Exeter law firm increases rankings

A leading Exeter law firm has increased its rankings in independent guide to the legal profession Chambers 2015, with several teams and individual lawyers achieving Band 1 status.

Stephens Scown LLP increased its ranking for its commercial property team to Band 1 for the Exeter area. Jonathan Hoggett, the team’s head and commercial property partner Michael Northcott both saw their individual rankings increase to Band 2 this year. This success follows the firm recently being named Property Law Firm of the Year at the South West Property Awards.

The firm’s family law team, which is widely regarded as the best in Devon, retained its Band 1 ranking with the team’s head Liz Allen also retaining her individual Band 1 ranking.

Stephens Scown has developed its intellectual property team over the last few years and was ranked for the first time in Exeter, achieving Band 2.

Chambers also ranks individual lawyers and Stephens Scown now has 17 “leading individuals” in its Exeter office, with James Keliher, head of the corporate team, being listed as a leader for the first time this year. Several partners retained their Band 1 status including head of the dispute resolution team, Chris Harper. David Corsellis, head of the planning team, also saw his ranking increase to Band 1 this year.

Chambers 2015 was announced on 30 October 2014 and is particularly highly regarded because of the emphasis it places on feedback from clients. Client comments for Stephens Scown included:

"They prepare the case meticulously, and each is alive to the tactical decisions that need to be taken at an early stage in the proceedings in order to achieve the best ultimate outcome for their client." (Client comment on the family law team)

"I find them very accessible - they are able to communicate easily in layman's terms rather than legal terms." (Client comment on the intellectual property team)

Robert Camp, Stephens Scown’s managing partner said: “Chambers is valued so much because it places a lot of importance on what clients say. At Stephens Scown we have been focussing on improving our client service and these fantastic results show that we are moving in the right direction. The success is down to everyone at the firm, who all work so hard to achieve the best for our clients.”

Stephens Scown has over 40 partners and 260 staff across its offices in Exeter, Truro and St Austell. For more information visit www.stephens-scown.co.uk