Steele Raymond have, once again, been recognised by foremost legal industry guide The Legal 500 as one of Dorset and the South West’s leading law firms; the 17th consecutive year the Bournemouth-based firm has received the accolade.
The latest ‘Top Tier’ ranking comes after a somewhat unpredictable year, in which businesses of all sizes and across all sectors have been required to adapt and evolve amidst the uncertainty of Covid-19 and the ways in which the pandemic continues to impact upon the workplace.
Despite this, Steele Raymond has welcomed a number of strategic appointments to the firm, strengthening its legal teams across the board whilst appointing three newly qualified solicitors from its highly regarded training programme.
Commenting on the latest rankings, Chairman of Steele Raymond, Tim Stone said:
“To have received such an excellent Legal 500 listing after a challenging and unpredictable year is tremendous. Although we as lawyers take note of these results and those of our peers, our clients remain at the heart of everything that we do; the comments and recommendations submitted by them to the Legal 500 are what we all really appreciate and take a great deal of satisfaction from. They are ultimately the judge of how we are performing.
“As legal professionals, it is my firmly-held belief that we are here to serve, to provide insight, guidance and support to our clients through both good and bad times and, irrespective of personal accolades and industry kudos, this is at the heart of what we do and why we do it.”
In total, Steele Raymond is ranked in nine practice areas in this years’ Legal 500 guide, whilst a total of 20 individual lawyers are recognised for their work across the Dorset, Devon and Cornwall regions.
Of those, the six lawyers recognised by the 2021 edition in the elite “Leading Individual” category have all maintained this status. ‘Leading Individuals’ include chairman Tim Stone and partner Paula Eckton for their work in Corporate & Commercial, managing partner and head of dispute resolution, Peter Rolph, and three partners in the firm’s leading Property Group, head of commercial property Chris Twaits, Property Partner Jennifer Rogerson and head of residential development, Emma Stainwright.
Lindsay Halliwell (Family) and Johanna Hammersley (Pension Property Investment) also maintained their ‘Rising Star’ status, whilst newly appointed commercial law specialist Alexandra Clapp also received the accolade. In other welcome news, employment law head Deborah West, was listed as a ‘Next Generation Partner’.
An in-depth review of the firm’s performance in the 2021 Edition of the Legal 500, alongside some of the standout client feedback, can be found here: