Blake Morgan teams and individuals in Wales celebrate success in the latest Legal 500 directory

Blake Morgan’s leading teams and individual lawyers in Wales have been recognised extensively in the 2024 edition of the prestigious Legal 500 rankings, reflecting the firm’s first-rate client service, specialist expertise and long-term commitment to Wales, across a wide range of sectors.

This article is available in both English and Welsh language versions below.

Each year, the highly-regarded Legal 500 directory reviews and benchmarks the strength of law firms and their lawyers based on research and feedback from clients. Among its 17 rankings for Wales this year, 12 of Blake Morgan’s practice areas are placed in the highest ‘Tier 1’ ranking.

Practice areas that achieved Tier 1 ranks included Employment, Finance, Insurance, Public Sector, Real Estate, Technology, Media and Telecoms, Dispute Resolution, and Corporate and Commercial.

The ‘skilled and highly knowledgeable’ Social Housing team is praised for providing a ‘prompt and efficient service’ to housing associations, while the Commercial Litigation team is recognised for its ‘well-informed and responsive’ advice across a range of high-profile litigation cases. The Construction team secured a rise to Tier 1 from Tier 2 in 2023 thanks to its ‘very skilled and knowledgeable lawyers across all seniorities’.

Overall, 28 of the firm’s lawyers are recognised individually this year, some in multiple categories, with several lawyers achieving ‘Hall of Fame’ status in recognition of their capabilities and standing in the industry. Eve Piffaretti, Claire Rawle, and consultant Robin Havard secured this prestigious status. Eve Piffaretti is recognised for her ‘expert and sensible advice’.

Six promising individuals also stood out as ‘Next Generation Partners’, including Banking and Finance team leader, Paul Duggan, and ‘extremely proactive, responsible and knowledgeable’ succession and tax expert, Lisa Davies. Client testimonials describe real estate lawyer, Louise Howells, as ‘exceptionally gifted’ and praise Richard Jones as a ‘a superb, highly commercial corporate lawyer’, while Joanne Thompson is singled out as a ‘first-rate procurement litigator with a wealth of experience and excellent judgement’. Pensions lawyer Gillian McCue is described as ‘bright, very focussed and responsive’.

Alongside these, an exceptional 16 lawyers are rated as ‘Leading Individuals’, with an additional eight lawyers listed as ‘Rising Stars’ in the directory.

James Egan, James Williams, Lee Fisher, Joanne Davies, Matthew Smith, Paula Kathrens, Ron Burgess, Paul Caldicott, Geoff Reed, Graham Miles, Nigel Griffiths, Penri Desscan, Simon McCann, Joanna Rees, Siân Jones and Louise Howells were all named as Leading Individuals.

Meanwhile, James Vaughan, Nicky Sherrard, Sarah Whittle, Tom Walker, Sophia Farmer, Trish D’Souza,

Kate Howell and Joanna Corbett-Simmons were all recognised as Rising Stars.

Eve Piffaretti, Head of Office (Wales) at Blake Morgan, said:

TIMAU AC UNIGOLION BLAKE MORGAN YNG NGHYMRU YN DATHLU LLWYDDIANT YN Y CYFEIRLYFR LEGAL 500 DIWEDDARAF

Mae tîmau a chyfreithwyr unigol blaenllaw Blake Morgan yng Nghymru yn dathlu wedi’u cydnabod yn rhifyn 2024 yr cyfeirlyfr clodfawr Legal 500 sydd yn cydnabod gwasanaeth cleient o’r radd flaenaf y cwmni, ei arbenigedd a’i ymrwymiad tymor hir i Gymru ar draws ystod eang o sectorau.

Bob blwyddyn mae’r cyfeirlyfr uchel ei barch Legal 500 yn adolygu ac yn meincnodi cryfder cwmnïau cyfreithiol a’u cyfreithwyr ar sail ymchwil ac adborth gan gleientiaid.  Ymysg ei 17 argymhelliad ar gyfer Cymru eleni, daw 12 o ddisgyblaethau Blake Morgan yn yr argymhelliad ‘Haen 1  uchaf.

Ymhlith y disgyblaethau a dderbyniodd argymhelliad Haen 1 mae tîmau Cyflogaeth, Cyllid, Yswiriant, Sector Cyhoeddus, Eiddo Masnachol, Technoleg, Cyfryngau a Thelathrebu, Ymgyfreitha Masnachol a’r tîm Corfforaethol a Masnachol.

Caiff y tîm Tai Cymdeithasol ‘medrus a hynod ddeallus’  ei ganmol am ddarparu ‘gwasanaeth prydlon ac effeithlon’  i gymdeithasau tai tra caiff y tîm Ymgyfreitha Masnachol ei gydnabod am ei gyngor ‘ymatebol a gwybodus iawn’ ar draws ystod o achosion ymgyfreitha proffil uchel. Llwyddodd y tîm Adeiladu i godi o Haen 2 i Haen 1 yn 2023 diolch i’w ‘gyfreithwyr hynod fedrus a gwybodus ar draws pob lefel uchel’.

Ar y cyfan, caiff 28 o gyfreithwyr y cwmni eu cydnabod yn unigol eleni, rhai mewn mwy nag un categori, gyda nifer o gyfreithwyr yn ennill statws ‘Oriel yr Anfarwolion’ i gydnabod eu gallu a’u henw da yn y diwydiant. Enillodd Eve Piffaretti, Claire Rawle a’r ymgynghorydd Robin Havard y statws clodfawr hwn. Caiff Eve Piffaretti ei chydnabod am ei ‘chyngor arbenigol a synhwyrol’.

Roedd chwe unigolyn addawol hefyd yn sefyll allan fel ‘Partneriaid y Genhedlaeth Nesaf’, gan gynnwys Paul Duggan (arweinydd tîm Bancio a Chyllid) a Lisa Davies yr (arbenigwr olyniaeth a threth) ‘hynod ragweithiol, cyfrifol a deallus’. Mae geirdaon gan gleientiaid yn disgrifio Louise Howells, y cyfreithiwr eiddo, yn ‘hynod alluog’ ac yn canmol Richard Jones fel ‘cyfreithiwr corfforaethol rhagorol, hynod fasnachol’, tra caiff Joanne Thompson ei henwi fel ‘ymgyfreithiwr caffael o’r radd flaenaf gyda chyfoeth o brofiad a barn ragorol’. Caiff Gillian McCue, y cyfreithiwr pensiynau, ei disgrifio yn unigolyn ‘craff, ymatebol a llawn pwrpas’.

Ochr yn ochr â’r rhain, caiff 16 o gyfreithwyr eithriadol eu hystyried yn ‘Unigolion Blaenllaw’, gydag wyth cyfreithiwr ychwanegol wedi’u rhestru fel ‘Sêr Disglair’ yn y cyfeirlyfr.

Enwyd James Egan, James Williams, Lee Fisher, Joanne Davies, Matthew Smith, Paula Kathrens, Ron Burgess, Paul Caldicott, Geoff Reed, Graham Miles, Nigel Griffiths, Penri Desscan, Simon McCann, Joanna Rees, Siân Jones a Louise Howells yn Unigolion Blaenllaw.

Yn y cyfamser, cafodd James Vaughan, Nicky Sherrard, Sarah Whittle, Tom Walker, Sophia Farmer, Trish D’Souza, Kate Howell a Joanna Corbett-Simmons eu cydnabod fel ‘Sêr Disglair’.

Dywedodd Eve Piffaretti, Pennaeth Swyddfa (Cymru) yn Blake Morgan: