Lodders is delighted to have retained several top-tier rankings in the 2027 Legal 500 directory, and to have earned a new ranking for its Property Litigation team.
Legal 500 2027
The Legal 500 is the UK’s leading guide to the best law firms and lawyers. For the eighth year running, Lodders’ Private Client (Personal Tax, Trusts and Probate) and Agriculture and Estates teams retain the highest Tier 1 position in the Legal 500 UK directory.
The Legal 500 recognises the Private Client team’s Louise Igoe, Dawn Oliver, and Laura Banks as leading partners, and Jennifer Russell as a leading associate. The guide cites Louise’s “wealth of experience in handling succession planning and managing probate applications”, partner John Rouse’s “special focus on HNWIs and farmers’ estate planning”, Dawn’s work with “retired business owners, farming families, and landowners,” and Jennifer and legal director Laura Banks’ work advising “a range of clients on wills, estate planning, and trusts.”
James Anderson is recognised as a leading associate in the Agriculture and Estates team, with his “expertise in partnerships and related tax matters” acknowledged. The guide also recognises team head James Spreckley’s work assisting “clients with agricultural property, farm partnership, and succession work,” partner Victoria Longmore’s “focus on biodiversity net gain, highways and rights of way matters,” and partner Alastair Frew’s “particular specialism in renewable energy and diversification schemes.”
Lodders’ Commercial Property team is also ranked as Tier 1, with partner and head of the Real Estate group Mark Miller recognised in the Hall of Fame, Victoria Longmore and James Mottram as leading partners, Daniel MacLeod as a next-generation partner, and Lauren Pearson and James Leighfield as leading associates. The guide praises the team’s “noteworthy capabilities in handling strategic land, residential development, and renewable energy matters, as well as wider commercial property transactions.”
Lodders’ Family Law team in Birmingham is ranked Tier 2, with Mark Hands and Vivienne Middleton both named as leading partners. According to the guide, “the practice is well equipped to handle divorce, cohabitation and children law matters, while also demonstrating notable expertise in child abduction cases, emergency protection applications and trustee-related financial disputes.” Partner Vivienne Middleton is said to “regularly represent high-net-worth individuals in complex financial matters, including pre- and post-nuptial agreements, alongside her substantial children law practice.” Whilst legal director Justin Creed “brings particular expertise to financial cases involving farming businesses and pension-related issues.”
Also ranked are Commercial Litigation (Tier 3), Contentious Trusts and Probate (Tier 3), Corporate and Commercial (Tier 3), Construction (Tier 4), Property Litigation (Tier 5) – which hits the Legal 500 rankings for the very first time – and Employment (Tier 6).
In the Contentious Trusts and Probate team, partner Martin Oliver is celebrated in the Hall of Fame, and in the Construction team, Heidi Brennan is recognised as a leading partner.
Testimonials from Legal 500 2027
We were pleased to read the positive client feedback provided to the Legal 500 directory. We have included some highlights below.
Agriculture and Estates team
“The people are agricultural specialists who understand their clients and advise in an approachable yet extremely knowledgeable way.”
“Kimberley Brookes has been excellent to work with. Kimberley is always at the end of the phone and is very approachable and easy to ask questions. Kimberley makes herself available for small questions and cannot do enough to help.”
Commercial Property
“Dan MacLeod has a brilliant manner and offers a superb service. He is competent, knowledgeable, and approachable.”
“Responsive, proactive, and a great lawyer to have on our side during negotiations. Adopts a pragmatic and commercial style.”
Private Client
“Approachable, always able to discuss complex matters with clients, where clients’ understanding after such a conversation is vastly improved. In addition, clients might think a particular matter is daunting until they have spoken to someone in the team at Lodders.”
“Lodders provides a very personable service and demonstrates a good understanding of areas that can be overwhelming to clients. The team is approachable and provides the support a client requires to enable them to make fully informed decisions.”
Family
“Vivienne Middleton was outstanding. I felt guided and advised with respect, appreciation for how emotionally delicate the situation was, and professionalism throughout. She remained calm-headed but also was human and kept me on the right track. I couldn’t have done it without her, and I remain eternally grateful.”
“Justin Creed has worked with me on a number of extremely complex matters. He is professional, knowledgeable, and handles complex matters with ease.”
“The team is extremely knowledgeable and experienced and handles complex matters with ease.”
“Vivienne Middleton is a superb lawyer. Her attention to detail in cases is unrivalled, as is her ability to help clients navigate emotionally challenging times. She is hugely practical, organised, and leads with an air of well-deserved confidence. Her clients know they are in incredibly safe and talented hands.”
Contentious Trusts and Probate
“Martin Oliver has moved and is building a team. Definitely one to watch. I predict they will be running rings around the opposition in no time.”
“Martin Oliver is a real superstar in terms of his reputation and depth and breadth of experience. He leads a very robust team that can easily go toe-to-toe with any of the heavyweight firms in the area.”
“Martin Oliver, having worked on the only two cases to go to the UKSC in the Inheritance Act (and both times changing the law in the process), has an unparalleled reputation in the field of contentious probate and private client litigation.”
“Martin Oliver, who recently moved to Lodders, is a very well-known contentious trusts and probate lawyer who is excellent. He is very knowledgeable and has a keen eye on how to get his client the best possible outcome.”
“Lodders has a hard-earned and well-deserved reputation for providing excellent legal services to its clients. As a barrister, I find them easy to work with. Files are invariably well-organised and sensible, pragmatic decisions are made at every stage of the litigation process to achieve the best outcome for clients.”
Corporate and Commercial
“Leanne Lawrence has been invaluable over a number of our deals.”
“Graham Spalding and his team have always given exceptional service to us and our clients.”
Construction
“Approachable and very good at explaining legal principles in a non-legalese manner. Specific parties to mention are: Heidi Brennan, Kate Woodall, Susan Greenshields.”
“Very good understanding of the construction market and contract conditions acceptable in the market, balanced with risk mitigation expected by clients.”
“Heidi Brennan took the time to fully understand our project, which is both unique and ambitious. I have been extremely impressed with the level of care and attention Heidi has given to understanding not only our business model but also our ethos and long-term vision. She has demonstrated genuine commitment by offering her support at a reduced cost to help us meet our targets while remaining flexible, responsive, and highly supportive throughout.”
Property Litigation
“Lodders’ Property Litigation team has real depth and breadth to its work. Somewhat unusually for the sector, they are truly able to cover all areas of property litigation such as commercial, residential, and agricultural. Along with being fantastic technical lawyers, I have always found members of the team to be genuinely nice people who are a delight to work with. While this may sound like a relatively minor thing, it makes a real difference.”
“Kyle Wyness is a fantastic partner. He is always available for his clients when they need him; he is an extremely knowledgeable lawyer; and he gives pragmatic commercial advice. Katie Mann is also great at the junior end. She has a fantastic manner with clients along with skills as a lawyer well beyond her years of practice.”
“Katie Mann is a fantastic lawyer. She is astute and always offers well-judged, strategic, and practical advice. She combines this with being extremely personable. She is a pleasure to work with.”
“The firm has local knowledge and a reputation that is valued by clients. It has excellent solicitors who offer commercial advice.”
“Ellie Crofts is an outstanding lawyer, being both approachable and technically superb.”
“An extremely efficient team with a great depth of legal and technical knowledge and a proactive approach to finding solutions to problems.”
“The Lodders team provides sound commercial advice and has established itself as the leading firm of property litigators in Warwickshire.”
Read the Legal 500 guide
For more information about Lodders’ Legal 500 2027 rankings, click here.
Contact usContact us
Need more advice?
For help with a legal problem or more information on any of our services at Lodders, please get in touch with our friendly team. You can contact us via the number or email address below, or fill in the form and we will get back to you as quickly as we can.
