We’re celebrating another fantastic year of rankings in the Legal 500 2023
Updated
2nd February 2024
2nd February 2024
Summarise Blog
The highly awaited Legal 500 results are out and we’re delighted with our rankings in multiple areas.
The firm ranked in 57 areas of law achieving a top tier ranking in 15 practice areas! (So you might just spot our teams using the suggested hashtag #humblebrag out on social media…)
Here’s an overview of how the firm performed overall:
Rankings in our areas of law
4 Hall of Fame Lawyers
16 Leading Individuals
14 Next Generation Partners
8 Rising Stars
Well done to Roy Botterill, Smita Jamdar, Andrew Whitehead and Adrian Bland for your place in the Hall of Fame!
We’ve also had several lawyers ranked as ‘Leading Individuals’ – Martin Jones, Alex Smith, Robert Rose, Ed Wright, Kendal Litherland, Mohammed Saqub, Andrew Mellor, Alan Hamblett, Smita Jamdar, Lesley Davis, Martin Edwards, Andrew Taylor, Kavita Patel, Simon Stanion, Louise Ingram and Peter Snodgrass. Their ranking is a true testament to their outstanding client service and expertise!
Special mentions also to Rhys Wyborn, Rachel Gwynne, Paul Wakefield, Sonia Bachu, Kate Onions, James Woolstenhulme, Geraldine Swanton, Tom Long, Ravinder Johal, James Fownes, Anna Cartledge, Verity Kirby, Nicola Fahey,and Hannah Tait who have also been recognised as ‘Next Generation Partners’.
Sandeep Leighs, Sarah Brack, Jennie Wheildon, Kylie Wesson, Sheena Tandy and Desh Patel, Pia Eames and Malcolm Johnson are ranked as ones to watch – the ‘Rising Stars’ of the industry.
We’re also listed in one brand new category.
Family – Elsewhere in the West Midlands
Elsewhere we remain strong, with our education, commercial property, intellectual property, sports, corporate and commercial, charities, family, and personal trusts, tax and probate receiving exceptional testimonials from clients, as well as several other areas.
Championing breadth and diversity of services
From the 57 practice areas we ranked in, we achieved a Top Tier Firm status for 15 of them.
Some areas reached top tier for the first time. Our deep market insight of the agriculture and estates sector in the West Midlands has elevated the team to tier 1.
We have gone up a tier in three areas of law overall:
Employment - West Midlands
Personal Injury – London
Agriculture and Estates – West Midlands
Outstanding client feedback
We’ve also had some incredible feedback this year – far more than in previous years.
Here are just some of the comments made across the board by our valued clients. These are published on the official Legal 500 results site:
“They combine wise strategic advice with a cutting-edge and innovative approach to litigation strategy.”
‘Commercial approach – already thought through commercial viewpoint as well as legal considerations before making recommendations or discussing issues.’
The team at Shakespeare Martineau always deliver a high class service and always deliver results. They are quick to raise any issues and get them resolved and always have great communication.
‘The team is outcome focused, well resourced and user-friendly delivering honest and pragmatic advice.’
‘The team is very helpful and collaborative in dealing with quite complex farm sales matters. The lawyers have dealt with a number of sales in quite difficult circumstances throughout Covid. I have not had this level of feedback and communication previously from other solicitors‘.’
‘They are a highly talented and personable team who work hard to build strong relationships with clients. There is real breadth in their talent, ranging from the most junior members to the partners.’
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About the Author
Ben Buckton
Group Chief Operating Officer
Working closely with the CEO, CFO, CIO and Managing Directors; Ben is a key driver of our growth strategy - ensuring we make the right investments to develop our people, brands, clients, markets, operations, and innovations that unlock potential. The experience of our people and clients are so fundamentally intertwined, so we knew it made sense to strategically unite them. We ensure our values and ambitions translate into a client-focused model that drives impressive outcomes. Ben is at the forefront of building and evolving our culture from the inside out - ensuring that we live our values, leverage our strengths…