34 law – the legal 500
Penningtons Manches: ‘Highly competent‘
Corporate and commercial
Penningtons Manches LLP‘s ‘highly competent‘ team is headed by Simon Bickerdike on the corporate side. The practice includes David Tighe, who acted for the shareholders of Catermasters in its merger with Host Management; Justin Starling, who advised Westcoast on Amshold Group‘s acquisition of Viglen Technology; and Rob Hayes, who acted for Veryan Holdings on its £18 million funding round led by Imperial Innovations. The group‘s technology expertise was strengthened by the arrival of Will Axtell from Charles Russell Speechlys. Key figures in the commercial group include Chris Shelley and life sciences expert Kerry Sharp.
In Surrey, Penningtons Manches significantly bolstered its team with the recruitment of Philip Walton and Julian Harvey from Mundays LLP, both of whose skillsets fit neatly into the firm‘s well-known sector strengths in life sciences, technology and media; this doubled the number of Guildford-based partners. Team head Simon Bickerdike (‘astute technically and tenacious when needed‘) and David Kendall (‘displays a combination of knowledge and pragmatism invaluable to the in-house lawyer‘) are the other key figures.
In Hampshire, the firm‘s ‘specialist departmental structure is helpful when a project spans multiple legal disciplines‘. In Basingstoke, corporate and commercial work is divided between the ‘very experienced and knowledgeable‘ Charles Brooks and the highly regarded Joanne Vengadesan.
Commercial litigation
David Pritchard leads the team, and acted for clients in litigation concerning governance issues, alleged fraud and damage claims. Julie Bond handles professional negligence and regulatory cases, and has particular expertise in compliance matters. The partners are supported by senior associates Emma Davies, whose expertise includes data protection, licensing
www.businessmag.co.uk Immigration
Senior associate and former barrister Duncan Bain is the key figure at Penningtons Manches; he has particular expertise in conducting immigration appeals against visa refusals, and advised on a number of Tier 1 applications and migrant right- to-work issues.
Pensions
The firm has ‘excellent specialist knowledge‘, and practice head Maria Riccio is ‘practical, friendly and reliable‘. Senior associate Rupert Graham- Evans is ‘good at building client relationships‘.
Clinical negligence: claimant Simon Bickerdike
and environmental law, and James Howarth, who focuses on contentious IP and IT.
Banking and finance
Penningtons Manches added associate John Chater, who joined from Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co LLP, to the team led by the recommended Rich Eldridge, who has forged a very strong reputation for big-ticket financings.
Employment
The firm provides ‘both technical depth of knowledge and thorough, timely advice‘. Eugene Wojciechowski and Daff Richardson co-head the group. Wojciechowski is praised as being ‘incredibly accommodating, with a strong focus on risk management‘, and Richardson has strong expertise in TUPE matters. The team handled a number of consultancy and employment agreements for Chiomenti Studio Legale, and also advised the client on the employment aspects of a cross-border shareholder dispute.
In Surrey, the ‘simply outstanding‘ team is led by the ‘tactically astute‘ Michael Cole, and includes the ‘formidably bright‘ Tim Randles who is, according to one client, ‘one of the best employment litigators out there‘. Senior associate Claire Coley is also recommended.
In Hampshire, David Bickford and Chris Syder advise an impressive range of clients, including the Confederation of British Industry, on the full range of employment matters.
The team is led by Alison Appelboam-Meadows (‘really makes a difference to her cases‘) and Philippa Luscombe (‘diligent attention to detail‘). Richard Money- Kyrle joined from Darbys Solicitors LLP. Stephanie Code joined as associate director from Kingsley Napley LLP.
Personal injury: claimant
The lawyers are ‘highly professional‘ while displaying ‘a rare degree of empathy‘. Philippa Luscombe is ‘the go-to person for advice on complex claims‘.
Family
Penningtons Manches provides ‘excellent service on all fronts‘. Jane Mitchell is ‘extraordinarily patient, calm and empathetic, but never loses sight of strategic and legal priorities‘. Kerry Fretwell also attracts high praise.
Personal tax, trusts and probate
Anna Burnside has strong expertise in trusts and estate planning matters, and also handles will drafting and probate work. Senior associate Fiona Wheeler is praised for her client management skills.
In Surrey, Laura Dadswell‘s team is centred in Godalming, where Court of Protection expert Liz Garvey is supported by a strong bench of senior associates and associates.
In Hampshire, Michael Cash leads a strong bench of senior associates. Highlights include the disposal of a £100m-plus estate with complex multi-jurisdictional succession and tax issues.
Education
Penningtons Manches ‘stands very tall among local competition‘, with property litigator John Morrison singled out for his strong performance in a recent case. Daff Richardson (employment) and Kerry Sharp (software licensing) are two other key members of a diverse cross-practice team, which acts for Oxford University Press, King‘s College London and Navitas.
Commercial property
Richard Smith‘s team handled the sale of a brownfield site on behalf of Berendsen UK, a matter that involved s.106 planning agreements and contaminated land liability issues. Simon Knott acts for corporate tenants, and senior associate Nick Owens specialises in residential property development.
Environment
Richard Smith‘s clients include EDF Energy and the European Space Agency; Smith advised the latter on the environmental liability protection provisions for the construction of its new UK headquarters.
Social housing
Penningtons Manches specialises in high-end real estate and development matters for major providers, with team head Linda Storey advising one such developer on its company-wide stock restructure, including land disposals and surrender of existing leases. Senior associates Catherine D‘Avola, a finance specialist, and Catherine Bradshaw are other names to note.
IT and telecoms
The firm provides ‘quality information in a timely manner‘. The highly regarded Sam De Silva advised ADInstruments on the contractual aspects of its kuraCloud service, and Joanne Vengadesan handled Alemba‘s contract negotiations with VMWare Technology Alliance Partner. Other notable clients include Fujifilm UK, Tectrade and MossBros.
Intellectual property
Penningtons Manches‘ ‘thorough and professional‘ group successfully acted for Britannia Row Studios and Nick Mason in a copyright infringement claim. Rachael Barber specialises in contentious IP matters; Kerry Sharp has strong life sciences expertise; and Joanne Vengadesan is also highly recommended.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – OCTOBER 2015
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