as well as holding its place on three others.
Personal tax, trusts & probate
Michelle Di Gioia
Jane Kenyon at Herrington & Carmichael has maintained a substantial practice since joining the firm from B P Collins in 2011. She specialises in high-net-worth estate planning and acts as a professional trustee.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – OCTOBER 2014
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