Willans has achieved another set of strong results in Chambers UK and The Legal 500’s 2025 editions, including exclusive South West rankings for our real estate “star associate” and “up & coming” employment law partner.
The internationally recognised independent legal guide Chambers UK, which provides insight into the country’s best law firms, has once again ranked five of our firm’s departments and nine lawyers for their expertise, knowledge and level of service. As solicitors in Gloucestershire, we’re delighted to be ranked alongside firms across the wider South West region.
Departments recommended include the firm’s agriculture & estates, corporate & commercial, litigation & dispute resolution and real estate teams. Furthermore, an expansion into the wider region sees Willans’ family law team ranking in the South West for the first time in 2025, following nine consecutive years in the top tier for Cheltenham and the surrounding areas.
Individual lawyers endorsed by the guide include family law partners Sharon Giles and Jonathan Eager, corporate & commercial partner Chris Wills, agriculture & real estate partner Adam Hale and litigation & dispute resolution partner Paul Gordon.
In the real estate team, partner Nigel Whittaker has also been recognised alongside senior associate solicitor, Charlotte Cowdell who has been named a ‘star associate’ for the second year running. Charlotte is the only real estate lawyer to achieve this status in the South West region.
What’s more, employment law partner Matthew Clayton is also recognised alongside partner Jenny Hawrot, who has been named “up & coming” for a second consecutive year. Jenny is the only employment lawyer who has been recognised with this status in the South West region.
These results follow the latest rankings for The Legal 500 UK, which recommended 24 of Willans’ lawyers across multiple departments earlier this month. The guide has recognised four of Willans’ partners as “leading individuals” – Chris Wills, Nigel Whittaker, Paul Gordon and Matthew Clayton – while Jenny Hawrot and Nick Southwell are named “next generation partners” for a second year. Both Charlotte Cowdell and Emma Thompson have also retained their “rising star/associate to watch” status.
Commenting on the results, managing partner, Bridget Redmond said: “I’d like to congratulate all of our fantastic lawyers and departments for achieving another year of impressive results in these prestigious legal guides.
Both Chambers UK and The Legal 500’s researchers conduct hundreds of client interviews and undertake thorough evaluations of our service, so to be ranked alongside much larger firms throughout the South West is a testament to the outstanding calibre of our lawyers.”
Read the full list of results at www.chambers.com and www.legal500.com.
