Closing the gap on top spot

The usual suspects retain their crowns as top dispute resolution law firms in Kent but, unlike corporate and commercial, this year’s rankings are tight. Tunbridge Wells powerhouse Cripps tops the table, followed closely by Brachers, then Thomson Snell & Passmore and Furley Page.

Finally, national giant Knights enters the Kent top five via its 2020 acquisition of ABS law. Legal 500 notes the 40-lawyer and 13-partner size of Cripps well-regarded commercial disputes team as well as its client list which includes the Channel Tunnel Group and University of Kent. Chambers also awards Cripps a Band 1 rating for real estate litigation. Brachers, Furley Page and Knights are solid-rated tier three firms for commercial litigation according to Legal 500. Brachers appears in Chambers & Partners tier three for real estate litigation, as does Thomson Snell & Passmore. Chambers notes Brachers’ full-service property litigation offering and highlights its “additional expertise” in environmental and wasterelated

‘The firm is skilled at advising clients on the contentious aspects of property portfolio management’

disputes.

The firm is also “strong in development-related disputes,” the directory says. Meanwhile, Chambers & Partners hails Thomson Snell & Passmore’s “sizeable” team, as well as its track record working on complex commercial disputes, shareholder litigation, shipping and commodities disputes and insolvency cases.

Thomson Snell & Passmore is also “skilled at advising clients on the contentious aspects of property portfolio management,” and has “notable experience” advising property developers.

Brachers also receives a rating for its debt recovery panel, as does Dartford, Welling, Faversham and Herne Bay firm Hadfield Bull & Bull.

This Real Estate and Public Sector table, on the face of it, reflects the overall rankings of Kent law firms. However, when divided into categories, rival departments are much more closely ranked.

For example, Cripps and Brachers receive high rankings for general public sector work from the

Legal 500. Cripps is a five-point firm for its agriculture work in both Chambers and the Legal 500 while Thomson Snell & Passmore gets a high score in the same category from Chambers. Furley Page, Warners, Rix & Kay, Brachers and Whitehead Monckton all receive strong points from one directory or the other.