Willans has advanced its rankings in national legal guides Chambers UK and The Legal 500’s 2026 editions, with our agriculture, land & development team and head of department, Adam Hale leading the way.
In The Legal 500 UK, we received 46 recommendations in total, with 12 departments recognised for excellence in the South West region. Most notably, Willans’ agriculture, land & development team is elevated to Tier 2 for its “particular strength” in land transactions and agricultural tenancies at the helm of “effective and commercial” partner, Adam Hale.
The guide has also ranked 25 of Willans’ solicitors for their expertise and client service, including Chris Wills, Nigel Whittaker, Paul Gordon and Matthew Clayton who are named “leading partners”, as well as Jenny Hawrot and Nick Southwell who are identified as “next generation partners” for a third year running. Achieving “leading associate” status once again are Emma Thompson and Charlotte Cowdell, while Hifsa O’Kelly – a key member of the employment law team – is named a “leading associate” for the first time.
Furthermore, the internationally renowned guide, Chambers UK, which rates the best law firms across the country, has ranked five of Willans’ departments and nine of its lawyers for their legal skill, insight, and quality of service. Among them are the corporate & commercial, litigation & dispute resolution, real estate, agriculture land & development, and family law teams.
Significantly, head of the firm’s agriculture, land & development team, Adam Hale has advanced from “up and coming” to Band 2 in the South West region. An increase in ranking for this area comes at a key time, as Willans has recently been named official legal partner of Three Counties Agricultural Society, reflecting the firm’s commitment to promoting the local rural economy.
Elsewhere in Chambers UK’s 2026 guide, rankings were retained by a number of our key lawyers, including corporate & commercial partner Chris Wills, employment law partner Matthew Clayton, litigation & dispute resolution senior partner Paul Gordon, real estate partner Nigel Whittaker and family law partners Sharon Giles and Jonathan Eager.
Both employment law partner Jenny Hawrot, who is named “up and coming”, and senior associate solicitor Charlotte Cowdell, rated “star associate”, have retained their exclusive South West rankings respectively.
Bridget Redmond, Willans’ managing partner commented: “Being recognised by such prestigious and independent guides is a testament to our teams’ dedication, hard work and talent. We are proud to be a Gloucestershire law firm, but to be ranked alongside larger firms in the South West region is something to be celebrated. Congratulations to everyone mentioned.”
A full list of results from the independent guides can be found at www.chambers.com and www.legal500.com.
