Corporate Law firm, Moorcrofts, is celebrating after being named one of the top tier law firms in the region by leading industry directory, The Legal 500 UK edition.

The directory annually provides a full, in-depth and comprehensive analysis of law firms across the UK, listing only the best performing in the industry. Moorcrofts feature prominently in the South-East category for Corporate and Commercial, Employment, IT and IP Law.

Highlights from the 2018 Legal 500 rankings include:

Moorcofts has consolidated its position in Corporate and Commercial – ranked in Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx Region:

Under the leadership of the ‘consistently reliable and accessible’, Teri Hunter, Moorcrofts LLP fields a corporate practice that is considered ‘a trusted partner to clients’ and is ‘excellent on all fronts, particularly with regard to response times’. The firm’s focus on corporate technology mandates makes it a natural choice for clients ranging from start-ups to PLCs. In an illustration of the firm’s technology-sector expertise, Adrian Phillips (who ‘drives projects forward and protects clients’ interests’) and Peter Woolley led a team advising Extrinsica Global on the demerger of the client’s intelligent automation software business, which involved two preliminary capital reductions and a subsequent capital reduction demerger. In another highlight, Hunter (‘excellent at explaining technicalities’) acted alongside Will Pearce and Mohsin Shabbir (‘responds in a timely fashion to calls for assistance’) for Big Sky Partnership, a photographic and production studio, on two strategic acquisitions to expand its studio and production capabilities, and acted for the shareholders of TeamUltra on its £6m sale to Computacenter.

Moorcrofts has strengthened its position in IT and Telecoms moving up a tier – ranked in South East Region:

‘A firm which provides a high level of service to clients’, Moorcrofts LLP has ‘very good knowledge of software and IP law’ and provides ‘advice well targeted to client needs with good value for money’. Managing partner and ‘very fine IP/IT lawyer’ Andrew Katz heads up the offering and is recommended in particular for ‘his wealth of knowledge and expertise in open source legal matters’, while being ‘extremely capable on IT law and data protection’. Highlights included supporting Apigee (a subsidiary of Google) on complex data protection issues in light of the upcoming GDPR implementation and assisting Veterinary Insights, a provider of data analytics services to the veterinary and animal health sectors, on a wide range of matters including data protection and licensing.

Moorcrofts has also been recognised in Intellectual Property – ranked in the South East region Region:

The ‘excellent’ Moorcrofts LLP ‘has provided consistently good service over many years’, with ‘a high level of service in an area which calls for a specialised skillset’. Managing partner and ‘very fine IT/IP lawyer’ Andrew Katz ‘is a genuine expert in open source legal matters, and also extremely capable on IT law and data protection’, with other areas of expertise including open hardware, cloud computing and compliance in data protection and software supply chains. Katz has been working closely with CERN on the latest release of its open hardware licence and has been advising Questionmark Computing on its cross-border data flows ahead of GDPR implementation. Technology and IP solicitor Tim Astley and associate solicitor Katie Osborne are noted as important team members.

Moorcrofts has also consolidated its position in Employment – ranked in Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx Region:

Moorcrofts LLP’s employment team is ‘excellent at all levels – service is very professional, efficient and always with the customer in mind’. It has wide-ranging employment expertise, with an emphasis on post-termination restrictions, TUPE and restructuring matters. The practice also has an extensive track record in Employment Tribunal claims, as well as handling High Court litigation and injunctions. Practice head Matt Jenkin (‘an extremely pragmatic, practical and exceptionally knowledgeable lawyer who ensures that his advice is easy to understand) is regularly called on to assist clients with restructurings and reorganisations, in addition to advising on TUPE issues and acting for senior executives on termination issues. Senior associate Nicola Whelan’s expertise covers restrictive covenants and business restructuring matters.

Moorcrofts’ CEO and Head of Tech, Andrew Katz, who is recommended for ‘his wealth of knowledge and expertise in open source legal matters said:

“The Legal 500 directory is an independent guide to the best performing law firms in the UK. The positive recommendations we’ve received this year are first-class, including: ‘The firm’s focus on corporate technology mandates makes it a natural choice for clients ranging from start-ups to PLCs’ and ‘excellent at all levels – service is very professional, efficient and always with the customer in mind’. These endorsements reinforce our team’s expertise and the pride we take in providing excellent service to our clients.”

Moorcrofts is a niche law firm predominately acting for clients in the technology industry and only specialising in Corporate, Employment, IT and Commercial Property Law.