Law firm Burnetts has been named among the most outstanding legal practices in the UK.
The solicitors, which has offices across Cumbria, appears in the 2022 Chambers and Partners UK Guide.
Chambers and Partners identifies and ranks the most outstanding law firms and lawyers in over 180 jurisdictions throughout the world and its 2022 UK Guide ranks the best law firms and solicitors working in the UK legal market.
Four of Burnett’s departments – agribusiness, family, medical negligence and personal injury and corporate – achieved rankings in the top two categories for the North of England.
Its agribusiness team was recognised for its high quality of work, pragmatic approach and speed of delivery, with head of department Joanne McKenzie and leading agribusiness solicitor Richard Miller achieving rankings across the two highest bands, and senior associate Diane Barnes named an associate to watch.
Its family team was praised for its “calm, measured and ultimately supportive” approach with head of department Simon Mortimer highlighted for his understanding of the difficult emotions and traumatic situations that surround divorce proceedings and associate solicitor Emma Armstrong ranked as an associate to watch.
Head of department and spinal injury specialist Spencer Knaggs, delayed cancer diagnosis specialist Lynne Hall, brain injury specialist Paul Brown and birth trauma specialist Michelle Armstrong from Burnetts’ medical negligence and personal injury team were all ranked highly and recognised for their expertise, with the team as a whole praised for its work with claimants with high-value claims.
Burnetts’ corporate team was highlighted as a “key player in the Cumbrian market with a considerable presence in the region”, with head of department Vaughan Jones and partner Michael Walby both receiving high rankings and being described as commercial, proactive and driven, with professional and timely advice.
Helen Hayward, head of commercial property, was praised as “knowledgeable, commercial and available”. Head of banking Sarah Willshire was heralded as “friendly, proactive and very quick at responding to queries”, while the banking team as a whole was recognised.
Managing partner Nick Gutteridge said: “It’s great to see our hard-working teams and individuals rank so highly and I’d like to congratulate them all in achieving this recognition in such a respected guide.
“This praise bodes well for our future, as we grow our teams across Cumbria and Newcastle and continue to offer our specialist services across the whole of the UK.”
