Six solicitors at Howells have been named in the recently published Legal 500, 2015 Edition.

The independent guide assesses the strengths of lawyers and law firms across the UK using a series of in depth criteria, and highlights those who excel in their area of expertise.

Leaders in Probate

Laith Khatib has been identified as one of only three solicitors in Wales who are considered ‘leading individuals’ in the field of contentious probate and trusts. Clients are said to be ‘lucky to have him on side’. The contentious probate team at Howells has achieved a very high overall ranking.

The non-contentious wills, trusts and estates team has been recognised as providing a ‘second-to-none’ service, with John O’Connell recognised as being ‘highly regarded for estate, trusts and deputyship matters’. Claire Davis is mentioned as head of department. More...

Howells Solicitors has achieved a first for a UK law firm and won three categories at the conveyancing industries prestigious annual Law Firm Services Awards including the premier ‘Overall Conveyancing Firm of the Year’.

Winners of Three Prestigious Awards

Attending the ceremony on Thursday evening at the Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, Mark Hobbs, managing partner of the law firm with six offices across South Wales and members of his team were invited onto the stage three times to receive awards for:

Best Conveyancer for Wales and the West Midlands

Judges Comments - “Howells Solicitors scored highly in every area, but were particularly impressive in the mystery shop where they scored the highest of any entrant. 

They also really impressed the judges with a real passion and understanding of their business and how they want to grow and improve. It was no surprise that this firm who articulated an understanding of the clients emotional connection to the transaction, scored so highly in the mystery shop and other areas.” More...

Howells Solicitors are delighted to have been shortlisted again for both the Direct and Regional Conveyancing Firm of the Year hosted by the Law Firm Services Awards 2015.

Howells won the Regional Conveyancing Firm of the Year for the Wales and West Midlands category in 2014 and was shortlisted for the UK’s Direct Conveyancer Firm of 2014 category. Click here for the story.

Howells on Being Shortlisted

Managing Partner, Mark Hobbs, commented, “We are over the moon to be shortlisted once again. These awards are judged by well-respected leaders within the industry so it is an honour to be recognised.

We enjoy what we do, are passionate and have a constant drive to want to do it better and this award would illustrate that we are heading in the right direction. It will also be a big pat on the back to all our staff who work very hard and great for them to have the recognition and benefit of the award.”  More...

Howells Solicitors have for the past few years been proud to sponsor the University of South Wales’ Prize for Best Performance in Property Law and Practice, which is awarded to the highest achieving student on the course with the best overall performance.

This year the very worthy winner of the prize is Kimberly Matthews.

Kim started studying for the LPC at the University of South Wales in September 2013 on a part-time basis whilst also undertaking a training contract with a Cardiff legal firm and looking after her one year old daughter.

Not content with just passing her course and qualifying in Law, Kim set her sights on winning the Howells prize. More...

Two more trainee solicitors have completed their training contracts at Howells Solicitors, taking the total of successful applicants over the last 18 months to five, with five more due to complete before the end of the year.

Hayley Rees and Richard Jones, gained law degrees from Cardiff and Swansea universities respectively and both completed their Legal Practice Course at Cardiff University before starting their employment with Howells in 2012.

Gaining Experience with Howells

During their time with the firm, and as part of their training, Hayley and Richard have gained experience in all of Howells’ different legal departments. Following the successful completion of their training both graduates were offered positions as solicitors in the law firm. Hayley is now working in our Private Client departments, while Richard can be found in our Residential Conveyancing department, both are in the Cardiff legal office.

Rhidian Hobbs, director at Howells Solicitors said, “Recruiting and training talented young lawyers such as Hayley and Richard is key to our long term success. The time spent during their training has enabled us to identify their strengths and we have worked together to find a position within the firm upon completion of their training to enable them to qualify into their chosen area of law. I wish Hayley and Richard a very successful career at Howells”More...