We make it our business to understand business – translating law into opportunity, growth and compliance for our clients. That’s why the Legal 500 acts as such an important resource to us as a firm. Badged as the ‘client’s guide to the best law firms’, it’s the emphasis on ‘clients’ that makes it so relevant to Pannone Corporate.
The Legal 500 rankings for 2021 – highlighting the practice area teams who are providing the highest quality legal advice – have now been published and feature Pannone Corporate in 17 specialist areas of law. This includes Tier 1 listings for our contentious trusts and probate, media and entertainment, and debt recovery teams. With two partners making the ‘Hall of Fame’, seven being chosen as ‘leading individuals’, two as ‘next generation partners’, and five ranked as ‘rising stars’, the latest Legal 500 rankings make for positive reading for the firm.
So, after months of detailed analysis of law firm submissions and thousands of interviews with GCs and private practice lawyers, what did they say about us?
Debt recovery
Praised for offering ‘the knowledge and ability that debt recovery agencies are lacking’, while being ‘extremely knowledgeable’ and always willing to ‘go the extra mile’, our debt recovery team is primarily focused on business-to-business debt issues but is also engaged in all types of debt recovery processes.
‘I have worked with this team for a couple of years and their responsibility and commitment to work is extraordinary.’
Media and entertainment
Described as ‘outstanding’ with a ‘deep understanding of how the media operates’, the media and entertainment team covers both contentious and non-contentious matters, with their expertise encompassing advertising and marketing, defamation and reputation management, as well as expertise across sponsorship, merchandising, social media, publishing and brand protection matters, among others.
‘I do not recall being more impressed with a team that I have not worked with before. Their work ethic, insight and dedication to the client make them a joy to work with.’
Contentious trusts and probate
The contentious trusts and probate team acts in a variety of mid- and high-net-worth estate and trust disputes. It represents an assortment of regional and national clients, as well as an increasing number of international clients. Acting for claimants, executors and beneficiaries in a variety of claims under the Inheritance Act is also a key area of strength.
‘Calm, experienced and well suited to high-value cases with a personal or emotional element… excellent at dealing with difficult or unusual lay clients.’
Employment
Best known for advising clients on TUPE matters, particularly in the context of outsourcing and in-sourcing, the employment team regularly advises clients in the social housing sector on the TUPE issues which arise from local authority procurement. In addition, the department assists multinational corporations, large public sector organisations and SMEs on a range of matters, including HR support for disciplinary action, grievance investigations, and hearings.
‘A talented and highly responsive team of lawyers who have diverse backgrounds and knowledge and can give you speedy professional advice and guidance.’
Health and safety
The team deals with both contentious and non-contentious health and safety matters, excelling in the care, retail, logistics, social housing, minerals, manufacturing and food industries sectors. The regulatory practice is well-versed in the areas of corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, coroner’s inquests, food, fire and product safety, as well as environmental law issues.
‘It is good to have a diverse mix of core skills, which Pannone offers. Their specialist knowledge of the minerals sector is supported by the addition of a range of specialisms within their portfolio.’
Intellectual property
Offering a ‘high standard of service and commerciality’, the team specialises in contentious matters, such as trade mark, passing off and copyright disputes, in addition to search orders and injunctive relief. Other areas of specialism include brand licensing, sponsorship and merchandising agreements, technology and patent licensing, as well as research and development agreements. Franchise litigation and disputes related to employee breaches of restrictive covenants are also key offerings for the team.
‘The quality is clear to see. They have strength at all levels. They are a top IP litigation team that can compete with any other.’
IT and telecoms
The team is engaged in a broad array of IT contract work, including disputes, with specific examples including development, implementation, data centre, hosting and support and maintenance agreements. Further expertise covers data protection, software as a service, software licences and outsourcing, with clients including e-commerce businesses and providers of IT hardware and software, technology and applications.
Personal tax, trusts and probate
The team advises mid- and high-net-worth individuals on wills, trusts and estate issues and general succession planning matters, with particular expertise in lifetime tax planning mandates for entrepreneurs, prominent business owners and non-UK domiciled clients.
Experienced in and ‘well capable of dealing with high-value trusts and estates.’
Professional negligence
The professional negligence team, which is part of the wider litigation practice, is primarily claimant-side. The team acts against a wide range of professionals, including tax professionals, accountants, solicitors, architects and surveyors. The practice also acts for defendants where there is no insurance or the insurance that is in place does not cover the .
‘This is a highly efficient team, which brings focused intellect and expertise to any case they are retained in.’
Commercial litigation
The litigation and dispute resolution practice handles a range of commercial disputes, with particular experience in the retail, industrial, manufacturing, engineering and recruitment sectors. The team also has a breadth of expertise in commercial, corporate, real estate and commercial fraud matters, together with professional negligence claims, judicial review applications and partnership disputes.
‘Collaborative, approachable and solution-driven.‘
Property litigation
The team, regarded as having ‘the resources and technical skills to handle all sorts of cases, up to large and complex High Court trials’, has a wealth of experience handling disputes such as nuisance and contaminated land claims, contested lease renewals and dilapidation claims, together with a record of work on guarantee claims and matters relating to breach of covenant.
‘Strongly recommended. They are a go-to firm for all kinds of commercial and residential property disputes.’
Charities
The team’s charity and not-for-profit offering draws expertise from our commercial, corporate governance, finance, real estate, IP, IT, dispute resolution and employment departments, and advise clients on a broad range of issues.
Planning and environment
The team undertakes contentious and non-contentious planning and environment work for clients, advising on criminal investigations and proceedings and environmental permissions as well as providing support to the corporate and real estate departments on transactions. Strategic advisory work is another cornerstone of the practice.
Commercial property
The ‘very professional and personable’ team works with a range of clients in the leisure, retail and logistics sectors, regularly advising on commercial property joint ventures and acquisitions.
‘Very good at planning the issues and helping clients to understand any problems.’
Corporate and commercial
The team is acclaimed for its ‘highly knowledgeable and flexible’ service. Its corporate offering handles mid-market M&A and private equity, while the commercial team addresses a broad variety of agreements, including manufacturing, supply and procurement, distribution, outsourcing and joint venture contracts. The team is particularly active in the manufacturing, technology, IT, retail and oil and gas sectors.
‘They manage to combine that quality and professionalism with a very down to earth and approachable attitude, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.’
Insolvency and corporate recovery
The team is highly experienced in supporting businesses and their directors through financially challenging situations and “offers longstanding experience in insolvency and corporate recovery matters.”
The practice is active in contentious and non-contentious restructuring work, with advice given to directors, creditors and lenders.
Credited as being “academically gifted with lots of commercial nous”, the team will advise businesses on exactly what to expect from an insolvency or restructuring process and how to best manage it, with clarity and support for directors to fulfil their responsibilities and statutory duties throughout.
Construction
The construction team provides clients with comprehensive support, which includes advice on contract formation and representation in disputes. The firm acts for both claimants and respondents in adjudications and is also sought out in arbitration and litigation cases. The team’s sector expertise includes power, transport and rail, as well as experience in contentious and non-contentious construction matters.
‘The small team compares favourably and even betters City of London Silver Circle peers for a fraction of the price.’