Hamlins has been highly praised by its clients in the Legal 500 2021 Rankings with clients commenting on our ‘genuinely personal’ service.

The Legal 500 2021 individually recognises 20 Hamlins team members, and four of our Partners have achieved the highest ranking of Leading Individual: Amanda Burge, Christopher Hutchings, Kate Andrews and Martin Ochs.

“The quality of work at all levels is excellent and compared with other firms is exceptional.”

We are hugely grateful to our clients for their positive comments and proud to receive feedback acknowledging our efforts and commitment.

“Every single person I come across is fully engaged, pro-active and positive. The energy that is put into clients and their needs is extraordinary. If ever there was a firm that was “on it 24/7”, this is the firm. I do not know whether the fact they appear to all like each other and to enjoy working together is a cause or effect but the positivity, energy and commitment of the Hamlins’ team make them an absolute joy to work with as counsel. I am sure their clients do not realise just how much they work for them.”

Joseph Holder, Senior Partner, said: “Hamlins is fortunate to support and partner with some of the most innovative, creative and market-leading firms and individuals, who continue to motivate us to deliver to such a high standard. We would like to thank all of our clients for the outstanding feedback they have given to the team.”

The firm is now listed in the following Legal 500 categories:

Corporate & Commercial: Equity Capital Markets – low-mid cap
Key lawyers: Aselle Djumabaeva-Wood
Hamlins LLP’s team provides a full suite of services to entrepreneurs, SMEs and large corporates, nominated advisers and private equity and venture capital investors. It handles a mix of fundraisings and transactional mandates involving the AIM and Main Markets, as well as the NEX Exchange. Aselle Djumabaeva-Wood is experienced in advising Russian-speaking clients. The group particularly stands out in mandates connected with the real estate, leisure, technology and media sectors.

Corporate & Commercial: M&A: Smaller deals, up to £50m
Key lawyers: Aselle Djumabaeva-Wood
Hamlins LLP is particularly noted for its corporate finance capabilities and acts for entrepreneurs, SMEs and larger corporates. The firm has developed a reputation for its work on technology and media deals and also has a fully integrated leisure team, which advises a range of prominent restaurants, hotels and bingo and gym brands on M&A deals. Acting primarily for banks and property investors, Aselle Djumabaeva-Wood is a key name to note for corporate and secured lending transactions.

Dispute Resolution: Commercial Litigation: Mid market
Practice head(s): Amanda Burge
Other key lawyers: Martin Ochs; Laura Daly
Hamlins LLP’s ‘great commercial litigation team is very user-friendly and committed‘. It handles large and complex claims involving contracts and torts, professional negligence, breaches of fiduciary duties and civil fraud, as well as IP, defamation, partnership, shareholder and competition disputes. The firm has particular sector expertise in travel; property, construction and engineering; sports; IT and software; and insurance and financial matters. Amanda Burge heads the dispute resolution department, while Martin Ochs provides further partner-level support.

Industry focus: Hospitality & Leisure
Practice head(s): Nigel Mason
Other key lawyers: Ben Kilshaw
Specialist boutique Hamlins LLP has more than three decades of experience working with clients in the hospitality and leisure sector, with practice head Nigel Mason described as ‘first-class’ by clients. The team brings together expertise across real estate, construction, corporate, and intellectual property matters, and is active in the transactional space. Real estate partner Ben Kilshaw handles contentious and non-contentious real-estate transactions as well as advising corporate occupiers and purchasers on construction projects.

Insurance: Professional negligence
Practice head(s): Amanda Burge
Hamlins LLP’s team is led by the well-regarded Amanda Burge, a ‘ferocious litigator’ who has ‘enormous experience of fighting large-scale commercial and professional negligence disputes‘. The practice advises claimants in disputes against a range of professionals including solicitors, accountants, financial advisers, trustees and construction consultants.

Real Estate: Commercial: Property Development
Practice head(s): Mark Hurst
Other key lawyers: Nigel Mason; Ben Kilshaw; Joseph Holder
Hamlins LLP is an ‘extremely well-regarded real estate practice’ that ‘displays a genuine ownership of its clients’ issues’. Headed by ‘consummate deal-doer’ Mark Hurst, the team is engaged for sales, purchases, portfolio work, development, leasing and asset management activities in addition to structuring and lending affairs. The team is particularly knowledgeable of assets in the hotels, leisure and retail sectors including shopping centres and restaurants. Found among the client list are high-net-worth individuals, offshore funds, privately owned companies and institutional investors, among others.

Real Estate: Construction – Contentious
Practice head(s): Amanda Burge
Other key lawyers: Sarah Finch; Laura Daly
Hamlins LLP has a broad contentious construction practice, acting on a wide array of disputes including claims for delay, loss and expense, claims for negligent design or workmanship and project overspends. Amanda Burge leads the department; she is praised for her ‘very good understanding of the law and the needs of her clients.‘ Alongside her traditional construction and engineering experience, she has advised on IT and software aspects of construction projects and their implications for disputes. She is supported by Sarah Finch who resolves disputes through adjudications, especially involving delay claims. Senior associate Laura Daly is active on a range of construction disputes in multiple sectors.

Real Estate: Property Finance
Practice head(s): Aselle Djumabaeva-Wood
Hamlins LLP acts for lenders and borrowers including traditional banks, opportunistic funds, private equity groups and family offices. Aselle Djumabaeva-Wood leads the practice; her notable highlights include advising Palace Capital on its £15m acquisition of One Derby Square in Liverpool. She also assists high-net-worth families with the management of their property portfolios.

Real Estate: Property Litigation
Practice head(s): Kate Andrews
Other key lawyers: Sarah Finch
Hamlins LLP is best known for representing landlords and tenants in disputes over option agreements, repair duties, rent reviews and leases, among other issues. The team is led by Kate Andrews, whose own expertise covers contractual, development and boundary disputes. Also notable is that she has recently handled various car park-related instructions. In addition to being active in litigation, Andrews is also well-versed in alternative dispute resolution.

TMT: Media & Entertainment (including media finance)
Practice head(s): Martin Ochs; Christopher Hutchings
Other key lawyers: Callum Galbraith; Simon Gallant
With ‘true sector expertise‘, Hamlins LLP is particularly well-known for its experience in the music sector, where it acts for UK music collecting societies, musicians and music publishers. Martin Ochs (who attracts praise for his ‘brilliant attention to detail and knowledge of copyright law‘) leads the music sector practice, which includes reputation management litigator Callum Galbraith. Beyond the music space, the group has a strong media offering headed up by Christopher Hutchings, who focuses on defamation and privacy, while Simon Gallant is active in the film, fashion and publishing industries.

TMT: Reputation Management
Practice head(s): Christopher Hutchings
Other key lawyers: Callum Galbraith; Andrew Stephenson; Alex Cochrane; Ellen Gallagher
The ‘reliable, responsive and helpful‘ media disputes practice at Hamlins LLP provides ‘sound and balanced advice‘ in relation to libel and privacy rights claims. The team primarily represents claimants, demonstrating notable strength in high-profile reputation and privacy cases involving politicians. The firm, which has been involved in the high profile phone hacking litigation, is also well-equipped to assist with pre-publication reputation management issues. Department head Christopher Hutchings acts for both individuals and corporate clients, while Callum Galbraith is regularly retained by celebrities in libel and privacy matters. Alex Cochrane specialises in defamation and harassment claims.

TMT: Sport
Practice head(s): Matthew Pryke
Managing partner Matthew Pryke leads the team at Hamlins LLP; he is active in advising on new sporting events, such as short-form formats like Sail GP and Tie Break Tennis, as well as e-sports. He is an expert in advising on commercial arrangements relating to sport, most notably for English Cricket Board in relation to the 2019 Cricket World Cup. Additional expertise includes sponsorships, regulatory issues and player transfers.