Bristol law firms are celebrating achieving some outstanding recommendations in the latest Legal 500, the UK’s leading guide to the legal sector – with many of the city’s top lawyers earning top billing in their specialist areas.
More than 4m users visit The Legal 500 website each year, making it a powerful reference tool for the industry. The guide is aimed at buyers of legal services, particularly general and corporate counsel, and is researched annually by an independent and expert team. 
The South West section is once again dominated, as in previous years, by Bristol’s largest firms – although some boutique firms are also praised.
Once again the Legal 500 highlights the fact that the city’s ‘Big Three’ firms – Burges Salmon, Osborne Clarke and TLT – continue to hold many of the top slots in specialist areas.
It also points out that the result of the Brexit referendum had little impact on Bristol’s legal market.
In the introduction to the South West section it says: “After just a few short weeks of transactional uncertainty following the Brexit referendum’s shock outcome, practitioners have reported ‘business as usual’ ever since.”
It also says that “corporates and individuals alike have shied away from litigation, with law firms capitalising on increasing use of ADR options.”
In corporate work, Burges Salmon’s department is ‘always professional, timely and ready with solutions’, and is singled out for its historic strength in transport sector related mandates.
Osborne Clarke has ‘great strength in depth’, with a track record of corporate advice normally associated with City firms – its expertise ranges from PE and VC fund formation and transactional matters, to equity capital markets and major M&A.
TLT’s ‘dynamic’ corporate group specialises in fundraising and M&A for clients in the renewable energy and retail sectors, as well as private equity investments and corporate restructuring and turnaround mandates, while the commercial practice provides support to clients in the retail, consumer goods, leisure, energy and financial services sectors.
Ashfords’ Bristol-based corporate team is increasingly acting for large national and international clients, especially in the retail and tech sectors. I
Clients of Bond Dickinson rate its ability to provide ‘depth of expertise at competitive rates’ to regional and national companies in the energy, private equity and insurance sectors.
Clarke Willmott regularly handles corporate transactions for mid-market clients, managers and investors, and the team has noted increased activity in private equity-backed transactions.
DAC Beachcroft is routinely called on to handle complex cross-border transactions, and is renowned for its M&A and VC work related to the financial services, TMT, renewable energy and healthcare sectors.
For some, Roxburgh Milkins is ‘at least comparable in every way to that of larger firms’. Foot Anstey’s corporate and commercial team provides ‘commercial and down-to-earth’ advice in the technology, energy and utilities sectors. Thrings’ corporate and M&A department is known for its work regarding mid-market M&A, joint venture agreements, funding and equity investments, restructuring and compliance advice.
The ‘proactive and professional’ team at VWV (Veale Wasbrough Vizards) regularly acts for healthcare, education and family business, and has been increasingly active in the technology sector, having advised over 30 tech start-ups in 2016.
