Hamlins has been widely recognised in the Legal 500 2022 rankings and received high praise from clients who acknowledge Hamlins’ “client-friendly approach,” “strong collaborative culture,” “excellent breadth of expertise and in-depth knowledge,” and “responsiveness and efficiency”. Hamlins is commended for its “ability to provide clear, concise advice in complex areas, explaining everything with clarity, warmth and total trust”.
Partners Amanda Burge, Chris Hutchings, Kate Andrews and Martin Ochs have been selected as Leading Individuals. Legal 500 uses this term to distinguish ‘true market leaders, with long-established reputations in their sector and exceptional, widespread recognition and endorsement’.
In addition, 20 members of the Hamlins team have been highlighted as Recognised Individuals in this year’s rankings, demonstrating the breadth of expertise of Hamlins entire team across all practice areas.
Senior Partner, Joseph Holder, said:
“Thank you once again to our fantastic clients for such positive feedback, we are thrilled to be recognised in so many categories, and to see our team members receive such outstanding testimonials.
Like so many businesses, we have faced many challenges during the past 12 months, but our team has continued to work exceptionally hard to deliver outstanding service to our clients and I am incredibly proud their efforts have been recognised.”
The firm is listed in the following categories:
M&A Smaller Deals, up to £50m
Practice head: Aselle Djumabaeva-Wood
Key Lawyers: Matthew Pryke
The corporate practice at Hamlins LLP acts for a mix of entrepreneurs, SMEs and larger corporates on public and private M&A transactions. Dual-qualified (Kyrgyz and UK) Aselle Djumabaeva-Wood heads up the team, with recent highlights including multi-jurisdictional financings in the mining sector as well as a number of property holding company divestments. Matthew Pryke is also noted for his experience in media, intellectual property and technology issues.
Media & Entertainment (including Media Finance)
Practice head: Martin Ochs, Christopher Hutchings
Key Lawyers: Callum Galbraith, Simon Gallant
Hamlins LLP has a strong profile in the music sector, where it acts for clients such as UK music collecting societies, musicians and music publishers. It is notably strong in contentious matters, including those concerning the monopoly of the music merchandising sector; Martin Ochs is a noted expert in this space. Also recommended is Callum Galbraith, whose work covers management disputes, band name disputes and royalty audit claims, among other matters. Head of media Christopher Hutchings is mainly known for his defamation and privacy work, but also advises clients on commercial issues and image rights. Simon Gallant has experience of advising clients on IP, litigation and data protection matters.
Reputation Management
Practice head: Christopher Hutchings
Key Lawyers: Callum Galbraith, Alex Cochrane, Ellen Gallagher, Andrew Stephenson
Providing ‘clear, concise’ advice on privacy and libel rights claims, Hamlins LLP represents a range of claimants, from musicians and actors/actresses to prominent politicians and public figures. Led by Christopher Hutchings, the team has considerable expertise in pre-publication review and takedowns relating to ‘fly-on-the-wall’ documentaries, an area in which newly promoted partner, Alex Cochrane, is strong. The team is also noted for its involvement in the phone-hacking litigation, where media expert Callum Galbraith acted as lead solicitor against News Group Newspapers.
Construction: Contentious
Practice head: Amanda Burge
Key Lawyers: Sarah Finch
Acting for clients including developers, investors, occupiers and contractors, Hamlins LLP provides solid experience in contentious construction matters. It handles disputes relating to overspend, negligent design, delay and loss, and offers these services to both an industry and private clientele. Amanda Burge heads the team, handling matters relating to construction IT and software issues in addition to projects. Sarah Finch is also recommended for her expertise in adjudications.
Hospitality & Leisure
Practice head: Nigel Mason
Key Lawyers: Ben Kilshaw
Hamlins LLP stands out for its expertise in brand and site development work. The practice has significant experience in rolling out high street brands through the acquisition of sites and negotiation of new leases for new restaurants, pubs, bars and clubs. The group also has a strong offering for hotels, holiday and travel businesses, assisting both boutique operators and global brands. Key areas of work here include acquisitions, disputes, developments and day-to-day operational issues. Team head Nigel Mason has a good record advising on large and complex development projects.
Property Litigation
Practice head: Kate Andrews
Key Lawyers: Sarah Finch
Hamlins LLP handles a broad spectrum of commercial and residential property disputes, with team head Kate Andrews being the key contact for the former. Much of this work concerns break notices, rent reviews, dilapidation claims and CVAs, while development-related disputes have been another driver of recent activity. Instructions in this space include easements, rights to light and boundary matters alongside vacant possession actions. Landlords and tenants, developers, property managers, investors and residential leaseholders also benefit from the team’s mediation expertise.
Commercial Litigation: Mid Market
Practice head: Amanda Burge
Key Lawyers: Martin Ochs, Laura Daly, Lola Dawson
Hamlins LLP‘s team has substantial expertise in commercial litigation work, including large and complex contractual and tortious claims, disputes concerning breaches of fiduciary duties and civil fraud cases. Leading the firm’s dispute resolution department is Amanda Burge, who is highly regarded for general commercial disputes that are frequently complex and involve significant monetary values. IP disputes head Martin Ochs is also active in commercial litigation.
Commercial Property: Investment
Practice head: Mark Hurst
Key Lawyers: Nigel Mason, Joseph Holder, Victoria Camfield
At Hamlins LLP, practice head Mark Hurst has over 20 years of experience acting for offshore funds, high-net-worth individuals and property companies on the acquisition, sale and refinancing of single assets and portfolios. Elsewhere, the team’s other work includes development projects, leasing and asset management. Nigel Mason is among the standout names for development matters.
Professional Negligence
Practice head: Amanda Burge
The professional negligence team at Hamlins LLP is able to handle cases acting for and against professionals in areas including financial services, law and construction. ‘Stand-out partner’ Amanda Burge leads the team and has past experience working at defendant insurer firms.
Sport
Practice head: Matthew Pryke
Key Lawyers: Christopher Hutchings
Clients recommend Hamlins LLP for its ‘notable strength in the establishment and operation of sports leagues’; the team has a strong focus on the structuring and launch of new events, initiatives and formats, across a wealth of sports, and is also reputed for its commercial, regulatory, doping, corporate, IP, privacy and reputation management capabilities. Practice head Matthew Pryke is a ‘valued source of market-specific knowledge’; he has a track record of having acted for some of England’s most famous footballers. Other work encompasses broadcast and promotion agreements, sponsorships and player transfers.
Intellectual Property: Trade Marks, Copyright and Design
Practice heads: Martin Ochs, Matthew Pryke
Key Lawyers: Christopher Hutchings
Hamlins LLP ’s IP group has a strong music rights practice, working with longstanding clients such as music licensing companies PPL and PRS on copyright claims, with co-head Martin Ochs leading the proceedings; his expertise is also deployed in the FMCG and hospitality sectors. Co-head Matthew Pryke is regularly engaged on endorsements and software licensing deals by sports and technology clients.
Property Finance
Practice head: Aselle Djumabaeva-Wood
Key Lawyers: Joseph Holder, Mark Hurst, John Leasure
The real estate finance team at Hamlins LLP has a client roster including traditional banks, opportunistic funds, property companies, developers and family offices, with a focus on asset classes such as student accommodation, hotels and residential properties. Practice head Aselle Djumabaeva-Wood, who has ‘impeccable business and professional acumen’, is qualified in England and Wales and the CIS, and specialises in secured lending.
