Acclaim In Yorkshire For Irwin Mitchell

27/10/2011

Law firm Irwin Mitchell has further cemented its place as a leading light in the legal sector with a strong showing in an independent publication which ranked the firm top in three separate categories.

Irwin Mitchell retained its number one spot for both clinical negligence and personal injury in the Chambers UK 2012 report, and also moved from second to first in the family law sector in the region.

The firm was also ranked second in the dispute resolution, employment, and private client sectors, and rose up the rankings in the corporate/mergers and acquisitions and real estate sectors. The IT and IP team was also ranked for the first time showing the firm’s growth in this area.

Chambers described Irwin Mitchell’s clinical negligence team as a “giant”, and “regularly sought-after”, with their dispute resolution team deemed a “stalwart”, as well as “dynamic and successful”.

The 2012 report, which ranks solicitors and barristers across 60 specialist UK legal fields, also highlighted a total of 26 different individuals at Irwin Mitchell in Yorkshire, praising their work with clients.

The rankings come on the back of a successful 12 months for the firm, who won the Rehabilitation Initiative of the Year – Claimant Solicitor title for the fourth year running at the Rehabilitation First Awards, and were also named Law Firm of the Year 2011 at the Insider Yorkshire Property Industry Awards.

John Pickering, Group Chief Executive at Irwin Mitchell, also named as a ‘Star Individual’ in the report, said: “We’re delighted that yet again the hard work and ability of our lawyers has been recognised in both the personal and private client practices, particularly across our Yorkshire base.

“As a business we strive to put the needs of the client before those of the firm, so we’re delighted that this has been noted within the Chambers report yet again.

“Irwin Mitchell is at the forefront of the legal industry taking on groundbreaking cases and fighting hard for our clients whether we are providing business or personal legal services. We believe our innovative approach will help us meet the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for all law firms in the coming years.”

In the clinical negligence team, Sheffield-based David Body was again picked out as a star individual, being described as a “leading light” in the field, with first-class ranked Rachelle Mahapatra commended for the “first-class nature of her clinical knowledge” in the Leeds office.

Martin Loxley retained his number one ranking for his work heading up the family team from the Sheffield office, which was described as the best in the city. Yorkshire based Andrew Lockley and Yogi Amin in the public law teams were also ranked in the national categories for public law and civil liberties. Nick Bates, Regional Managing Partner in Leeds was praised for his experience in commercial dispute resolution.

Other teams from Irwin Mitchell who were praised within the report include the employment team, deemed “extremely professional”; the family team, described as “impressive” and a “growing force” in legal advice to same-sex couples; the private client team, for its “high-quality work”, and the “highly-skilled” real estate team based across both Leeds and Sheffield offices.  The firm was also ranked in the Police Law category.