Bristol-headquartered national law firm Burges Salmon has won a major award for its private client work for the second time in three years.

The firm landed the title of Legal Team of the Year – Large Firm at the STEP Private Client Awards 2017/18, reflecting market recognition of its reputation in the private wealth sector and that it competes internationally on equal terms with lawyers anywhere in the world. 

The STEP Private Client Awards are viewed as the hallmark of quality in the private client industry. Open globally to both STEP members and non-members, the awards recognise and celebrate excellence among private client solicitors, accountants, barristers, bankers, trustees and financial advisors.

All entries undergo a rigorous judging process. Judges are supported by an independent panel of experts comprising internationally renowned practitioners in the wealth management arena.

Head of Burges Salmon’s private wealth team, Beatrice Puoti, pictured, said: “The STEP Awards are considered as the leading recognition in the wider private wealth sector. We are therefore once again delighted to have won this prestigious Award.”

The winners were announced at a dinner and awards ceremony staged earlier this month at The Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London and attended by more than 700 private-client professionals.

The Burges Salmon private wealth team is nationally and internationally recognised for providing clear and practical legal advice to clients in the UK and abroad. The team works with a wide variety of clients including entrepreneurs, landowners, high and ultra-high net worth individuals, trustees and family offices, both onshore and offshore.

Further speakers for this year’s TEDxBristol – the UK’s largest event of its kind – were last night announced at its official launch party.

Among the largest TEDxs in Europe, TEDxBristol will take place over two days in November following the success of the inaugural one-day event in 2015. 

The full line-up of 16 speakers, who will present talks under the theme ‘Dare to Disrupt’, will not be announced until late October when the name of a final mystery speaker will be revealed.

The two speakers announced last night at the party, hosted at the Temple Quay offices of launch event sponsor OVO Energy, are Clayton Planter and David McGoran.

Clayton Planter is a Bristol entrepreneur with successful track record of working with young people and adults from disadvantaged backgrounds. He is the founder of Street2Boardroom, a programme that teaches young adults at risk of being caught up in a criminal lifestyle the knowledge, skills, and confidence to apply the things they’ve learned on the street to the ‘legal hustle’.

David McGoran from Bristol robotics company Rusty Squid will talk about the necessary communication that should be taking place between technologists and artists. He will argue why emotions, human behaviour and culture are as important as technological innovation when designing robots – and why Bristol is leading the way.

Also announced this week was Dr Madge Dresser, who joins the line-up of positive disruptors on November 2 and 3 with her talk on the prevalent subject of history and hate groups.

Other recent additions to the billing include Antonia Forster, whose fascinating talk on LGBTQ in animals will question the view that polyamory and different sexualities are ‘unnatural’, and Alan Bec, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sufferer and inventor of the Wellbeing Indicator Badge (WIB), which helps him deal with the irritations of being unwell.

TEDxBristol curator and creative director Mel Rodrigues said: “I am so thrilled by the line-up. The most exciting part is that these are all Bristol and the West’s homegrown disruptors, whose ideas and projects all have the potential to make an impact on a global scale. This TEDx is about showing the world the quality of innovation and break-through thinking that is coming out of this region – ideas that have the power to change the world.”

Eight speakers will take to the stage at the Colston Hall each day, separated by interactive workshops and ‘salons’ where visitors can get involved between talks, and will be encouraged to consider the ways in which they could become a positive disruptor themselves, whether it be socially, in the workplace, or on a larger scale altogether.

Disruptive Bodies, Disruptive Minds is the focus for day one, with Disruptive Innovation, Disruptive Planet talks taking centre stage on day two. The 16 speakers will start a dialogue around how and why they Dare to Disrupt, challenge the status quo, and do things differently to make the world a better place. Other TEDxBristol partners include law firm Burges Salmon, Floating Harbour Films and Newicon.

Bristol Business News and law firm Thrings have teamed up to launch Bristol Property Pop-ups, a series of events celebrating and showcasing some of the city’s ground-breaking property developments.

The inaugural event took place with guests drawn from among the city’s property professionals at CARGO, the innovative retail scheme at Wapping Wharf made from converted shipping containers and which has become a successful hub for Bristol’s artisan food and drink sector. 

To give guests an authentic taste of the sector, CARGO tenant Bristol Cider Shop staged a cider-tasting session with shop owner Pete Snowman explaining why he relocated his business to the scheme.

Louis Arron from Wapping Wharf developer Umberslade spoke about the concept behind CARGO and its huge success before giving a guided tour of the scheme.

Bristol Business News editor Robert Buckland said: “The idea for Bristol Property Pop-ups came from a discussion with Thrings director of marketing Lizzie Heffer about the interesting developments going on in and around Bristol.

“We thought it would be great to get behind the scenes and hear from those individuals and businesses that are driving these schemes and reshaping our city. The developers, the funders, the architects, the occupiers and so on.

“The reason we picked the Cider Shop was not only because Pete Snowman epitomises the growing independent food and drink industry here in Bristol. But also because he chose to move his shop to CARGO to be at the heart of the innovative Wapping Wharf development.”

Future Bristol Property Pop-ups will be staged quarterly in other innovative schemes around the city.

All photos by Beata Cosgrove Photography

Bristol-headquartered national law firm Burges Salmon has hired four new legal apprentices – the second year running it has taken on students looking for an alternative route into the legal profession.

The firm has been involved in the Trailblazers initiative since March 2014. Trailblazers is a cross-party initiative to improve the quality and simplicity of apprenticeship standards and align them more with the needs of employers.

Last year Burges Salmon, which is also part of the steering group for legal services, piloted the programme by taking on its first year of legal apprentices – one of the first law firms in the UK to do so under the new Trailblazer standards.

The Trailblazer legal sector group has designed three new apprenticeship standards – Level 3 paralegal, Level 6 chartered legal executive and Level 7 solicitor. Burges Salmon was involved in the development of all the legal apprenticeships and was part of the sub-group that helped to draft the Level 7 solicitor apprenticeship.

The two-year programme includes a combination of through-the-job and textbook learning, with the apprentices spending one day a week studying at the BPP Law School and four working at Burges Salmon.

At the end of the programme the apprentices achieve a Level 3 paralegal apprenticeship standard and a Certificate in Legal Practice (equivalent to the first year of university). 

Completing the Certificate will enable the apprentices to complete the Level 7 solicitor apprenticeship in a shorter period of time.

Pictured: Burges Salmon’s new legal apprentices, from left: Nicole Marks, Charlie Morgan, Alana Rizzuti and Ella Swanson

Bristol businesses that care about their city are being urged to step up their philanthropy and offer support for organisations that prevent local people suffering mental health crises. 

The plea comes from the Quartet Community Foundation, the independent charity that works across the West of England to support local philanthropists in their charitable giving. 

It coincides with a new report highlighting the scale of the mental health problem in Bristol and across the region.

The key conclusion of the 2017 Vital Signs report is that early intervention and preventative programmes can reduce risk factors and prevent mental health from deteriorating. But funding is urgently needed by organisations – many of them small – that work with local people.

Quartet chief executive Sue Turner said: “This report shows that mental health problems are often layered on top of other issues, so it’s the most vulnerable people who are likely to struggle. But we have a message of hope too because we know there are ways all of us can help.

“We are calling for people, businesses and trusts that care about the local community to step up their philanthropy and offer support for organisations that provide early intervention and preventative programmes that can reduce risk factors and prevent mental health from deteriorating.”

Key findings of the 2017 Vital Signs include:

• The kids aren’t alright. 1 in 3 adult mental health issues directly relate to difficulty in childhood and the symptoms of 50% of lifelong mental health issues begin by the age of 14. As many as 1 in 4 girls aged 14 report symptoms of depression. 
• High rates of young people self-harming. Local hospitals see a higher than average number of young people aged 10-24 years who have self-harmed. This indicates that more early support is needed for our young people before they reach crisis point. 
• Living on the breadline. In 15 local authority wards 30% or more of our children and young people are living in poverty, putting them at higher risk of developing mental health problems. 
• Debt time-bomb. Many people are struggling with debt which is linked to depression, drink and drug use and suicide.  In Bristol 17% of people are estimated to be overindebted.
• Hard lives. Research shows your risk of mental health problems is much higher if you are facing a combination of problems like disability, housing problems and poverty.
• Local communities with inadequate support. People from black, Asian, minority ethnic and gypsy/traveller groups can find it particularly difficult to get help for their mental health problems, even though some groups are more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health problem and be admitted to hospital. 

The report concludes that acting early can prevent crises from occurring, saving the financial and human costs of ill health, but more philanthropy is needed to increase this support where statutory funding has reduced.

Quartet, the West of England’s only community foundation, gathered data about mental health issues across Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

It is giving recommendations for making charitable donations more effective in supporting local groups working to prevent mental health issues arising.

Some 36% of Quartet’s funding last year through its grants programmes was directed at strengthening local communities and promoting healthy living. It made £900,000 in grants to small, local groups enhancing health and wellbeing in the local area, strengthening communities and supporting those most vulnerable to the effects of ill health.

Vital Signs details 10 ‘vital steps’ that people can take to make a difference – ways to donate money to local good causes that enhance health and wellbeing, strengthen communities and support those most vulnerable to the effects of mental ill health.

Quartet gives out £2.8m in grants each year to support people facing disadvantage in the region’s local communities and give as many people as possible the chance to fulfil their potential.

Since it was formed in 1987 it has funded more than £43m towards local projects

For more information or to find out how to fund a local project, go to www.quartetcf.org.uk

Commercial disputes paralegal Florence Lungu, who works in the Bristol office of national law firm Bond Dickinson, has won a major apprentice award for making a ‘substantial contribution’ to her employer.

Florence, 20, pictured, who has been with Bond Dickinson for two years, won the Advanced Apprentice of the Year category at the 2017 South West Regional Apprenticeship Awards. 

Organised by the National Apprenticeship Service and part of the 2017 National Apprenticeship Awards, the regional awards recognised businesses committed to growing their talent through apprenticeship schemes and showcased the apprentices who contributed most to their workplaces.

After successfully graduating from her Level 3 Advanced Legal Apprenticeship ahead of plan in July, Florence is now managing her own caseload while working as a commercial disputes paralegal.

In January she will start another apprenticeship pathway which will ultimately see her qualify as a Chartered Legal Executive.

She said: “An apprenticeship was a very easy decision for me. Earning whilst gaining a recognised legal qualification, combined with future career progression opportunities was the perfect choice for me.

“I’ll soon start another apprenticeship pathway to become a Chartered Legal Executive, have grown in confidence and will continue to share my experiences with others who also aspire to start an apprenticeship.”

Bond Dickinson deputy onshore manager Mark Norman-Ball added: “We are very proud of what Florence has achieved in the two years she has been with the firm and this award win is a tribute to her hard work, determination and deep passion to not only develop a career in law but to also inspire others to consider apprenticeships as a different avenue into a legal career.

“Hiring apprentices is absolutely the right thing to do in our sector. We wanted to create alternative routes into the legal profession and open up opportunities for young people who believe that university isn’t the right path for them.

“We are committed to developing and expanding our apprenticeship offering and to providing continued learning opportunities following our apprentices’ graduation.”

Since becoming one of the first law firms to make legal apprenticeships available in 2014, Bond Dickinson now offers graduating apprentices permanent roles and hopes to further expand the scheme across other parts of the business and locations.

The firm’s apprenticeship scheme was already rewarded earlier this year by the National Apprenticeship Service when it won Newcomer Large Employer title at the National Apprenticeship Awards.

Bond Dickinson was also named in the prestigious Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer list, which is compiled annually by the National Apprenticeship Service and recognises excellence in businesses that employ apprentices.  

Winners and highly commended entries from all regions will advance to the next stages of the awards process, where they will be assessed by a national judging panel. National award winners and the Top 100 Employers will be announced at a ceremony to be held next January in London.

Students interested in a legal career focussed on the infrastructure sector will be able to get advice on how the industry works and learn about a typical working day for a lawyer at an event in Bristol next week.

The Bristol head office of national law firm Burges Salmon has teamed up with Legal Cheek, the news source for law students and junior lawyers, to stage the panel discussion next Thursday. 

The event, at Burges Salmon’s Temple Quarter office, is invitation-only and those wanting to attend must apply by submitting their CV and two infrastructure-related questions.

Burges Salmon projects team partner Keith Beattie will lead the discussion and answer questions from the students. Joining him on the panel will be lawyers from the firm’s various legal specialisms and with different levels of seniority.

The discussion will be followed by drinks and networking with the speakers and a collection of the firm’s trainees and graduate recruitment team.

Keith said: “This event is a fantastic opportunity for students to find out more about how lawyers are involved at the heart of infrastructure projects and to learn about the breadth of the upcoming opportunities, both in the UK and overseas, across a wide range of sectors including energy, transport and social infrastructure.”

Legal Cheek publisher Alex Aldridge said: “Infrastructure is one of the hot practice areas that Legal Cheek’s community of future lawyers are set to play a big part in shaping over the years ahead.

“So it’s great to bring together these law students with Burges Salmon’s projects law experts. I’m looking forward to a fascinating discussion.”

Click here to attend.

TEDxBristol – the UK’s largest event of its kind – has launched a Community Partnership Programme offering free tickets to groups and individuals who would otherwise be unable to attend.

The programme aims to build bridges between the game-changing ideas of TEDxBristol and communities around the city who may find such events inaccessible for a range of reasons. 

TEDxBristol, which will feature 16 speakers over two days under the theme ‘Dare to Disrupt’, believes that the ideas and conversations which grow from events of this kind should be shared by, and accessible to, everyone.

So it is partnering with 40 organisations representing diverse community groups across the region to provide 15% of seats – around 450 places – free of charge.

Its Community Partners include Babbasa Youth Empowerment, Centre for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People, City Academy and Knowle West Media Centre. Their support will help bring diverse groups to TEDxBristol, which takes place at Colston Hall on November 2 and 3, who organisers hope will be inspired by the event’s atmosphere of positive disruption.

The community scheme is being run by Bristol-based community engagement consultancy Diverse Insights, whose director Jo Sunderland said: “The programme has allowed TEDxBristol to expand its impact in the city. We have communities coming together from across the area who we hope will be inspired to be the change and disruption the city needs.

“From Easton Cowgirls football team to ACTA community theatre group, refugees to school children, these tickets are breaking down Bristol’s invisible barriers, and creating new conversations.”

TEDxBristol is being staged this year following the success of the inaugural one-day event in 2015. The event is among the largest TEDxs in Europe.

The Community Partnership Programme is sponsored by Bristol headquartered national law firm Burges Salmon, Bristol & Bath Regional Capital, database firm Flexi DB, marketing agency Uniquity and Diverse Insights.

Burges Salmon senior partner Chris Seaton said: “We are proud to be one of the Premier Partners to the TEDxBristol 2017 event and we are excited about being involved in such a progressive and forward-thinking project.

“But importantly, we are particularly pleased to be a part of this Community Partnership Programme as it will open up TEDxBristol to a wide range of diverse individuals and groups who would not necessarily be in a position to attend the event and experience first-hand the fascinating talks and disruptive ideas.”

The TEDxBristol team are at Business Showcase South West today (Wednesday October 11) at Ashton Gate Stadium, presenting a seminar and talking with local businesses about ways to support the TEDxBristol Community Partnership Programme.

Speaker sneak previews will include Clayton Planter of Street to Boardroom, who has been instrumental in breaking down cultural barriers within business and social communities in the city.

To find out more about TEDxBristol, the Community Partnership Programme, and ways that to get involved, watch its community action video.

Ideas have always flowed in and out of Bristol, taking on a new life here. Through our airports and harbour; through our world-class universities and businesses; and through our unique arts and cultural scene.

Bristol is a place where ideas flourish. From Clifton Suspension Bridge and Banksy to Massive Attack and Aardman. Ideas are what we do.

We are an open-minded and intellectually curious city which values freedom of expression, nurtures thinkers and innovators and welcomes outsiders as our own. 

Bristol is a vibrant, stimulating place. An open and inclusive world city which has been broadening the horizons of Bristolians and honorary Bristolians and introducing them to a world – nay galaxy – of ideas for centuries.

This unique cultural heritage is what makes Bristol special. And it is our mission here at Business West to ensure our great city stays that way.

That’s why in 2005, as a founder member of the Bristol Cultural Development Partnership, we helped to establish the Bristol Festival of Ideas to provide a year-round forum for ideas to flow in, flow out and develop in our great city for a generation.

As another festival season gets under way I’d like to take the opportunity to reflect on and celebrate what is fast becoming an institution, epitomising Bristol’s open-mindedness and passion for ideas and debate by sharing a few of my own personal experiences.

One particular highlight – a cultural moment for Bristol that will linger long in the memory –  came as recently as this year: the festival appearance of US Senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.

We’ve had a few icons and pre-eminent thinkers visit Bristol in our time, heaven knows we’ve given birth to some too, but no one captured public attention or the political and cultural zeitgeist quite like Bernie, pictured left, did back in April. 

Tickets sold out in less than an hour – almost unprecedented in the 12-year history of the festival.

Senator Sanders’ keynote speech at St George’s concert hall moved an entire audience to a rousing standing ovation. It was quite a spectacle and made me feel proud to have played a small part in making such a fantastic cultural moment happen at a time when the eyes of the world were on our esteemed guest.

Another thing that makes the festival so special –a reflection of the Bristol Cultural Development Partnership’s commitment to inclusivity – is the fact that so many of events are absolutely free to attend.

Over the course of a week in October, as part of the special bi-annual Festival of the Future City season, there are more than 40 free events including – an interview with University of Bristol honorary alumni, writer, actor and comedian of Little Britain fame, Matt Lucas.

Also during the same week, Bristol Festival of Ideas is partnering with the Festival of the Future City Bath to extend the city debate beyond Bristol and into neighbouring areas.

Other autumn highlights for the Festival include UN Special Envoy for Global Education, and former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown taking to the stage to reflect on a life in politics at the Wills Memorial Building. This event is also free and takes place on November 14. It forms part of the build-up to the annual Festival of Economics season.

Putting on events that bring leading lights in politics, culture and the media to Bristol and making them accessible ensures that an intellectual curiosity and a passion for ideas remains open to all.

Our commitment to enhancing the social and cultural life of the city, fostering a shared sense of belonging across our communities and inspiring the next generation is unwavering.

One final note, which is testament not only to the quality of the speakers that come to Bristol each and every year, but also to the gargantuan effort put in by festival organisers and stakeholders to ensure that such an ambitious programme of events takes place without a hitch.

I’ve lost count of the talks I’ve attended and the ideas I’ve been introduced to which continue to inspire me each and every day.

That’s why I feel privileged to see the huge organisational effort that goes into each and every season. Festival director Andrew Kelly, his team and the venues that bring the Bristol Festival of Ideas to life have a mammoth task on their hands and they do it with aplomb.

Without them and the wider community it simply would not happen.

And for this we should be grateful for playing an active role in shaping the cultural offer of our city and enriching all our lives. So, show your support for the Festival of Ideas and the Bristol Cultural Development Partnership, a body that initiates a variety of cultural and heritage projects, by getting involved.

Celebrate with us the work of great writers, commentators and thinkers in and outside the city. Click here. 

The Legal 500, the respected annual guide to the UK’s legal firms and individuals, has named dozens of Bristol lawyers on its list of the region’s ‘leading individuals’. Bristol lawyers once again make up the vast majority – and, for the first time, up-and-coming lawyers have been included alongside those who have appeared for many years. All these individuals are regarded as the ‘go-to’ lawyers in their field. 

Agriculture and estates

Ben Sharples Michelmores

Next generation lawyer

Rachel O’Connor Michelmores

Banking and finance

Omar Al-Nuaimi Osborne Clarke

Tom Bussy Osborne Clarke

Julian Kinsey Bond Dickinson

Richard Leeming Burges Salmon

Will Whitt Foot Anstey

Next generation lawyer

Rachael Ruane Burges Salmon

Charities and not-for-profit

Con Alexander VWV

Clinical negligence: claimant

Andrew Hannam Enable Law

Richard Harries Barcan+Kirby

Julie Lewis Irwin Mitchell

Laurence Vick Enable Law

Clinical negligence: defendant

Nigel Montgomery DAC Beachcroft

Commercial litigation: Bristol

Peter Clough Osborne Clarke

David Hall Burges Salmon

Robert Humphreys Humphreys & Co.

Alex Jakubowski Clarke Willmott

Chris Owen TLT

Next generation lawyers

Megan Jefferies Thrings

Wesley O’Brien Bevan Brittan

Charlie Wedin Osborne Clarke

Commercial property: Bristol

Graham Brothwood DAC Beachcroft

Euan Bremner Burges Salmon

Julia Lucas TLT

David North Osborne Clarke

Richard Read Burges Salmon

Ian Wilkinson Osborne Clarke

Next generation lawyer

Drew Nesbitt Burges Salmon

Construction

Philip Davies Osborne Clarke

Marcus Harling Burges Salmon

Jason Prosser VWV

Louise Robling Bevan Brittan

Next generation lawyer

Jessica Evans Bevan Brittan

Contentious trusts and probate

Tony Cockayne Michelmores

Kevin Kennedy Burges Salmon

Michelle Rose VWV

Next generation lawyer

Barny Croft Michelmores

Sian Edmunds Burges Salmon

Katherine King Burges Salmon

Fiona Lawrence VWV

Sarah O’Grady Clarke Willmott

Corporate and commercial: Bristol

Chris Godfrey Burges Salmon

Simon Hewes Bond Dickinson

Alisdair Livingstone Osborne Clarke

Richard Spink Burges Salmon

John Wood TLT

Next generation lawyer

Michael Pearce DAC Beachcroft

Leading individuals Corporate tax

Brian Garner Michelmores

Nigel Popplewell Burges Salmon

Crime: fraud

David Hall Burges Salmon 

Crime: general

Giles Tippett Bobbetts Mackan

Debt recovery

Jane Dunlop Clarke Willmott

Next generation lawyer

Rachael Ruane Burges Salmon

EU and competition

Laura Claydon Burges Salmon

Bill Hull TLT

Education

Simon Bevan VWV

Barney Northover VWV

Next generation lawyer

Charlotte Antoniou Michelmores

Employment: Bristol

Roger Bull Burges Salmon

Julian Hoskins Bevan Brittan

Sarah Lamont Bevan Brittan

Stuart McBride TLT

Next generation lawyer

Tim Copplestone Clarke Willmott

Energy

Maria Connolly TLT

Ross Fairley Burges Salmon

Alan John Osborne Clarke

Rob Laddle Renew Legal

Ian Salter Burges Salmon

Next generation lawyer

Alec Whiter Burges Salmon

Environment

Ross Fairley Burges Salmon

Ian Salter Burges Salmon

Family

Natalie Gamble NGA Law

Alison Hawes Burges Salmon

Philippa Morgan Lyons Davidson

Gareth Schofield Clarke Willmott

Next generation lawyer

Mark Sage TLT

Health

Sharon Renouf Bevan Brittan

Next generation lawyer

Hannah Volpe DAC Beachcroft

Health and safety

Jon Cooper Bond Dickinson

Mary Lawrence Osborne Clarke

Next generation lawyer

Ian Manners DAC Beachcroft

IT and telecoms

Andrew Dunlop Burges Salmon

Stephanie Pritchett Pritchetts

James Touzel TLT

Next generation lawyers

Lucy Pegler Burges Salmon

Dan Read TLT

Charlie Wedin Osborne Clarke

Insolvency and corporate recovery

Peter Carney TLT

Giles Hindle DAC Beachcroft

Charles Maunder Michelmores

David Pomeroy Ashfords

Next generation lawyers

Lisa Cooke Clarke Willmott

Karen Dunstone Michelmores

Intellectual property

Andrew Braithwaite Ashfords

Jeremy Dickerson Burges Salmon

Clare Robinson Osborne Clarke

Licensing

Ewen Macgregor Bond Dickinson

Matthew Phipps TLT

Local government

Bethan Evans Bevan Brittan

Gary Soloman Burges Salmon

Next generation lawyers

Wesley O’Brien Bevan Brittan

Lucy Woods Ashfords

Media and entertainment

Jeremy Dickerson Burges Salmon

Tom Harding Osborne Clarke

Tony Jaffa Foot Anstey

Pensions

Sasha Butterworth TLT

Personal injury: claimant

Virginia Chalmers Irwin Mitchell

 James davies Irwin Mitchell

Personal injury: defendant

Sally Yuill DAC Beachcroft

Personal tax, trusts and probate

John Barnett Burges Salmon

Patrick Wooddisse TLT

Next generation lawyers

Christopher Kerr-Smiley Bond Dickinson

Catherine de Maid Burges Salmon

James Radcliffe Michelmores

Planning

Neil Baker Clarke Willmott

Jonathan Bower Bond Dickinson

Patrick Robinson Burges Salmon

Next generation lawyer

John Webster Osborne Clarke

Professional negligence

Next generation lawyer

Rachael Healey RPC

Project finance and PFI

Carol McCormack Michelmores

Mark Paterson Burges Salmon

Catherine Wolfenden Osborne Clarke

Property litigation

Richard Bedford Burges Salmon

Michelle Bendall VWV

Leona Briggs Osborne Clarke

Bonnie Martin Clarke Willmott

Patrick Wetherall Bond Dickinson

Rail

Brioney Thomas Burges Salmon

Shipping

Jo Pummery Bartons

Next generation lawyer

Cory Cuff Bartons

Social housing

Next generation lawyer

Isabelle Clement TLT

National law firm Bond Dickinson, which has a large office in Bristol, has been recognised as one of Europe’s most innovative, gaining 14^th place in a prestigious top 50 table.

The firm was praised in three categories – collaboration, managing talent and rule of law – in the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Report.

The report includes the annual FT 50 table of the most innovative law firms and legal services providers across the continent.

The report was compiled by the FT alongside its research partner RSG Consulting. Legal innovation is assessed through interviews, extensive research and analysis, including robust client, independent, and expert references.

More than 1,000 submissions and nominations were received from law firms and in-house legal departments for the coveted awards.

Bond Dickinson’s recognition came in the following:

• Collaboration: The firm was highly commended for working in tandem with rival firms Kennedys and Mills & Reeve in order to support major insurer AIG Europe Ltd, enhancing AIG’s leading insurance product for the SME markets, by giving its policyholders access to a range of commercial legal advice.
• Managing Talent: it was highly commended for its award-winning apprenticeship scheme, which provides an alternative route in the legal profession and has increased retention rates for its paralegal staff. 
• Rule of Law: Bond Dickinson was commended for its CSR efforts, partnering with the University of Greenwich Legal Advice Centre, developing a pro bono small business advice clinic to help unemployed aspiring entrepreneurs set up their own business.

Bond Dickinson head of innovation Nigel Emmerson said: “We are delighted to have been recognised for our innovation drive and praised for projects where we have demonstrated novelty and initiative. 

“We firmly believe that the legal sector needs to embrace innovation in order to remain competitive, relevant and progressive, which is why we set up our innovation group to help identify potential innovation opportunities and coordinate initiatives and projects across the firm. The relentless pace of innovation however means that we need to keep challenging ourselves to think differently about how we can deliver the most value to our clients and our people.”

Earlier this year, Bond Dickinson was ranked in the top five firms for innovation in the Best Legal Adviser Report for 2016-2017. The report also revealed that innovation in law firms has become of paramount importance to clients – in 2015 only 28% said it was important whereas in 2016 this rose to 62%. Bond Dickinson was ranked in the top for both Overall Innovation and Alternative Low-Cost Centres.

Bristol is Bond Dickinson’s second largest office where it employs more than 250 staff. The firm is merging this month with US firm Womble Carlyle to form the transatlantic firm Womble Bond Dickinson.

Bristol law firm Gregg Latchams has merged with London-based Jacobs Allen Hammond in a move that will extend its reach into the capital’s legal market. 

The firms said the move reflected their shared ethos and values while also supporting Gregg Latchams’ growth strategy.

Jacobs Allen Hammond’s office in Marylebone will extend Gregg Latchams’ London presence – the firm also had an office in Marylebone since 2015 – by attracting more metropolitan and international clients.

Jacobs Allen Hammond’s expertise in mainly in private client and commercial property work. Its clients will now benefit from access to Gregg Latchams’ full range of legal services and expertise for individuals and businesses.

Gregg Latchams specialises in sectors such as manufacturing and supply chain, media, food and drink combined with professional and regulatory services.

Jacobs Allen Hammond partner Christopher Allen said: “We have been looking for opportunities to grow and enhance the services we offer. Our clients now have access to an excellent range of advocacy and consultancy.”

Gregg Latchams managing director Richard Hill said: “The opportunity that this offers both organisations in enabling us to augment and advance our service offering makes this an exciting proposition”   

The two firms will now operate under the Gregg Latchams name. Gregg Lathams can trace its roots back to the 1800s in Bristol.

The firm has a strong presence in China where it assists Chinese clients wishing to invest in UK and Europe.  

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.

In a classic David-versus-Goliath smackdown, a US-based musician-turned-programmer has won a protracted legal struggle against the mighty Trump Organization over rights to the ‘iTrump’ trade mark.

Tom Scharfield is the founder, CEO and, indeed, sole employee of app developer Spoonjack. A keen brass player, he is the creator of the ‘iTrump’ trumpet simulator app, a follow-up to the hugely successful ‘iBone’ trombone simulator and the absolutely awesome (in all senses of the word) ‘Vuvuzela Man’ app. 

Spoonjack applied to register iTrump in 2010 but was opposed by the not-yet-POTUS, who alleged that the mark falsely suggested a link to his ‘Trump’ business empire.

Mr Scharfield could not afford legal representation and so resorted to teaching himself enough US trademark law and litigation practice to counter these arguments, and to deal with some fairly aggressive tactics along the way. 

Victories for ‘litigants in person’ (i.e. someone fighting their own case without legal representation) are almost unheard of in US trademark law. But Tom not only successfully saw off Trump’s opposition, he then took the fight to the Donald and managed to invalidate the latter’s Trump mark in relation to all entertainment services – including reality TV shows!

BrandSoup reckons this is a nice (not too mention hubristic) reminder that trade marks are all about protecting brands and avoiding confusion in respect of specific goods and services. This does not necessarily equate to allowing big businesses simply to purchase wide-ranging exclusive rights over names or images. 

No matter how successful or influential the Trump Organization becomes, it will never be able to entirely overcome the fact that its name is a common English word with multiple meanings (some of them rather snigger-some) and with therefore a rather low inherent distinctiveness. 

Mr Trump might just have to get used to the fact that despite being the most famous Trump in the world, he is far from being the only one.

BrandSoup is a hearty concoction of crunchy facts, delicious ideas and fresh opinions served up monthly for the delight of the readers of Bristol Business News’ sister site Creative Business News by Thrings intellectual property partner Graeme Fearon. He’ll be stirring the bowl of current affairs, and looking for tidbits of brand, intellectual property and technology news to savour and share again next month. Spoons to the ready! 

Burges Salmon welcomed more than 70 law students to its Bristol head office to take part in a Question Time-style panel session on infrastructure.

The evening attracted students from Cardiff, London, Oxford and Cambridge as well as Bristol. Burges Salmon hosted the event in partnership with leading news source for law students Legal Cheek.

Keith Beattie, a partner in Burges Salmon’s projects team, led the panel discussion with input from a number of the firm’s key lawyers from varying project specialisms.

The students were given free rein to fire their infrastructure-related questions to the panel, covering such topics as “Why is infrastructure set to be a major growth area for lawyers?” and “What role does an infrastructure lawyer have in Parliament’s negotiation on public housing construction?”

The Q&A session was followed by drinks and networking to give students the opportunity to ask the firm’s lawyers and recruitment team for advice on entering the legal sector.      

Keith Beattie said: “It was great fun being in the hot seat and the students really impressed us with their enthusiasm and knowledge of the sector. We hope that the evening was insightful to all those who attended and that we’ve inspired some to choose infrastructure as a specialism.”

Legal Cheek publisher Alex Aldridge said: “We were delighted with the success of the event which aims to provide students with the unique opportunity to take to the floor and ask their burning questions directly to lawyers. I was impressed by all of the students who took part and the standard of the questions they asked.”  

Bristol law firm Barcan+Kirby last night won three awards at the Bristol Law Society annual awards dinner while Veale Wasbrough Vizards landed the large law firm of the year title.

The event, at the Bristol City Marriott Hotel, attracted more than 300 guests from the West of England’s legal sector. 

Barcan+Kirby’s Fiona Dabell won the coveted Junior Lawyer of the Year prize while colleague Samantha Castle scooped the strongly contested Lawyer of the Year Award.

The firm won the CSR Firm of the Year Award for its work with dementia charity, Bristol Dementia Action Alliance (BDAA), in efforts to make Bristol a dementia-friendly city.

The full list of winners is:

Law Student of the Year
Brooke Lewis, UWE

Support Team Member of the Year
Jerry Fowler, Civil and Family Justice Centre, Bristol County Court

Junior Lawyer of the Year
Fiona Dabell, Barcan+Kirby

Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year
Beverley Watkins, Watkins Solicitors Incorporating Brain Sinnott & Co

CSR Firm of the Year
Barcan+Kirby

Barrister of the Year
Natasha Dzameh, St John’s Chambers

Chambers of the Year
Albion Chambers

Lawyer of the Year
Samantha Castle, Barcan+Kirby

Team of the Year
Litigant in Person (Lip) Service

Law Firm of the Year (under 15 partners)
AMD Solicitors

Law Firm of the Year (over 15 partners)
Veale Wasbrough Vizards

President’s Outstanding Achievement Award
District Judge Julie Exton

A full story of the dinner, with more photos, will appear on Bristol Business News next week.

Pictured: Veale Wasbrough Vizards celebrate their victory in the Law Firm of the Year (over 15 partners) category

Specialist legal and business services provider Jordans has relocated its Bristol head office to prepare for expansion nearly a year after being taken over.

The firm has moved from its base in St Thomas Street, Redcliffe, to prestigious new offices in 10, Templeback, one of Bristol city centre’s prime waterside business addresses. 

Jordans was acquired last December by international corporate service providers Vistra, one of the largest businesses of its kind in the world.

All 130 staff from the Jordans group, which brings together a unique team of lawyers, accountants, trust managers, data specialists and company formation agents, have moved into the 15,000 sq ft of newly refurbished space at 10 Templeback. The firm said the move would allow for considerable expansion in the years ahead.

Jordans works for most of the UK’s leading law firms and accountancy practices, and has an enviable client base of small, medium and large business (including listed companies) in all sectors.

It has amalgamated several of its service units to form ‘centres of excellence’ to take advantage of emerging market opportunities. It now has three divisions – Business Information, Corporate Law and Corporate Services. Each will be managed in the UK, collaborating closely with Vistra’s executive management team.

Jordans Corporate Services managing director Jason Burgoyne: “We’ve been working on a new structure that will allow us to maximise the opportunities that being part of a global operation allows.

“The acquisition, and now the restructuring and the office move, have given us an exciting platform for growth.

“Critically, our new offices will allow us all to work on one floor – encouraging greater collaboration, enabling cross selling of services and making our total business offer to clients an integrated, seamless one.”

Moving close to Temple Meads was also a conscious decision by the company to be in a strategic location for its UK client base.

Debbie Farman, who heads the company’s law firm, added: “The benefits go two way. Vistra saw a great opportunity to have a UK presence for their international clients, while Jordans’ UK clients can draw upon the global scale of Vistra’s services.

“Another attraction for Vistra is that Jordans is the only corporate service provider with its own regulated law firm, Jordans Corporate Law.

“We can now provide clients with everything they need under one roof – from UK and international company formations, business information and company secretarial support through to wider, highly technical corporate governance and compliance for boards and committees, director services, accounting, tax, legal and business support solutions.

Jordans, which has been in business for more than 150 years, will now be known as ‘Jordans: a Vistra company’ prior to a full rebrand in the future, with Jordans Corporate Law retaining its name in full for the near future.

Debbie Farman added: “While we can call on the support from the Vistra team around the world when we need it, their message is to keep on doing what we’ve been doing – and expanding our client base. Vistra are learning from us, just as much as we can learn from them.

“Certainly all our clients have been enormously positive about the additional global strength and depth this provides to their businesses as well as ours.”

Vistra is one of the world’s top four corporate service providers of international incorporations, trust, fiduciary and fund administration services. It employs more than 3,500 professionals in 74 locations across 44 jurisdictions.

Lawyers at Ashfords, which has an office in Bristol, have secured victory in a landmark High Court case that has left world-leading architects Foster + Partners facing a £3.6m bill over an unbuilt hotel.

The court ruled that the renowned architecture practice must pay the amount to Riva Properties for losses it incurred in finding a new team to design the five-star hotel so it could be built within the budget.

Foster + Partners’ design, pictured, for the proposed 600-bedroom hotel near Heathrow Airport had seven floors above ground and seven below ground and a large glass biosphere around the outside containing the ‘village’.

Riva Properties claimed Foster + Partners’ design – which featured, in the architects’ words, a distinctive layered glass shell – would have cost £195m to build. That would have been more than twice its original budget of £70m, which was later increased to £100m.

Following the high-profile judgment, Ashfords partner and head of adjudication and arbitration services Stephen Homer said the case served “as a warning to designers that they cannot design in a vacuum”.

Riva owner John Dhanoa claimed Fosters had been notified of the intended overall budget. However, when the hotel design was costed in January 2008, the estimated cost was more than double the original budget, coming in at £195m.

While the hotel was granted planning permission, it was never built as it was not possible for Riva to obtain funding for the hotel scheme with such a high build cost.

Mr Homer said: “Cost and budget is a key constraint and should always be identified and considered when designing any project, even when the provision of cost advice is expressly excluded from the designer’s obligations.”

Mr Homer was assisted in the 11-day hearing by Lianne Edwards, a solicitor in Ashfords’ construction team.

Foster + Partners said it was “shocked and disappointed” by the decision, but would “see what lessons or actions should be taken”.

Ashfords employs around 500 people across its offices in Exeter, London, Bristol, Taunton, Tiverton and Plymouth.

The managing partners of the two law firms that won the top awards at Bristol Law Society’s annual dinner have praised their staff’s achievements.

Veale Wasbrough Vizards (VWV) landed the large law firm of the year title while Barcan+Kirby’s Fiona Dabell won the coveted Junior Lawyer of the Year prize and colleague Samantha Castle scooped the strongly contested Lawyer of the Year Award.

The firm also won the CSR Firm of the Year Award for its work with dementia charity Bristol Dementia Action Alliance (BDAA).

VWV’s success in the Law Firm of the Year 2017 (over 15 partners) award recognised both its excellence in the provision of legal services and continued investment to regional and national development.

Managing partner Simon Heald said it a great honour to receive the accolade.

“At the heart of our values is our clients being at the centre of the firm. I would like to thank all of our staff who live and breathe these values every day, as it is our people and our culture that set us apart,” he said.

“The fact that Danielle Woods and Ellen Marsh were also shortlisted for Support Team Member of the Year is testament to that.”

He pointed out that each of each of VWV’s office locations – Bristol, London, Watford and Birmingham – had grown this year.

The firm has also recently merged with specialist healthcare firm Lockharts and private client law firm Seabourne Lawleys and made significant investment in its people. This includes recruiting charity specialist Paul Voller, procurement expert Stephanie Rickard, commercial property Partner Kenneth Maxwell, personal injury specialist Jonathan Peacock, healthcare Partner Paul Werrell and local authority expert Mark Heath.

Barcan+Kirby managing partner Bill Willcocks said: “I’m so pleased for each and every one of our winners. Fiona and Sam both thoroughly deserve this recognition of their excellent work over the past year and impressive careers to date.

“Likewise, the CSR award for our dementia work is a testament to the conscientiousness and commitment of all our staff, but particularly to the hard work of Anna Molter, who has championed this cause for a long time now.

“We have a track record of success at these awards, but to come away with three wins is unprecedented for us. Finally, whilst attention is justifiably focused on our winners, Kirsten Hale and our HR team both deserve credit for being shortlisted. An achievement in its own right.”

Barcan+Kirby employs more than 100 staff in six offices in Bristol and South Gloucestershire.

The Bristol Law Society annual dinner and awards took place at the Bristol City Marriott Hotel and attracted more than 300 guests from the West of England’s legal sector. 

The President’s Outstanding Achievement Award was presented posthumously to widely respected family solicitor Julie Exton, a former president of the Association of Her Majesty’s District Judges, who died recently aged 59.

Julie Exton was admitted as a solicitor in 1983 and articled at Bristol firm Burges Salmon. On qualification she moved to Veale Benson (now Veale Wasbrough Vizards) and was appointed as a deputy district judge in July 1993 and a district judge in September 1999. 

The full list of winners was:

Law Student of the Year
Brooke Lewis, UWE

Support Team Member of the Year
Jerry Fowler, Civil and Family Justice Centre, Bristol County Court

Junior Lawyer of the Year
Fiona Dabell, Barcan+Kirby

Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year
Beverley Watkins, Watkins Solicitors Incorporating Brain Sinnott & Co

CSR Firm of the Year
Barcan+Kirby

Barrister of the Year
Natasha Dzameh, St John’s Chambers

Chambers of the Year
Albion Chambers

Lawyer of the Year
Samantha Castle, Barcan+Kirby

Team of the Year
Litigant in Person (Lip) Service

Law Firm of the Year (under 15 partners)
AMD Solicitors

Law Firm of the Year (over 15 partners)
Veale Wasbrough Vizards

President’s Outstanding Achievement Award
District Judge Julie Exton

Pictured: Veale Wasbrough Vizards managing partner Simon Heald, right, holds the large law firm of the year award as the team celebrate their victory

UK law firm Bond Dickinson, which has its second-largest office in Bristol, today officially completed its transatlantic tie-up with US-based Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice in a move that creates a global top 100 firm.

Newly rebranded as Womble Bond Dickinson, the combined firm has annual revenues of £340m ($410m) and 24 offices in key commercial and financial locations across the US and UK, including Bristol. 

It also now has a ranking among the UK’s top 20 law firms and becomes the largest transatlantic legal practice in the South West. This said this would enable it to advise the region’s businesses on domestic and global matters across its key sectors of expertise – energy & natural resources; financial institutions; healthcare; insurance; manufacturing; real estate; retail & consumer; transport, logistics & infrastructure; pharmaceuticals, biotechnology & life sciences; technology; and private wealth.

The merged firm now employs 1,000-plus lawyers – 250 of them in its Bristol office at Temple Quay – serving more than 250 publicly traded companies and has interested across through existing relationships in Germany and France.

Former Bond Dickinson managing partner Jonathan Blair, who has become co-chair of Womble Bond Dickinson, said: “This is a combination of two firms with a common culture and a shared commitment to client service.

“A growing percentage of our clients have operations on both sides of the Atlantic, and Womble Bond Dickinson will provide those clients with the consistent support they value highly.”

Fellow co-chair Betty Temple – formerly Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice CEO – added “This isn’t just the combination of a big US firm and a big UK firm. It’s the alignment of an office in Newcastle with one in Charlotte, an office in Baltimore with an office in Bristol and so on.

“This combination was born out of a desire to better serve the business communities in which Womble Bond Dickinson is rooted.”

Partner and Bristol office head Julian Kinsey said the move was not only good news for its clients who require a seamless transatlantic approach but those it works closely with on purely domestic business.

“The combination increases our intellectual capital, allows us to innovate more readily and helps us to attract and retain the best talent in our local markets,” he said.

“We are proud of our heritage in the South West and are confident that with our success and depth of expertise, we can support our clients to thrive and prosper in a rapidly changing world.

“Womble Bond Dickinson gives us a unique footprint, offering expanded capability, greater commercial opportunities and direct access to the best legal minds on both sides of the Atlantic. Becoming Womble Bond Dickinson ensures our continued commitment to our regions whilst bringing greater market insight and international experience.”

Bond Dickinson was itself the result of the 2013 merger between Bond Pearce, which opened its first office in Bristol in 1998, and Newcastle-based Dickinson Dees. Prior to the merger Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice was the 88th largest legal firm in the US by lawyer numbers.

Pictured: Womble Bond Dickinson co-chairs Jonathan Blair and Betty Temple