Teams and leading individuals from across Blake Morgan are celebrating another strong showing in the 2021 edition of the Chambers & Partners Guide, which recognises and recommends the best performing lawyers and legal firms across the UK.
This year, 42 Blake Morgan practice areas were ranked as either Band 1 or 2, with a further six ranked as Band 3. Band 1 ranked practice areas in England and Wales included Construction, Planning, Employment, Professional Negligence, Public Law, Real Estate, Social Housing and Restructuring and Insolvency. In Band 2, the firm saw Banking and Finance, Family/Matrimonial, Professional Discipline, Pensions, Intellectual Property, and Professional Litigation all ranked.
This year, the firm’s commitment to high quality client care and a detailed commercial understanding were common themes, with one client noting that the firm’s lawyers are ‘always responsive and have a good commercial understanding… giving us rational solutions; they have always made our lives easier.’ Another client said the firm ‘have the expertise and bench strength of a large firm, with the service delivery of a boutique.’
The Guide also recognises leading lawyers from across the industry. This year, 34 of the firm’s lawyers were ranked as Band 1 or 2. Those listed in Band 1 included Richard Wade, Partner and Head of Construction, Rob Cherry, Partner and Head of Corporate, Jill Bainbridge, Partner and Head of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice and Kath Shimmin, Partner and Head of the firm’s Banking and Finance practice. This year, Lucy Edwards – Legal Director and Head of the London Business Support and Insolvency team – was listed as a ‘star associate’ for her work in POCA matters and recommended for her ‘unparalleled experience’.
The firm’s future leaders – those listed as ‘associates to watch’ and ‘up and coming’ also had a good year with nine individuals listed in the 2021 Guide. Those listed included Catherine Morgan and Jennifer Williamson from the Family/Matrimonial team, Richard Jones in Corporate/M&A, Anna Larbi in Real Estate, Nicola Diggle in Litigation and Gillian McCue in Pensions. The Guide highlights ‘Senior Statespeople’ too, with Christine Plews, Richard M Jones, and Allan Wilson all listed for their service delivery and reputation. Phil Jardine in Cardiff was also ranked as an ‘Eminent Practitioner’ with one client saying he is ‘really good and very well respected.’
Bruce Potter, Chairman at Blake Morgan, said: “In what continues to be a challenging world environment, this year’s Chambers & Partners Guide show how consistently excellent our teams continue to be. In areas such as Construction, Public Law, Real Estate and Planning – all critical to getting our economy back up and running – we’re industry leading thanks to the fantastic people we have across the firm.
“It’s a good year for our up and coming individuals too, who are essential for the future of the firm and the industry as a whole. What’s even more encouraging is that the rankings are informed by our clients whose positive feedback demonstrates how valued the work of our teams is to their day-to-day business. We’re proud of these rankings, and I’d like to thank our partners and people for their continued dedication to excellence.”
