The Legal 500 is published annually to recognise the expertise and experience of individual legal professionals and law firms.
The industry leading guide undertakes considerable research to identify the leading legal talent in the market. We are therefore incredibly proud to announce that several of our solicitors and departments have been recognised in the Legal 500 2019 edition.
The individuals and departments recognised in the guide are outlined below.
PRIVATE CLIENT – Contentious Trusts and Probate
The guide notes that the team benefits from the expertise of two partners and has a real focus on contentious trusts and probate work. The firm is said to have an excellent reputation in the market and team head, Laith Khatib, is identified as one of three ‘leading individuals’ in Wales in the practice area. He is said to be “very well-respected”.
PRIVATE CLIENT – Personal Tax, Trusts and Probate
The firm is said to excel at providing bespoke services to clients seeking to protect their assets through effective estate planning and in the administration of trusts and estates. Laith Khatib is again identified as a ‘leading individual’ in this practice area and is said to be “held in high regard among the south Wales private client community”.
Since publication of the 2019 Legal 500, the firm has appointed Sarah Cash as a partner. Sarah is a highly-experienced and respected private client solicitor who is also recognised in the Legal 500 as a ‘leading individual’. The research says Sarah provides a “high level of service to high-net-worth individuals on their tax planning as well as the administration of estates”.
The firm now has two partners named among the four ‘leading individuals’ identified in this practice area in the region.
PRIVATE CLIENT - Family
The Legal 500 guide recognises that the firm’s two-partner team handles a wide range of family law matters, from public/private child law cases through to high-net-worth divorces. The guide identifies that we are one of the few firms in South Wales with a legal aid franchise and thus able to handle publicly-funded instructions.
Team head, Richard Scott, is said to have developed a niche practice representing police officers in divorces and has a true insight into the peculiarities and complexities inherent in police pensions.
HUMAN RESOURCES – Employment
The guide says that the firm’s employment team is appreciated for its 'customer service and attention to detail' and remains best-known for its very effective service on behalf of claimants across a range of contentious matters in the South Wales region.
The guide says that the department has benefited from the expertise of Bethan Southcombe who joined the firm in July 2018 from NewLaw Solicitors. Bethan has developed the firm's growing respondent practice through the reintroduction of a monthly retainer service aimed at local SME businesses.
Gemma Bailey, who heads the employment litigation team, is said by the guide to be “very empathetic and skilled […] and excellent at claimant contentious work.”
A Bumper Year for Howells Solicitors
Mark Hobbs, Managing Director of Howells Solicitors, is thrilled with the recognition for the various individuals and the firm. He said:
“The Legal 500 result is largely based on client feedback. The firm strives to offer our clients outstanding legal advice and service and it is rewarding and very pleasing to know that we are getting things right on that front.
“Since the publication was released, we have added further expertise and strength to our teams, and we therefore hope to gain even more recognition in next year’s publication”.
For more information on the legal minds mentioned above, or any other member of our team, please explore the Our People section of this website.
