Hardwicke scores highly in The Legal 500 2010

News
07 Sep 2010

Hardwicke continues to shine in The Legal 500 legal directory with a raft of new entries. A total of 32 barristers are recommended as leaders in their field across 16 separate practice areas. Hardwicke is rated as a leading set in three practice areas: Property Litigation, Personal Injury and Education.

Within Hardwicke’s Public Law division John McKendrick and Barbara Hewson are joined by Kerry Bretherton in the Administrative and Public Law section. Kerry is commended for being ‘excellent on her feet’.

Barbara Hewson is also highly ranked for Professional Discipline and Civil Liberties and Human Rights. She is described as ‘easy to deal with, approachable and decisive’. John McKendrick is also recommended as a leading advocate in the field.

Hardwicke’s Education Team continues to be ranked amongst the best at the Bar. The directory recommends Hardwicke as ‘always very helpful and the quality of service from counsel is excellent’. Clive Rawlings is ranked at the top of the table and impresses ‘with his preparation and attention to detail’. He ‘has the ability to dissect legal arguments in a simplistic way, which provides confidence to clients’David Lawson is praised as ‘very precise and thorough’, while Fiona Scolding is said to be ‘very attuned to the needs of the clients, shows great common sense and is a pleasure to instruct’. John Friel is acknowledged for his experience in community care issues, Children Act considerations, disability discrimination and special educational needs.  The ‘superb’ Deborah Hay is recognised for the breadth and depth of her expertise as is John McKendrick.

Within Hardwicke’s Insurance division Dr Margaret Bloom and Steven Weddle continue to appear as leading juniors in the field of Clinical Negligence. Nigel Jones QC is recommended as a leading Insurance and Reinsurance silk while Paul Reed QC is recognised in the table for new silks.

Once again, Hardwicke’s Personal Injury team is highly ranked. The ‘very analytical’ Charles Bagot’s ‘attention to detail is exceptional’ while John Gallagher is ‘highly experienced in difficult personal injury cases’. Romilly Cummerson stands out as ‘an excellent advocate with exceptional cross-examination skills’. The ‘formidable opponent’ Colm Nugent debuts in the table as does Henry Slack and Jasmine Murphy.

Within the Property and Private Client division Sheena Cassidy is ranked highly for her Family work.

Hardwicke’s Property Team is listed amongst the top. The group is described as ‘eager to please and quick to deliver to expectation’. John de Waal is noted as a leader in his field because he provides ‘excellent commercial advice in time-pressured situations’ while Michelle Stevens-Hoare received a recommendation for her recent work representing a developer facing a claim for specific performance of an £18m purchase contract. Kerry Bretherton is described as ‘good on her feet’ while Andrew Lane wins plaudits as a ‘simply brilliant housing junior’. The ‘tenacious’ Nicola Muir is ‘popular with clients’. Alex Bastin, Daniel Gatty and Stephen Lennard remain listed as leading juniors.

Within Hardwicke’s Commercial division Nigel Jones QC’s ‘bedside manner wins clients over instantly’. He appears as a leading silk for Commercial Litigation, Professional Negligence and Construction. He is joined in the Construction tables by David Pliener.

PJ Kirby is noted as a leader in the field of Costs while the ‘very competent’ Wendy Parker is singled out for her Insolvency work.

In Intellectual Property, Mark Engelman is praised as someone who ‘gives advice quickly and succinctly’. Madeleine Heal is described as ‘extremely knowledgeable and approachable’. She enters the Media tables for the first time due to her ‘deep intellectual analysis’.

Hardwicke’s James Watthey continues to appear as a leading Shipping junior. He impresses with his ‘ability to drill down to the essential issues in dispute and then apply maximum pressure to the opponents’ case’.