Praise from clients wins lawyers top rankings

Specialist knowledge, expertise, efficiency and professionalism are the hallmarks of Harrison Clark Rickerbys’ private client team, according to clients and peers whose remarks won the law firm excellent rankings in a legal directory.

Chambers and Partners High Net Worth guide places both the firm and its outstanding partners in the top rank of legal advisors, with experts in Birmingham, Worcester and Cheltenham available to advise individuals and families on private client matters, including tax planning, estate administration and wills.

Clients and peers said: “The wills, trust and estate team are highly competent with excellent specialist knowledge,” adding “they had the right level of employee with the right specialist knowledge…which gave the client the best service at the best value.” One interviewee, focusing on HCR’s strength and depth in this area, said: “My overall impression of HCR is good; it is confidence-building for the client.”

In Birmingham, Beth King-Smith, who heads the disputed wills, trusts and estates team, is singled out as a leader in her field, as a ‘highly regarded litigator with experience in the full spread of trust and probate cases’. A peer described her as “absolutely excellent… she’s very, very good at what she does,” also commenting: “We’ve had nothing but fantastic feedback from all the clients we referred to her. She’s an old-fashioned, proper litigator and she’s just so good.”

In Cheltenham, Mark Hartley, Alex Taylor and Phillipa Bruce-Kerr are all singled out for praise – one clients says of the team that they are “streets ahead in their knowledge and professionalism in this area.” Another says of Mark that “we cannot imagine anyone doing a better job for us.”

Phillipa is highly regarded for her “elderly and mentally incapacitated client specialism,” says a fellow solicitor, adding that she is “the real go-to person for that work.” Alex is “very compassionate,” says a client, adding “he gets people quite quickly.”