Flint Bishop recognised in the Chambers UK Legal Guide 2024

We are pleased to announce that our Dispute Resolution, Licensing, Family & Matrimonial, Corporate & Finance and Employment departments have all been recognised in the Chambers and Partners UK Legal Guide 2024.

For over 30 years, Chambers and Partners has differentiated the very best legal talent by identifying and ranking law firms and lawyers through an unrivalled research methodology, delivering indispensable insights based on irrefutable rankings that truly reflect ability and talent. Our results this year once again show that we have stood out in the most rigorous, independent, and in-depth research process of any legal directory on the market.

Eminent practitioner and new associate ranking

The firm’s Dispute Resolution team retains its Band 2 status for Litigation in the East Midlands this year and is noted for assisting national and multinational corporations with a variety of contentious matters. The department also boasts an impressive three out of only six ranked lawyers for Litigation across entire the East Midlands regions.

Chief Executive Qamer Ghafoor is once again named as an ‘Eminent Practitioner’, and is praised for having expertise in a broad range of commercial disputes as well as financial and insolvency litigation.

Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution, Nick Wells, has maintained his Band 2 status, and is noted for “knowing which levers to pull to manoeuvre the other side to a commercial settlement” and having “experience running High Court litigation and a good sense for strategy”.

We are also proud to announce that Associate Solicitor Kelly Savage has been named as an ‘Associate to Watch’ in this year’s Chambers UK rankings for the first time. Kelly is noted for her abilities in all manner of complex commercial and corporate disputes, and is described as “super-bright, efficient – a real rising star”.

UK-wide recognition for Licensing

Following consistently receiving high rankings in The Regions category for a number of years, our Licensing department has been awarded UK-wide recognition this year and is praised for being “reassuringly proactive when it comes to incoming legislation”. The Chambers UK research team particularly noted the department’s impressive work on the Real Derby Brewing Company’s acquisition of several new sites among the team’s work highlights.

Chairman, Senior Partner and Head of Licensing, Andrew Cochrane, is once again ranked as a Band 2 lawyer, with one client noting that they have “total confidence in Andrew’s knowledge, awareness and advice”.

Other ranking highlights

Our Family & Matrimonial team was again listed in the ‘Derby and surrounds’ region, and has gained recognition for its “experience in advising on cases with high-value assets, often relating to family businesses, pensions and trusts.”

Family law Senior Associate, Angela Davis, has been awarded the prestigious Band 1 status for the first time this year and is lauded for her notable experience in handling a broad range of matters, including financial issues arising from divorce proceedings. Angela is noted for being “extremely thorough and having a sound knowledge of the law’, and ‘a very confident and well-established solicitor who always provides a good level of service to her clients.”

Our Corporate & Finance team retains its ranking in the East Midlands in the Corporate M&A: SME/Owners-managed Businesses category. The team’s strengths were listed as possessing a “wide range of skills and a strong partner base”, and “providing excellent professional advice and assistance, whilst also demonstrating an ability to work and integrate with the employees of the business involved in the sale”.

Partner and Head of Corporate & Finance, Martyn Brierley, maintains his ranking and is praised for being a “highly accomplished lawyer, who distils complex technical points into easily understood language, and who gets to the heart of issues quickly and understands the ramifications for the commercial deal“.

The firm’s Employment team has also retained its ranking in the East Midlands for a third consecutive year, and is recognised for providing “superior, timely and expert knowledge coupled with an unflappable level of reassurance and support” and having “a good knowledge base which it is able to deliver to its customers.” Louise Easthope is recognised as a Notable Practitioner.

Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Qamer Ghafoor said:

“I would like to congratulate all of our teams and individuals who have retained their status as recommended practitioners this year, and I am especially pleased for those who have received first-time recognition.

“This year’s Chambers and Partners rankings, coupled with such positive comments from our clients, are truly representative of the results all our commercial and private client teams achieve on a daily basis. This provides reassurance to our clients that they are dealing with industry-leading professionals who are both experienced and passionate about the work they do.”