At Sintons, we are proud of our long-held reputation for delivering the highest quality legal advice and providing exceptional client service.
Legal excellence has always been fundamental to what we do and is central to our Strategy for Growth, which underpins the strong progress we are making in practice areas throughout Sintons.
As a result, we continue to win new clients and receive instructions in major matters on both a regional and national basis, while maintaining the longstanding relationships we have with so many clients.
But we could not achieve this without our people, who are so vital to what we do. We are committed to attracting outstanding legal capability – we have several instances of lawyers relocating from elsewhere in the country to join us – while retaining the excellent people we already have here at Sintons. We have hugely talented people throughout the firm and are building on these foundations to add further talent to our team.
Legal 500 2019 again gives a significant endorsement of what we are doing, with our practice areas praised across the board – 16 of which are hailed as being among the best in the North – and so many of our lawyers highlighted for their work.
Corporate & Commercial
Widely regarded as one of the leading advisors in the North of England, Sintons’ corporate and commercial team again wins praise from Legal 500 for its capability in a wide range of specialist areas of work. The team – named as corporate and commercial team of the year at the Northern Law Awards 2019 – is again hailed as a key name in areas including mergers and acquisitions, buyouts, private equity, solvent and insolvent reorganisations and corporate finance.
The department has again been involved in many of the biggest and most high-profile recent deals in the North East, including the purchase of The Pen Shop from administration and the sale of TDX to a European counterpart.
In addition to its corporate work, the team also wins praise for its capability in the niche areas of data protection and cybersecurity.
The strength of the team is reflected in the number of lawyers named as being leading advisors – Karen Simms, head of corporate and commercial, is again recognised as a leading individual in the North, and senior associate Emma Pern maintains her status as a rising star.
Corporate partners Christopher Welch, Matt Collen and Adrian Dye – who was shortlisted as corporate lawyer of the year at North East Dealmakers 2019 – are also hailed as being key names, alongside senior associate Chloe Dinsdale.
Real Estate
The team is again praised by Legal 500 for its expertise and deep levels of experience in a wide range of matters, including real estate finance, residential and commercial development, portfolio management, leisure, property investment and faith-based law.
It is hailed as being “pre-eminent” in the healthcare real estate market, for its work in landlord/tenant matters and development work for professional partnerships, national NHS Trusts and care providers.
Six real estate partners all win individual praise for their work in real estate – head of department Mark Dobbin, Paul Liddle, David Ferguson, Tom Wills, Laura Peace and Alok Loomba.
The specialist agriculture and estates team, led by Tom Wills – who is described as being “extremely competent and confident” – was also ranked highly for its work in acting for land and estate owners across the North.
Legal 500 praised its “range of expertise” and the fact that client “expectations are usually exceeded”, even in the most complex of transactions.
Business
Sintons is rated highly by Legal 500 2019 across its whole offering to businesses.
The firm maintains its long-held status as a go-to advisor for licensing matters, with head of licensing Sarah Smith again being hailed as one of the leading lawyers in the North. Her team acts for leisure operators regionally and nationally and is routinely
involved in major projects in the North East, with recent examples including Spanish City in Whitley Bay and STACK in Newcastle.
The banking and finance is again named as a leading advisor in the North, and is hailed as “one of the most knowledgeable firms in the sector”. Its work in a range of specialist areas, particularly real estate finance, is highlighted. Jane Meikle, head of banking, and partner David Ferguson are hailed as being “first class” lawyers in banking and finance in the North.
Employment continues to be a strong area for Sintons, with capability in a wide range of specialist sectors – including construction, healthcare, education, charities and offshore and marine – and extensive experience within the team.
Keith Land, head of employment, is again named as a key advisor in this area in recognition of his “extensive experience” and associate Ailsa Hobson is named as a rising star.
Dispute Resolution
Sintons’ fast-growing dispute resolution team has a long-standing reputation as one of the leading advisors in the North, but has recently experienced a significant increase in instructions from across the UK.
Its expertise in handling disputes across the board, but particularly in the highly specialist areas of healthcare, property and highway infrastructure, wins the team a high ranking in Legal 500 2019. The department also incorporates Sintons’ highly-esteemed debt team, which was also hailed for its ability to handle both volume and one-off high-value claims consecutively while delivering an outstanding client service.
Led by Angus Ashman, one of the most highly esteemed litigation lawyers in the North of England, the team was named litigation and dispute resolution team of the year at the Northern Law Awards 2019.
It was recently strengthened further with the arrival of partner David Summerhayes, a leading commercial litigator with 15 years’ experience in advising national and multinational businesses, including global brands, FTSE 100 companies and fast-growth SMEs.
Private Client
The “highly experienced” wills, trusts and probate team – winner of team of the year at the Northern Law Awards 2019 – is again hailed as one of the leading advisors in the North by Legal 500, for its expertise in handling complex, high value and cross-border matters, alongside its specialism in tax planning and asset protection.
The fast-growing team, which is routinely instructed in matters across the UK and internationally, was praised, in addition to its capability, for its standards of client service and being “polite and pleasant, quick to respond to queries”.
Paul Nickalls, head of wills, trusts and probate, is again named as a leading practitioner in the North of England, and senior associate Paul Collingwood was hailed as a rising star – both are described as “excellent practitioners” – they have significant experience but are also very personable”.
In its contentious offering, senior associate Emma Saunders – again named as a rising star – is described as a “particular expert” in contentious probate matters.
The team wins praise for its strong capability, with expertise in a range of matters including Inheritance Act claims, administration disputes and Court of Protection disputes, as well as for being “committed to its clients – they don’t see them as fees but as people”.
Family
Known for its enviable high net worth client base of public figures, sports people, leading business figures and high-ranking professionals, the family team at Sintons continues to win new instructions across the UK, and is again recognised by Legal 500 for its specialism in the most complex of matters.
Led by Steve Freeman, one of the leading names in this area of work, the team wins additional praise for its specialist work in “unusual” cases, including those related to the Hague Convention and international financial matters.
The team was named family team of the year at the Northern Law Awards 2019.
Healthcare
Sintons maintains its long-held top-tier rating for its work in healthcare, for which the firm has a national client base and reputation.
Legal 500 2019 hails the team as being the “trusted advisor” to NHS Trusts across the UK, with Sintons’ reputation for its unrivalled deep knowledge and understanding of the complexities of the sector setting it apart in the field.
Amanda Maskery, head of NHS Healthcare at Sintons, is again named as a leading individual in recognition of her longstanding role in advising NHS Trusts, GPs, dentists and healthcare organisations across the UK.
The healthcare team acts regionally and nationally, often in matters of great complexity, and is known as one of the UK’s leading specialist legal advisors in the sector.
Construction
With clients across the UK and instructions on an array of major-scale projects, the construction &engineering team at Sintons is growing strongly.
As well as its capability in both contentious and non-contentious matters, Legal 500 2019 points to its involvement in major projects on behalf of nationally-known clients as being significant in Sintons’ offering, including its work for NWG Commercial Solutions Ltd in connection with the design, build and operation of a new wastewater treatment plant in Gibraltar for Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar; acting for The Auckland Project on the transformation of Bishop Auckland; acting for Tolent Construction in their appointment to the Vaux Brewery Site in Sunderland; and acting for Greggs Plc in connection with its national bakery refurbishment program, including the design and construction of a new build distribution centre at Solstice Park, Amesbury.
Alex Rayner, head of the department and a former quantity surveyor – which is regularly hailed as giving him unrivalled specialist knowledge of the sector – and associate Matthew Pexton are both named individually as being key advisors in this sector.
Serious Injury
The firm maintains its top-tier ranking for its personal injury work, and is recognised nationally for its capability in acting for people with serious and life-changing injuries. Sintons’ specialist neurotrauma team is regarded as a leading advisor in its field in the UK. John Davis – one of the UK’s leading serious injury lawyers – and highly-respected Phil Davison, head of personal injury at Sintons, are again named as leading individuals in the North. Kate Nicklin is named as a rising star in recognition of her work in neurotrauma.
