Recognition for Ashfords’ Construction & Infrastructure team in the 2023 legal directories

Ashfords’ Construction & Infrastructure team has been ranked in Band 1 for Construction - South West in legal journal Chambers UK Guide 2023 and is also praised in The Legal 500 directory.

The team specialises in all aspects of construction law, including the preparation of building and engineering contracts as well as dispute resolution. It assists clients across various sectors, including commercial, residential property (both private and social housing), health, education, recreation and retail and has a particular specialism in renewable energy, waste and water.

The team is one of only two specialist construction legal teams across Bristol and the South West to achieve Chambers Band 1 status.
Testimonials published in the directories this year include:

• “Ashfords excel at distilling the complex into concise and easy-to-understand snippets.”
• “Ashfords have a strong commercial awareness across the construction industry.”
• “Ashfords provide the upmost professional level of service, bringing very real added value to the process through considered and, where appropriate, innovative advice that enables the best results to be obtained.”
• “Very switched-on, client-friendly and commercial.”

Individual partners across the team have also been praised.

Patrick Blake, head of the team, is described as a “great lawyer, very commercial and proactive” and "good on both the technical and commercial sides, and is great for clients to work with."

Stephen Homer is the only South West construction lawyer in the Legal 500 “Hall of Fame” category. Clients say "We really value Stephen's ability to grasp a point quickly and advise us on strategy" and "I have found Stephen Homer's response times in dealing with particular matters to be excellent and his level of service exemplary."

Mark Manning is described as being “extremely commercially aware and provides us with excellent advice and suggestions on strategy" and “Very pragmatic and leaving no stone unturned, he looks at things from every angle."

Carl Thompson, who joined the team earlier this year, strengthening the team’s offering in the energy sector, is described as having “fantastic ownership mentality and is excellent at taking the negotiating lead in conversations.”

Laura Reeve, who specialises in drafting construction contracts and advising clients on contractual risks, “exemplifies a great lawyer/client relationship. Always proper, factual, well-briefed and also kind, considerate and approachable in explanations and progress of work.”

As well as the South West team, the London based team is also recognised with testimonials such as:
“It’s all down to the people; they are knowledgeable in their fields and try to find the most cost effective solutions to supporting our business.”

Jessica Taylor, who heads up the London construction team and works on major urban regeneration projects, received accolades including:
"She's a strong construction lawyer who brings a pragmatic approach to negotiations."
"Jessica is a pleasure to work with - she's knowledgeable and agile."

For further information, please see our Construction and Infrastructure pages.