The newly merged CMS – the UK’s largest real estate team – has claimed a place at the top table in this year’s Legal 500, the annual ranking of the sector’s leading lights.
Following the merger of CMS, Olswang and Nabarro in May, the combined firm takes over Nabarro’s tier-one position for “commercial property: general”, in the London real estate chapter of the Legal 500 2017. In last year’s rundown, CMS was in the second tier.
It joins EG Award-winner for Real Estate Legal Team of the Year, Berwin Leighton Paisner, at the top table, along with Ashurst, Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith Freehills and Hogan Lovells International.
The top tiers are otherwise largely unchanged, save for the absence of King & Wood Mallesons (a tier-two firm in 2016) after its collapse at the start of the year, and the renamed Eversheds Sutherland (International) following Eversheds’ merger with the US firm Sutherland Asbill & Brennan.
There will be celebrations at Hamlins and Mills & Reeve, with both firms making the leap from tier five to tier four.
However, there will be disappointment at Irwin Mitchell, which drops from tier three to tier four, and at Druces, PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal and Shepherd and Wedderburn, with each firm moving from tier five to tier six.
Residential property
This year’s Legal 500 report adds a new residential property category, with ranked firms having demonstrated a track record handling high-value (£8m-plus) real estate transactions for high-net-worth/ultra-high-net-worth clients. The first four top-tier firms for residential property are: Boodle Hatfield, Farrer & Co, Mishcon de Reya and Withers.
The legal year
In its overview of the year, the report states: “In real estate terms 2016 was undoubtedly the year of the residential developer, as the government’s requirement for new housing in London and the UK triggered a multitude of substantial housing projects, including garden cities and villages in places such as Aylesbury, Didcot and Taunton. Social housing providers continued to be highly active, while the private sector focused on numerous build to rent schemes – these schemes have become a desirable asset type in investor portfolios.
It adds: “The year was far patchier for those dealing in property for commercial use, as both the run-up to the EU referendum, and the ensuing period of shock after the Brexit result kept investors extremely cautious. A reported £650m of commercial property deals were thought to have collapsed in the City of London in the weeks following the UK’s vote to leave the EU.
“Despite the uncertainty, property remains a fundamentally safe asset class, and the characteristics that have distinguished the market of late – inbound international capital and the rise of alternative asset classes such as student accommodation and senior living, where the asset can be sweated – appear to be still present. Indeed, the sterling devaluation that occurred after the Brexit decision has made UK property even more attractive for international investors pegged to the US dollar or euro, with activity in central London dominated by Asian, American and Pan-European investors.”
It says that property litigation has “inevitably accompanied the surge in development”, in particular the opportunities for right of light claims in response to the increasing urban density, and also cites enfranchisement as a “growth area”.
Meanwhile, construction lawyers were able to benefit from the active development market, and the UK contracting market is “still quite hot”.
The report adds: “For law firms, it was a time to be a well-hedged practice, and perhaps this was a background feature of two very differing stories in the London legal market. In January 2017, the European arm of King & Wood Mallesons (that incorporated the legacy SJ Berwin practice – once the envy of the real estate sector) filed for administration. By contrast, in May 2017 the three-way merger of CMS, Olswang and Nabarro went live, and in doing so created the largest real estate team in the UK.”
The full report is available at: www.legal500.com
THE BIG SIX
Tier-one firms for commercial property: general
- Ashurst – “service level for high-value acquisition and development work is excellent”
- Berwin Leighton Paisner – “exceptionally good on most performance criteria”
- CMS – “a highly significant real estate offering, that is led by the experienced and very calm Ciaran Carvalho”
- Clifford Chance – “[the firm’s] involvement applies a high quality stamp on transactions which is recognised across borders”
- Herbert Smith Freehills – “Leader of the pack… deals with multiple jurisdictions easily with one single reporting line”
- Hogan Lovells International – “proactive, solution-based practice”
Tier-two firms for commercial property: general
- Addleshaw Goddard
- DLA Piper
- Dentons
- Eversheds Sutherland (International)
- Jones Day
- Linklaters
- Macfarlanes
- Mayer Brown International
- Mishcon de Reya
- Norton Rose Fulbright
Leading individuals for commercial property
- Leona Ahmed Addleshaw Goddard
- Andrew Bruce Linklaters
- Ciaran Carvalho CMS
- Jeremy Clay Mayer Brown International
- Joe Conder Goodwin
- Bruce Dear Eversheds Sutherland (International)
- James Dodsworth White & Case
- Nick Doffman Mishcon de Reya
- Richard Forsdyke Herbert Smith Freehills
- Mark Heighton CMS
- Stephen Hughes Mishcon de Reya
- David Jones Ashurst
- Caroline King Boodle Hatfield
- James Knox Berwin Leighton Paisner
- Adrian Levy Clifford Chance
- Jon Lloyd Gowling WLG
- Hugh Lumby Ashurst
- Robert MacGregor Berwin Leighton Paisner
- Gill McGreevy Hogan Lovells International
- Claire Milton Berwin Leighton Paisner
- Imogen Moss Allen & Overy
- Jackie Newstead Hogan Lovells International
- Ian Nisse Macfarlanes
- Daniel Norris Hogan Lovells International
- Thomas Page CMS
- Dion Panambalana Hogan Lovells International
- Mark Payne Clifford Chance
- Bryan Pickup DLA Piper
- Chris de Pury Berwin Leighton Paisner
- David Roberts Jones Day
- Donald Rowlands Herbert Smith Freehills
- David Ryland Paul Hastings
- Justin Salkeld Baker McKenzie
- Alan Samson Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
- David Sinclair Norton Rose Fulbright
- Jonathan Solomon Clifford Chance
- David Taylor Pinsent Masons
- Rob Thompson Dentons
- Peter Thorne Gowling WLG
- Stephen Turner Baker McKenzie
- Tim Webb Greenberg Traurig
- Martin Wright Mayer Brown International
Next-generation lawyers
- Paul Alger K&L Gates
- Tim Allen Bristows
- Nick Barnes Macfarlanes
- Sukina Dhillon Collyer Bristow
- Tom Foley RLS Law
- Amanda Hado-Bodfield Fladgate
- Claibourne Harrison Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
- Tim Hart Osborne Clarke
- Karli Hiscock Bates Wells Braithwaite
- Vanessa Laundon Howard Kennedy
- Simon Lawrence Ronald Fletcher Baker
- Ian Painter Clifford Chance
- Tim Regis Ashurst
- Eddie Richards Charles Russell Speechlys
- Kirsty Rogerson Jones Day
- Martin Smith Goodwin
- Christopher Somorjay Hogan Lovells International
- Emma Willoughby Allen & Overy
THE SPECIALISTS
The top-tier firms in individual areas
Commercial property: development
- Ashurst
- Berwin Leighton Paisner
- CMS
- Clifford Chance
- Herbert Smith Freehills
- Hogan Lovells International
- Linklaters
- Norton Rose Fulbright
Commercial property: hotels and leisure
- Berwin Leighton Paisner
- CMS
- Dentons
- Fladgate
- Katten Muchin Rosenman UK
- Norton Rose Fulbright
- Paul Hastings
- Pinsent Masons
- Taylor Wessing
Commercial property: investment
- Ashurst
- Berwin Leighton Paisner
- CMS
- Clifford Chance
- Herbert Smith Freehills
- Linklaters
- Mayer Brown International
Commercial property: retail
- Berwin Leighton Paisner
- Browne Jacobson
- Clyde & Co
- Cripps
- DLA Piper
- Dentons
- Gowling WLG
- Howard Kennedy
- Osborne Clarke
Construction: contentious
- Berwin Leighton Paisner
- CMS
- Fenwick Elliott
- Herbert Smith Freehills
- Pinsent Masons
Construction: non-contentious
- Berwin Leighton Paisner
- CMS
- Herbert Smith Freehills
- Pinsent Masons
Environment
- Allen & Overy
- CMS
- Clifford Chance
- Dentons
- Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
- Linklaters
Planning
- Berwin Leighton Paisner
- CMS
- Pinsent Masons
Property finance
- Allen & Overy
- Ashurst
- Berwin Leighton Paisner
- Clifford Chance
- Herbert Smith Freehills
- Linklaters
Property litigation
- Berwin Leighton Paisner
- CMS
- Eversheds Sutherland (International)
- Hogan Lovells International
- Mishcon de Reya
Residential property
- Boodle Hatfield
- Farrer & Co
- Mishcon de Reya
- Withers
Social housing: finance
- Addleshaw Goddard
- Devonshires Solicitors
- Trowers & Hamlins
Social housing: local authorities and registered providers
- Trowers & Hamlins
Social housing: tenant
- Anthony Gold
- Bindmans
- Deighton Pierce Glynn
- Hodge Jones & Allen
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