It’s that time of year – and Woolley & Co’s solicitors again feature highly in the annual “bible” of top legal professionals.
Woolley & Co, Solicitors has been named in five UK regions as a Leading Law Firm for family law in the 2020 Legal 500, a guide to law firms in the UK, with over four million visits to its website each year.
Three lawyers are named as Leading Individuals – while a total of 14 lawyers have been named as Recommended Lawyers in the area of family law.
“This is a great achievement for the firm and one I am very proud of,” said Managing Partner Andrew Woolley, who established the firm in Warwickshire in 1996 and which now has over twenty senior family lawyers across England and Wales.
“I know our lawyers are experts in their field, but it is always nice to have their knowledge, skills and experience recognised by the profession as well as by their clients.
“We have consistently featured prominently in the annual Legal 500 over the past years and it is a testament to the continued hard work of everyone at the firm to maintain high standards and do everything we can to go that extra mile for clients.”
Woolley & Co, Solicitors, has four family lawyers operating in East Anglia: Tamara Glanvill and Abby Smith in St Neots, Nick Wiseman in Great Yarmouth, and Karen Agnew Griffith in Thetford. All are said by the guide to be “engaging and self-motivating individuals with a lot of experience”. Their clients include expats, high-net-worth individuals, farming families, business owners and company directors, with the lawyers handling often complex cases involving leave to remove, difficult child arrangements cases, cross-border divorce, and multimillion-pound financial disputes.
The guide continues: “Woolley and Co has a very good online presence which means that they are often a first port of call for legal services, despite not having a substantial office building in towns and cities across the country.”
In Wales, the firm is “well regarded in the local and national market, primarily as a result of ‘star performer’ and team head Kathryn McTaggart‘s excellent reputation across a broad array of traditional family matters”. As well as a growing caseload of pre-nuptial and cohabitation disputes, Kathryn has been praised for her “practical and pragmatic guidance”, with a particular niche advising on complex international children matters.
In the South West, the Legal 500 said Woolley & Co is experienced in advising on the financial implications of cross-border divorce proceedings and relationship breakdown. This includes advice to vulnerable clients with additional financial needs arising from mental and physical health issues, with Susan Harwood and Judith Buckland singled out for praise. This included:
- Advising on a Children Act case involving psychological assessment
- Advising on a cross-border divorce proceeding with pension and financial settlements
- Defending defence of application for the removal of children to a foreign jurisdiction.
Richard England, Rebecca Franklin and Alison Ratchford fly the flag in the West Midlands, with specialisms in handling contested divorces, as well as other complex issues, such as leave to remove and prohibited steps orders.
Meanwhile, in the East Midlands, Woolley & Co is said to have a “well-regarded team, which is sought out for contested divorces involving children, high-value financial settlement disputes, cross-border finance and pension disputes“.
The client base spans high-net-worth individuals, farmers, company directors and British expats, with Kate Butler, Michelle Brammer, Kate Brooks and Andrew Robotham named as key lawyers in the region.
Researchers took significant positive testimonials for all lawyers into account when choosing who to include in the guide.