THE LEADING SOLICITORS
We reveal the most admired law firms, council legal departments and solicitors, plus details of the biggest legal teams and who has moved
There may have been a time when planning solicitors only became involved if development schemes hit legal trouble. However, these days, solicitors are increasingly asked for advice throughout the application process, says one consultant. “They are getting involved earlier,” the consultant says. ‘The trend is more day-to-day involvement of solicitors in complex projects.”
Indeed, the firms and practitioners most highly rated by consultants, developers, councils and other client groups take this wide-angled view of their roles, the results of this year’s Planning Law Survey show.
Find out who the largest employers of planning lawyers are here.
TOP FIVE PRACTICES
Town Legal continues to rule the roost as the most highly rated law firm, maintaining a position it has now held for four years. The practice, which was set up in 2016 with a specific focus on planning law by a breakaway team of senior lawyers from other bluechip firms, has gone from strength to strength this year, with six appointments increasing its total number of qualified lawyers to 27.
This highly specialised focus, which marks it out from firms that offer planning alongside a range of other services, means Town Legal remains a “really interesting animal” and “real breath of fresh air”, according to one consultant.
Clients like the breadth of knowledge that the firm is able to offer, he says: “It’s a well organised, very professional, but also a very user-friendly, client-friendly organisation.”
Another consultant agrees: “They’ve got a good crop of lawyers, who really know their stuff.”
Highlights for Town Legal this year include helping development manager CIT win consent from the London mayor for the 20-storey medical-led Vinegar Yard employment scheme near London Bridge.
Retaining its second place in the annual survey rankings is Pinsent Masons. The firm has been a major player in planning since the late 2000s, says one developer. It has developed particular expertise in infrastructure, establishing itself as the “go-to team” in this field for both public and private sector clients, the developer says.
A consultant says: “It’s a big multi-service legal firm which has decided to take planning very seriously, and not just as a perfunctory service department.”
The company’s network of regional offices means it doesn’t have to charge London-style rates for services to clients outside the capital, he adds.
The practice’s recent highlights include its ongoing role advising on the redevelopment of the Elephant & Castle shopping centre in south London. Pinsent Masons also helped developer Inland Homes fend off an attempt to overturn permission for a 514-home scheme in Hillingdon on the grounds that it did not comply with the mayor’s new tall buildings policy.
Also maintaining its place this year is Eversheds Sutherland, which was ranked third. The 30-strong planning team is part of a multinational business with 70 offices in 30 countries.
This depth of resources is a plus point for the firm, enabling it to offer a gamut of real estate services that extend far beyond planning, says one consultant.
However, respondents say, Eversheds’ reputation rests on key individuals within the firm, particularly its head of planning Stuart Andrews. “He’s a very experienced person to bring to the fore with clients,” says one consultant. Another describes Andrews as a “very calm, very measured, really competent” solicitor who provides “good strategic advice at all stages”.
Rising one place to fourth from joint fifth last year is Shoosmiths, which was named as law firm of the year in this year’s Planning Awards.
The co-heads of the practice’s 20 lawyer-strong planning team – Kathryn Jump and Lisa Tye – are both based in its Manchester office. “They’re very approachable, which makes a big difference,” says one consultant, who adds that clients particularly appreciate the firm’s willingness to offer initial advice on an informal basis.
This includes advice in emerging areas such as biodiversity, he says: “They’ve always been very insightful and on the money.”
Practice highlights this year include advising Historic England on a judicial review brought by the Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site campaign against the secretary of state’s decision to grant development consent for the A303 tunnel underneath the ancient monument. The practice also helped to set up two of the UK’s first privately run nitrate neutrality schemes, which are designed to mitigate the impact of residential development on pollution of protected waters.
Rounding off the top five is CMS, which was joint fifth last year with Shoosmiths. The firm was praised by one consultant for its “real-world sense”.
“Planning is very nuanced and you really want someone who understands that and not just the legal requirements,” the consultant said. “CMS are there throughout the process.”
But the firm also handles bread-and-butter legal requirements very well, says another consultant, praising its “very thorough” documentation and the “very good” way its team deals with counsel.
Among the major schemes that CMS’ 30-strong team of qualified planning solicitors have worked on in the past year are Quintain’s regeneration of 34 hectares around Wembley Stadium, a new 8,000-seat court at the All England Tennis Club, Wimbledon, on metropolitan open land and the latest expansion to what is planned to be the world’s biggest offshore wind farm at Dogger Bank C in the North Sea.
Below the top five, three planning law firms have tied in sixth place. Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has been a heavyweight presence in the planning law field for decades. The development director of one listed developer, which has used the practice for many years, says BCLP retains “good connections” with both the Corporation of London and Westminster City Council. “They’ve also got a good radar for the evolution of policy,” he says.
BCLP continues to act for developer Land Securities, including on its soon-to-be-completed City of London headquarters for Deutsche Bank at 21 Moorfields and the N2 development at NOVA, Victoria. It is also acting for Lendlease on its proposal to redevelop the land around and above the HS2 terminal at Euston. And it helped the Tenacity Group secure planning permission for two tower proposals in the City of London last year.
The biggest riser of the three sixth-tied practices is Ashurst, which has risen from 15th place last year. One consultant, who has used the firm for years, says: “They don’t try to take you in directions to create more work: they’re just very clear.”
Ashurst’s showpiece projects range from tall buildings in London for developers Greenland and Ballymore Group to more strategic developments, such as an urban extension for the Berkeley Group at Milton Keynes.
Dentons too has seen a big rise from 11th place last year, despite the untimely death of widely admired partner Stephen Ashworth. One consultant praises both Ashworth’s successor Roy Pinnock and associate Michele Vas, who has particular expertise in compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) and estate regeneration projects, as “very capable” lawyers.
View the full table of highest-rated planning law firms table here.
HIGHEST-RANKED INDIVIDUAL SOLICITORS
In terms of the top most highly rated individual solicitors (see panel, below), Town Legal’s Simon Ricketts maintains his position as the most highly rated planning solicitor. Ashurst’s Claire Dutch, Town Legal’s Clare Fielding and Shoosmiths’ Kathryn Jump share second place.
Five practitioners have been ranked in joint fifth place. They include Eversheds Sunderland’s Stuart Andrews who has a particularly strong track record handling strategic developments, says one consultant.
Also ranked fifth equal is Meeta Kaur, Ricketts’ and Fielding’s fellow partner at Town Legal.
One consultant says: “If I’ve got a planning query, I know that she would always take a call and give very astute and practical advice.”
Kaur is currently advising Arun council on two new strategic settlements, which could deliver up to 5,500 homes in the West Sussex district.
Another ranked fifth equal is Iain Gilbey, a partner at Pinsent Masons. One consultant who has known Gilbey for many years praises him as “very sharp” with a “very perceptive mind” and particularly strong on the “nitty gritty issues” surrounding complicated section 106 agreements. “He’s a great guy to have on your team,” the consultant says.
Gilbey’s most high-profile recent case has been advising the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on its bid to secure planning permission for the proposed UK Holocaust Memorial in central London.
Also in equal fifth place is Lisa Tye, joint head of the planning and CPO team at Shoosmiths. Based in Manchester, like fellow joint head Kathryn Jump, Tye’s recent projects include advising developer Vastint on planning and CPO issues on major mixed-use schemes in London, Leeds and Cardiff.
Rounding out the joint fifth place quintet is Colette McCormack, head of planning and partner at Winckworth Sherwood. Based in Manchester, her high-profile jobs include advising on the masterplan for Peel Holdings’ giant Liverpool Waters development.
View the full table of highest-rated planning solicitors here.
INSIDE THE PLANNING LAW SURVEY
Top-rated planning silks 2022
Top-rated planning juniors 2022
Highest-rated planning juniors under 35 2022
Highest-rated barristers for residential, infrastructure and commercial 2022
Highest-rated planning law firms 2022
Highest-rated planning solicitors 2022
Largest employers of planning lawyers 2022
Highest-rated council lawyers and law team 2022
Moves at associate level
Moves at partner level
Full list of firms' planning partners
1 Simon Ricketts
Town Legal
One of the small team that set up Town Legal six years ago, Ricketts maintains his position as the top-rated planning solicitor. One consultant describes him as “the fount of all knowledge”. Another praises his interpersonal skills and credits him with assembling a team of “really good people”. Ricketts’ own high-profile cases over the past year include a successful appeal by Stansted Airport against Uttlesford District Council’s refusal of an application to increase its annual passenger throughput above 35 million.
2= Claire Dutch
Ashurst
Claire Dutch, co-head of the planning team at Ashurst, moved to the practice from her previous role at Hogan Lovells. A consultant who has worked with Dutch for several years, says she is good on detail, but also at cutting through the legal jargon. “You need someone who can just articulate what needs to be done and the best way to do it, and she’s excellent at that,” the consultant says. Among her key areas of focus this year has been a 3,000-home High Road West regeneration scheme in Tottenham and a 5,000-home urban extension planned in Milton Keynes.
2= Clare Fielding
Town Legal
One consultant describes Fielding, Town Legal’s managing partner, as a “very strong lawyer”. Another recalls being impressed by how well she managed her clients. “One of the tricky things for planning lawyers is whether you can control your client, because some tend to be pretty unreasonable.” Fielding has a strong track record in major London projects, according to one consultant, including advising on the regeneration of Battersea Power Station and the development of Arsenal FC’s new stadium.
2= Kathryn Jump
Shoosmiths
Ranked in joint second place is Kathryn Jump, who is partner and joint head of the planning team at Shoosmiths, alongside Lisa Tye. Based in Manchester, Jump joined Shoosmiths in 2013. One consultant says Jump, as well as being “very knowledgeable” is “very approachable”. “She’s down to earth, which sometimes helps that client relationship,” he says. Jump’s projects this year include helping to secure permission for up to 276 dwellings in Bolton last summer for Northstone. She also advised Cheshire East Council in relation to the development proposals at Handforth garden village.
TOP LOCAL GOVERNMENT LAWYERS
The Corporation of London’s assistant city solicitor Deborah Cluett was ranked by our voters as top local authority planning lawyer.
A barrister by background, Cluett rises from fourth equal place last year. The planning director at one major developer, who works extensively in central London, says: “She’s the person you call when you’re just not getting traction or making headway. She’s decisive and gets things done. She’s always got a very clear view of what needs to be achieved.”
Last year’s top-ranked local authority planning lawyer, Westminster City Council senior solicitor Isaac Carter, is in second place. Other highly rated council planning lawyers, in joint third place, were Fleur Francis and Linda Boateng, who also work at the Corporation of London and Westminster respectively.
Retaining top-ranked place among local authority planning teams, according to the survey, is Westminster, which operates a bi-borough arrangement with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
“Unfailingly pleasant to deal with,” is how one leading solicitor describes the team at Westminster, name-checking Boateng, Kirsten Chohan and Louise Metson as particularly impressive. “Despite the pressures they are under, the team responds promptly to queries and takes a thoughtful and intelligent approach to the problems before them,” she says.
Another solicitor, who deals extensively with central London authorities, describes the bi-borough team as “highly committed, experienced and with a strength in depth that is nowadays rare.”
View the highest-rated council lawyers and law teams table here.
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