Ranking tables

Partnership: Contentious | UK

UK-wide

The lawyers and law firms ranked below advise primarily professional services clients - such as architects, surveyors, accountants and lawyers - on both contentious and non-contentious work related to partnership law and structuring. Representative non-contentious matters include M&A transactions, LLP conversions and the creation of partnership vehicles for corporate or investment purposes. It also includes advice on establishing overseas offices, the drafting of partnership agreements and regulatory matters. Contentious work includes disputes regarding partner exits and team moves, remuneration and retirement issues and investigations into discrimination and harassment. There is a separate table for those specialising in the representation of medical partnerships, including GP, dental and veterinary surgeries.

All Lawyers profiles

E

Eminent Practitioners

  1. Clare Murray
    E
    Clare Murray
    CM Murray LLP
    CM Murray LLP | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Eminent Practitioners | 21 Years Ranked
    Clare Murray is founder and managing partner of CM Murray. She is a renowned partnership expert who advises on cross-border disputes and investigations, including cases concerning allegations of discrimination and restrictive covenant issues.
1

Band 1

  1. 1
    Bettina Bender
    Winckworth Sherwood
    Winckworth Sherwood | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 1 | 11 Years Ranked
    Bettina Bender is well versed in contentious partnership matters, including team moves, misconduct investigations and partner resignations. She has experience acting for both firms and individual partners.
  2. Caroline Field
    1
    Caroline Field
    Fox & Partners
    Fox & Partners | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 1 | 9 Years Ranked
    Caroline is everything you would want from an adviser on partnership matters. She is commercial, knows the law inside-out, is highly responsive, and is understanding and compassionate.
  3. Catriona Watt
    1
    Catriona Watt
    Fox & Partners
    Fox & Partners | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 1 | 11 Years Ranked
    Catriona Watt handles a broad range of highly sensitive and contentious partnership matters, including compulsory retirements, partner exits and sexual harassment allegations.
  4. Clive Greenwood
    1
    Clive Greenwood
    Lewis Silkin
    Lewis Silkin | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 1 | 17 Years Ranked
    Clive Greenwood specialises in contentious mandates, including those that relate to performance issues, misconduct claims and restrictive covenants. He is also joint head of both the partnership group and the professional services group at Lewis Silkin.
  5. Gavin Foggo
    1
    Gavin Foggo
    Fox Williams LLP
    Fox Williams LLP | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 1 | 20 Years Ranked
    Gavin Foggo is the senior partner of Fox Williams. He advises on highly sensitive contentious matters, including team moves and harassment allegations, relating to legal partnerships and other professional service firms.
  6. 1
    Jo Keddie
    Forsters
    Forsters | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 1 | 24 Years Ranked
    Jo Keddie advises on a wide range of contentious partnership issues, including discrimination claims, team moves and restructuring.
  7. Sarah Chilton
    1
    Sarah Chilton
    CM Murray LLP
    CM Murray LLP | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 1 | 6 Years Ranked
    Sarah Chilton's expertise includes cases concerning alleged sexual harassment and discrimination as well as partner exit negotiations and related disputes. She is triple-qualified in England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
  8. 1
    William Wastie
    Addleshaw Goddard LLP
    Addleshaw Goddard LLP | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 1 | 20 Years Ranked
    William Wastie heads the professional practices group at Addleshaw Goddard. He advises on the redrafting of LLP agreements, succession planning and cross-border restructuring, as well as assisting clients with disputes over partner misconduct. His clients include leading professional services partnerships from the legal and accountancy sectors.
2

Band 2

  1. Andrew Cromby
    2
    Andrew Cromby
    Weightmans
    Weightmans | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 2 | 17 Years Ranked
    Andrew provides an excellent level of service - he is efficient and prompt. His advice is clear and grounded in empathy towards the professional and personal difficulties I find myself in.
  2. Anna Birtwistle
    2
    Anna Birtwistle
    Farrer & Co LLP
    Farrer & Co LLP | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 2 | 10 Years Ranked
    Anna is technically excellent and a hard-working, brilliant communicator. She is an empathetic individual who cares greatly for her clients' best interests.
  3. Jason Butwick
    2
    Jason Butwick
    Dechert LLP
    Dechert LLP | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 2 | 20 Years Ranked
    Jason Butwick is equally strong on both contentious and non-contentious mandates, advising on the negotiation of partnership agreements, partner retirements and partner moves, along with associated disputes. He has a particular focus on clients in the financial services sector.
  4. Michael Burd
    2
    Michael Burd
    Lewis Silkin
    Lewis Silkin | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 2 | 26 Years Ranked
    Michael Burd is an employment law specialist who also has notable expertise in partnership law. He is particularly adept in advising international law firms on partner disputes, exits and claims concerning sexual harassment.
3

Band 3

  1. Aron Pope
    3
    Aron Pope
    Fox Williams LLP
    Fox Williams LLP | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 3 | 4 Years Ranked
    Aron Pope is adept at handling contentious work for professional partnerships and individual partners. He frequently advises on allegations of discrimination, partner departures and restrictive covenants.
  2. Beth Hale
    3
    Beth Hale
    CM Murray LLP
    CM Murray LLP | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 3 | 4 Years Ranked
    Beth Hale has extensive experience advising professional partnerships and individual partners on contentious matters such as partner exits, whistle-blowing claims and sexual harassment allegations. She currently also acts as general counsel for CM Murray.
  3. Dean Fuller
    3
    Dean Fuller
    Fox & Partners
    Fox & Partners | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 3 | 3 Years Ranked
    Dean Fuller provides partnership advice to clients including traditional partnerships and LLPs. He is noted for his work for firms in the financial services sector.
  4. Hilton Mervis
    3
    Hilton Mervis
    Arnold & Porter | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 3 | 19 Years Ranked
    Hilton Mervis of Arnold & Porter has a broad-ranging litigation practice that takes in complex partnership disputes, particularly in the financial services sector.
  5. Peter Garry
    3
    Peter Garry
    Keystone Law
    Keystone Law | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 3 | 18 Years Ranked
    Peter Garry of Keystone Law has great depth of experience advising clients in the legal and financial services sectors on complex partnership negotiations and disputes.
4

Band 4

  1. Alan Watts
    4
    Alan Watts
    Herbert Smith Freehills
    Herbert Smith Freehills | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 4 | 21 Years Ranked
    Alan Watts often assists legal and financial services partnerships with sensitive disputes concerning partner exits, breaches of LLP agreements and claims of professional negligence.
  2. David Fisher
    4
    David Fisher
    CM Murray LLP
    CM Murray LLP | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 4 | 5 Years Ranked
    David Fisher advises individual partners on highly sensitive and contentious matters, such as harassment allegations and breaches of LLP agreements. He also handles matters surrounding team moves.
  3. Ivor Adair
    4
    Ivor Adair
    Fox & Partners
    Fox & Partners | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 4 | 6 Years Ranked
    Ivor Adair has a strong reputation for handling contentious partnership matters such as partner exits and restrictive covenants. He has notable experience working with partners at international law firms.
  4. 4
    Jennifer Millins
    Mishcon de Reya LLP
    Mishcon de Reya LLP | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 4 | 7 Years Ranked
    Jennifer Millins has key experience advising partnerships and individual partners in disputes. She is particularly adept at handling partner exits, team moves, and discrimination and whistle-blowing claims.
  5. Karen Baxter
    4
    Karen Baxter
    Lewis Silkin
    Lewis Silkin | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 4 | 4 Years Ranked
    Karen Baxter is the head of Lewis Silkin's investigations and regulatory group. She has vast experience conducting internal investigations into claims of serious misconduct and discrimination concerning leading law and accountancy practices.
  6. Michelle Chance
    4
    Michelle Chance
    HFW
    HFW | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 4 | 16 Years Ranked
    Michelle Chance is the head of the London employment team at HFW and primarily acts for individual partners on contentious matters, with a notable focus on the financial services sector.
  7. Nick Wright
    4
    Nick Wright
    Herbert Smith Freehills
    Herbert Smith Freehills | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 4 | 5 Years Ranked
    Nick Wright is able to utilise his employment law expertise to support professional service firms on a range of partnership matters, particularly disputes.
  8. Tim Leaver
    4
    Tim Leaver
    Herbert Smith Freehills
    Herbert Smith Freehills | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 4 | 16 Years Ranked
    Tim Leaver advises professional partnership firms on misconduct allegations, team moves, whistle-blowing claims and retirements. He has particular expertise in the financial services industry.
  9. Paul Bennett
    Bennett Briegal LLP | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Band 4

Associates to watch

  1. Ed Livingstone
    Ed Livingstone
    Fox Williams LLP
    Fox Williams LLP | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Associates to watch | 2 Years Ranked
    Ed Livingstone is a senior associate whose experience includes assisting with contentious as well as non-contentious partnership matters. He has advised on restructuring and constitutional arrangements as well as discrimination claims.
  2. Eleanor Diamond
    Eleanor Diamond
    Lewis Silkin
    Lewis Silkin | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Associates to watch | 3 Years Ranked
    Eleanor Diamond is a senior associate who regularly assists on partnership disputes concerning partner expulsions, discrimination claims and compulsory retirement, among other issues.
  3. Frances Simm
    Frances Simm
    Lewis Silkin
    Lewis Silkin | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Associates to watch | 1 Years Ranked
    Frances Simm is a managing associate who advises on contentious partnership matters including partner exits and disputes.
  4. Shoshana Bacall
    Shoshana Bacall
    Fox & Partners
    Fox & Partners | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Associates to watch | 2 Years Ranked
    Legal director Shoshana Bacall supports LLPs, professional partnerships and their individual members on a wide range of contentious matters. Her experience includes investigations into alleged harassment and disciplinary matters.
  5. Wonu Sanda
    Wonu Sanda
    CM Murray LLP
    CM Murray LLP | Partnership: Contentious
    2025 | Associates to watch | 1 Years Ranked
    Wonu Sanda is a senior associate and solicitor advocate in the team. She has experience advising on contentious partnership matters including discrimination cases and misconduct investigations.