Top Tier Rankings for Newcastle's Burnetts Solicitors in this Year’s Legal 500

Burnetts Solicitors LLP has been highly rated in The Legal 500 UK Solicitors 2025 Rankings – the leading guide to law firms and solicitors in the UK - with a total of nine recommended practice areas, eight lawyers listed as Leading Individuals, two Next Generation Partners and four Leading Associates, making a total of 14 individuals being ranked within the Legal 500. 

This year, the firm has been ranked as a ‘Firm to Watch’ for the first time in two areas: Corporate and Property Litigation.  

Legal 500 rankings reflect the result of months of extensive analysis by Legal 500’s research team, which conducts thousands of interviews with private practice lawyers and reads through tens of thousands of submissions in order to select the very best lawyers and law firms in the UK. 

Burnetts, which moved into new premises at Citygate in Newcastle’s city centre in early 2024, is one of the largest law firms in the North and had five of its departments achieve top tier rankings in the guide: Corporate, Dispute Resolution, Medical Negligence and Serious Injury, Agribusiness and Commercial Property.

The Corporate team at Burnetts had a fantastic year, resulting in the team in Newcastle being recognised as a new entry as a ‘Firm to Watch’ and detailed as “leveraging its capabilities across the region, Burnetts’ corporate and commercial offering in Newcastle was expanded with the arrivals of seasoned corporate advisor Paul Bell and corporate finance specialist Peter Robinson, both offering particular experience in the healthcare, professional services, and hospitality segments”.

Described as a “great team that cares about their clients,” the Commercial Property team at Burnetts has once again been ranked highly. The team excels across the full range of commercial property work, with a particular strength in advising on portfolio management, property transactions, and estate development work. The “extremely knowledgeable and conscientious” Helen Hayward and co-Head Robbie Mather lead the team which includes Rebecca Dawson who joined the firm from Jacksons Law Firm in April 2023, and handles private sector developments, planning issues, and development funding matters. 

Susan Roberts of the wider Dispute Resolution team is ranked as a Next Generation Partner. Her arrival from a previous law firm in 2024 has brought an exciting line of work to Burnetts, with the firm now being ranked as a ‘Firm to Watch’ in Property Litigation. The Dispute Resolution team at Burnetts is gaining recognition for its outstanding work in contractual and commercial litigation across a wide variety of sectors, including charities and construction, shareholders’ disputes, professional negligence claims and insolvency issues.

Ranked as top tier in the Legal 500, the Medical Negligence and Serious Injury team at Burnetts is described as a team that is “down-to-earth and approachable … stocked with experienced litigators in whom Claimants can place their trust to chat through the difficult litigation process”. Spencer Knaggs, the team’s Head of Department, is named as a Leading Partner alongside Michelle Armstrong. Paul Brown is a specialist in serious injury and brain injury matters and “he demonstrates a passion for assuring the best possible rehabilitation for his clients,” while Mick Laffey, who joined the team in January 2023, specialises in serious injury issues.

It was another successful year for the “very experienced and extremely practical” Banking team. The rankings state that the team has a strong track record for being “highly deal focused” and are “just very good at what they do.” The team was bolstered in late 2023 when Nicola Nutley became Head of Department and she has excelled in this role, taking the team from strength to strength. Legal Director Jonathan Yates also joined the team in 2023, adding to its already considerable strength of expertise, experience and knowledge.  

“Very helpful and understanding” summarises the Family team at Burnetts. Led by Mark Ward, it handles a varied range of matters, encompassing financial cases with significant assets and children matters, including cases involving the local authority. Senior Associates Elizabeth Wilson and Emma Armstrong, who is a “force to be reckoned with”, advise on all aspects of family law. 

The Employment team has been described as a “friendly efficient team giving sound advice and support.” David Gibson leads the team which advises private and public sector employers and senior executives on all aspects of employment law with notable expertise in corporate support work. Sara Devennie, who regularly represents both claimants and respondents in tribunal claims, is also a core member of the team. 

Nick Gutteridge, Managing Partner at Burnetts said: “We have an exceptional team of people who work incredibly hard and genuinely care about our clients and these rankings demonstrate that. We have an ethos at Burnetts of “empowering people to thrive” and I feel that Legal 500 has recognised that not only do we empower our team to thrive, but this ethos also applies to our clients too. 

“We’re a top tier firm offering a top tier service. With our move into Citygate earlier this year, we are very excited for our next chapter of growth in the North East”.

To find out more about Burnetts Solicitors, please visit www.burnetts.co.uk.