29 September 2022
With 10 practice areas ranked, 24 lawyers recommended, 2 ‘Rising Stars’, 1 ‘Next Generation Partner’ and 2 ‘Leading Individuals’, we are delighted to announce our Legal 500 rankings for 2023.
Legal 500 is a world-renowned law firm rankings publication who, through in-depth, objective research, identifies and ranks the best lawyers and law firms.
You can visit our Legal 500 firm page for more details on each of our rankings and see below for what our lawyers have been recommended for.
Employment
Our employment team continues to hold its strong Tier 1 ranking.
James Simpson (Leading Individual and Recommended): ‘James Simpson is experienced in executive dismissals, restructurings and TUPE issues.
Noel Deans (Practice Head & recommended): ‘Heads the employment practice with an excellent reputation in contentious matters’.
Wills, Trusts and Probate
The wills, trusts and probate team continues to hold its Tier 1 ranking.
‘I have used Blaser Mills Law for over 20 years. It has always been essential for me to feel confident in my dealings with matters such as this and the team at Blaser Mills have always been professional yet friendly. Communication via the phone, email or personal visits have always been dealt with efficiently. Time has been given for discussion and reflection. I have in fact recommended the firm to others’.
Jonathan Gallop (Next Generation Partner & Recommended): ‘I have mainly instructed Jonathan Gallop on private client matters – wills, probate and lasting powers of attorney. I have found him to be very responsive and thoughtful in his approach’.
Minesh Thakrar (Recommended): ‘Minesh Thakrar was very professional and extremely helpful…went the extra mile to complete all transactions needed’.
Sara Rendell (Recommended): ‘Sara Rendell is an excellent communicator and clear and precise in her reading of client requirements’.
Karen Woodison (Recommended).
Commercial Litigation
Our Commercial Litigation team continues to hold its Tier 2 ranking.
‘An excellent Team that provides a City of London service, while being approachable and unstuffy.’
Jonathan Lilley (Recommended): ‘Jon Lilley is cool and calm under fire. He keeps his focus on achieving good results for clients. Sees through the bluff and bluster which some opponents employ. Sensible, practical and a natural solution-finder. And if an obvious solution cannot be found, he’ll fashion one’.
Sangita Manek (Recommended): ‘Acts for blue chip commercial clients on matters involving mediation and commercial contracts’.
Alka Kharbanda (Practice head & recommended): ‘I dealt with Alka Kharbanda on a complex case. They were very helpful, gave good advice to the family I was dealing with and were quick to respond to email queries. They manage to settle a case quickly and wrote several excellent letters that ensured the other side settled quickly but were pragmatic with it’.
Jackie Ray (Recommended).
Family & Divorce
Our family & divorce team have retained their excellent Tier 2 ranking.
Lucinda Holliday (Practice head & recommended): ‘My dealings were with Lucinda Holliday. She was clear and concise. I was confident from the first meeting that she would look after my case to the best of her knowledge and my interests were always at the forefront. She explained the process and followed everything up efficiently’. ‘The team have a strong collaboration and ensure that between them the work is completed to a high level’
Naim Qureshi (Leading Individual & Recommended): ‘Naim Qureshi is a true professional providing sound advice at all times. Naim is knowledgeable, always providing exemplary advice and support throughout and is a pleasure to work with. He is undoubtedly someone I would recommend’.
Javita Malhotra (Rising Stars& Recommended): ‘Javita Malhotra looked after my business impeccably. I was confident of a good outcome from my first contact with her’.
Sarah Scriven (Rising Star & recommended).
Personal Injury
Our personal injury team continues to rank in a strong position of Tier 2.
‘Andrew Castle and Victoria Harvey are outstanding. Both are very much at the top of their game. They both have excellent knowledge of their cases. Both also fully understand the importance of negotiating well at the right time’.
Andrew Castle (Recommended): ‘Andrew Castle was always happy to take a call, explain anything I didn’t understand and he provided a completely personal experience for me. When my case was passed over to Andrew I thought I would be left in the dark but Andrew worked so hard to get an amazing result’.
Victoria Harvey (Practice Head & recommended).
Debt Recovery
Our Debt Recovery team has increased its ranking from Tier 3 to Tier 2.
Jackie Ray (Practice head & recommended): ‘We have worked with Jackie Ray over the past 33 years and she is always meticulous in her approach to every matter. She has achieved excellent results in the field of debt recovery’.
Daria Stepien (Recommended): ‘Daria Stepien often represents clients in various commercial disputes at trial or as a mediator’.
Real Estate & Infrastructure
Our Real Estate & Infrastructure team continues to rank in Tier 3.
Carlos Pierce heads up the Real Estate & Infrastructure team …‘The Amersham-based office is led by Louise Benning who specialises in residential development with expertise in option agreements, unilateral undertakings and site assembly. David Michaels is experienced in property finance and handles building construction and housing association matters. ‘Communication and the ability to get things or make things happen on time and thinking outside of the box to overcome problems are stand out features.’
David Michaels (Recommended): ‘Very good and dedicated.’
Simone Ganley: (Recommended): ‘Simone Ganley is a delight to deal with, her advice is always directional and to-the-point. She understands how to guide clients who may have prior experience with property matters, but is equally adept when supporting those who require more comprehensive guidance. Simone also delivers the wider Blaser Mills offering in a very neat, targeted way, identifying areas where clients may need to consider wider issues or engage with colleagues. From a relationship perspective, she makes Blaser Mills very easy to use.’
Telecoms
‘Carlos Pierce (Recommended) and Tina Middleton (Recommended) are highly experienced in telecoms.’
Contentious Trusts and Probate
A new submission from the private litigation department has ranked them at Tier 4.
Alka Kharbanda (Practice Head & recommended): ‘empathetic, patient, highly professional and her equally empathetic and helpful assistant’.
Sangita Manek (Recommended): ‘Sangita Manek was professional and focused on the task in hand. She paid direct attention to the details and facts. She kept me concentrated on the facts and not getting caught up in emotion and distractions. She explained the law and processes in detail so that I understood exactly what I needed to do and where I stood. It took the stress and emotion out of the situation. At the same time, she was empathetic and worked to make sure the advice and work was kept within my financial boundaries. Sangita gave me proper professional advice which brought the sad situation to a close.’