IBB Solicitors rated regional heavyweights
14th September 2009
IBB Solicitors has been rated as one of the top tier law firms in the South East region by the UK’s leading legal services directory, The Legal 500.
Each year, the directory surveys clients across the UK, asking them what they think of their law firm. It then groups the firms into geographical areas and according to each discipline. Each discipline is put into a tier — the top tier contains the best law firms with the most expertise and the most satisfied clients.
IBB has been picked out for the quality of its legal expertise in a total of 17 practice areas:
- Commercial Property
- Banking and Finance
- Construction
- Property Litigation
- Commercial Services
- Corporate & Commercial
- Insolvency & Corporate Recovery
- Dispute Resolution
- Employment
- Pensions
- Charities
- Private Client
- Family
- Personal Tax, Trusts & Probate
- Community Legal Services
- Personal Injury
- Crime
Six of these practice areas have been ranked in the top tier. Here is a selection of what the researchers have to say about IBB and our partners:
Commercial Property
Banking and Finance
Ross Johnstone heads a four-partner team at IBB whose main strength is property finance. The firm also has expertise in loan restructuring.
Commercial Property
Real estate work forms the backbone of IBB’s practice, with David Silva leading a team that fields ‘City-experienced lawyers at sensible rates’. The team acts as sole property adviser to Aviva. Clients recommend Susan Mawson and Juliusz Wodzianski for ‘combining sound technical knowledge with good commercial acumen’.
Construction
Clients appreciate ‘the expertise and delivery’ of Paul Brampton.
Property Litigation
Acting for a client list that includes Bellway Homes and Aviva, IBB’s Andrew Olins and Jon Mowbray handle a broad spectrum of cases.
Commercial Services
Corporate and Commercial
Clients say the firm ‘represents a good balance of professional service and cost’, with David Clark highlighted as having ‘deep knowledge and good communication skills’.
Insolvency and Corporate Recovery
IBB enjoyed another successful year under the steady guiding hand of Simon Hobbs, winning new client Vantis plc in addition to Baker Tilly and Begbies Traynor.
Dispute Resolution
Clients rate Simon Hobbs ‘expert knowledge and empathetic manner’.
Employment
IBB’s team ‘offers a very high standard of service with creative and efficient replies’. Team head Justin Govier successfully defended a whistle-blowing claim before the Employment Tribunal.
Pensions
Partner David Clark has experience advising trustees and employers.
Charities
Peter Burnett has ‘particular knowledge of religious charities’, and was recently appointed sole English representative on the board of directors of the Mercy International Association.
Private Clients
Family
IBB continues to field a ‘consistently high standard of lawyers’, particularly in matters relating to complex childcare cases. Liz Fitzpatrick's advocacy skills are of ‘an extremely high standard’.
Personal Tax, Trusts and Probate
IBB’s private client practice has been working closely with its finance and litigation teams to provide a comprehensive service to its high-net-worth client base. The team ‘works hard to deliver quick and effective service’.
Community Legal Services
Personal Injury - Claimant
Well known for its trade union work, IBB has a strong track record in occupational disease cases. Malcolm Underhill leads the group.
Crime
The four-partner team at IBB is headed by the ‘always available, highly knowledgeable’ Anil Rajani.
Source: The Legal 500, UK Edition 2009
