Legal 500 – the world’s leading legal services benchmarking platform – has officially launched its UK 2027 rankings today [30 September].

We’re delighted to announce that Pannone Corporate has, once again, featured strongly across the Legal 500 rankings. The Legal 500 recognises the best law firms and lawyers in the North West across a wide range of practice areas and sectors, highlighting those receiving the strongest feedback from clients and peers.

In total, 17 of our lawyers feature in the Legal 500 UK 2027 rankings for their excellent contribution to their respective practices. This includes:

• Two ‘Hall of Fame’ lawyers
• Six ‘leading partners’
• Four ‘next generation partners’, and
• Three ‘leading associates’.

Those featured in the Legal 500 rankings are:

• Hall of Fame: Tim Hamilton – North West, Corporate and Commercial; Corporate and Commercial, Manchester
• Hall of Fame: Paul Jonson – North West, Dispute Resolution; Commercial Litigation, Manchester
• Leading Partners: Tom Hall – North West, Corporate and Commercial; Corporate and Commercial, Manchester
• Leading Partners: Jack Harrington – North West, Employment
• Leading Partners: David Walton – North West, Health & Safety
• Leading Partners: Nicola Marchant – North West, Private Client; Contentious Trusts and Probate
• Leading Partners: David Brown – North West, Real Estate; Property Litigation
• Leading Partners: Amy Chandler – North West, TMT (technology, media and telecoms); Intellectual Property; IT and Telecoms
• Next Generation Partners: Andrew Walsh – North West, Corporate and Commercial; Corporate and Commercial, Manchester
• Next Generation Partners: Jonny Scholes – North West, Private Client; Contentious Trusts and Probate
• Next Generation Partners: Gemma Staples – North West, Real Estate; Property Litigation
• Next Generation Partners: Sarah Bazaraa – North West, TMT (technology, media and telecoms); Intellectual Property; Media and Entertainment
• Leading Associates: Denise Lamb – North West, Dispute Resolution; Debt Recovery
• Leading Associates: Elizabeth Walsh – North West, Private Client; Contentious Trusts and Probate
• Leading Associates: Patricia Jones – North West, TMT (technology, media and telecoms); Intellectual Property. 

The firm’s practice areas also continue to rank highly amongst those within the profession, with 12 firm rankings. Pannone has top tier practice areas in TMT (technology, media and telecoms): Intellectual Property; TMT: Media and Entertainment; and Private Client: Contentious Trusts and Probate. A further six practices areas are ranked in the second tier and recommended in the listings. These teams are:

• Corporate and commercial
• Dispute resolution: commercial litigation
• Dispute resolution: debt recovery
• Employment
• Health & safety
• TMT: IT and telecoms.

Paul Jonson, senior partner at Pannone Corporate, commented: “The Legal 500 UK rankings demonstrate real strength and depth in the firm in the Manchester and wider North West market, with deserved recognition across both practice areas and team, from partners through to associates.

“This builds on our number one ranking as the most highly recommended law firm in the North West, according to Legal 500 data from client referees announced earlier this year. Both rankings reflect our unwavering approach to client-focused and commercially framed legal services, led by a team who are passionate about delivering technically excellent, practical and commercial advice. Congratulations to everyone on another outstanding year and a big “thank you” as ever to our clients and contacts.”

Standout comments from clients include:

• IP – The team has strength in depth across both contentious and non-contentious matters. They punch well above their weight and are a joy to work with.
• Contentious trusts and probate – Commercial problem solvers rather than just lawyers.
• Commercial litigation – A trusted adviser that consistently exceeds expectations and delivers outstanding outcomes on the most significant and complex matters.
• Corporate and commercial – Brilliant team to work with. They have a dedication and pragmatic approach to getting workflows progressing and finding ways to keep the third parties on track.
• Debt recovery – Fantastic team to deal with – always on hand to provide support, guidance, and assistance.
• Employment – Collaboration. Working with Pannone is like working with a colleague.
• IT & Telecoms – Utmost professionalism balanced with a really personal approach. My go-to if I need support again in the future. I have a sense of being in very capable hands.
• Commercial property – The individuals we work with in Pannone’s Real Estate team stand out for their commercial awareness, responsiveness, and practical approach.
• Property Litigation – Commercially minded, experienced lawyers.
• Insolvency and corporate recovery – The partners are very hands-on. In particular, Daniel Clarke and Helen Fyles know their cases inside out and are very knowledgeable.

Legal 500 is the world’s leading legal services benchmarking platform, delivering trusted insights through comprehensive research processes and proprietary data from 300,000+ clients and 60,000+ law firm submissions annually. More than 150 researchers and analysts evaluate law firms against a range of practice area competencies, industry sector expertise and client satisfaction metrics.

“One of the key strengths that distinguishes Pannone Corporate is the combination of technical legal expertise with a very practical, commercially-minded approach.”

Hot on the heels of our success in this year’s Legal 500 rankings, Pannone has featured strongly in Chambers and Partners 2026, which has been published this week [16 October].

Individual lawyers and teams have been recognised in the legal rankings, which are published annually and identify the best law firms globally, from multi-nationals to boutiques. The list is based on independent research and analysis of feedback from clients, peers and the wider market.

Highlights from this year’s Chambers 2026 rankings include:

• The Corporate team maintaining their Band One ranking for the fourth successive year
• The IP and Media team maintaining their Band Two ranking
• The Litigation team making it nine years in a row as a Band Three ranked team
• Other Band Three teams, include: Employment, IT, Real Estate Litigation and Real Estate, with eight teams ranked in total
• Individually, Paul Jonson has been ranked as an ‘Eminent Practitioner’ for litigation, with Tom Hall (Corporate) ranked in Band One. In Band Two, Amy Chandler (IT) features, with Tim Hamilton (Corporate), Amy Chandler (IP), Gemma Staples (Real Estate Litigation), Daniel Clarke (Restructuring and Insolvency), David Walton (Health & Safety), David Brown ( Dispute Resolution), Martin Pennington (Dispute Resolution), Fiona Hamor (Employment), Jack Harrington (Employment), Bill Dunkerley (Regulatory) and Gareth Birch (Real Estate) also ranked
• In total, Pannone has 15 individually ranked lawyers, with Sarah Bazaraa (IP) ranked as ‘Up and Coming’ and Callum Halley featured as an ‘Associate to Watch’.

So, what do our clients say about us?

Corporate: “One of the key strengths that distinguishes Pannone Corporate is the combination of technical legal expertise with a very practical, commercially-minded approach.”

IP: “Pannone starts and ends with the commercial objectives of the client at heart. All Pannone’s work is centred around this and this is where Pannone really stands out from the crowd.”

Employment: “They stand out for their exceptional responsiveness, practical advice and deep understanding of employment law from an employer’s perspective. They provide tailored, solution-focused support.”

Litigation: “The litigation team at Pannone is knowledgeable, approachable, and want to work with you to provide the best outcome for your business.”

IT: “The lawyers translate business needs and concerns into legal wording that is unambiguous, easy to understand from a non-legal perspective while providing full coverage for our business.”

Real Estate Litigation: “Pannone’s real estate litigation team stands out for commercial awareness, responsiveness and clarity of advice.”

Real Estate: “Pannone has the right balance between legal technical skill and commerciality, which enables them to give us straight answers that cut to the core of an issue.”

Health & Safety: “They have a personal touch, they are approachable and they care genuinely about the people they represent.”

Commenting on this year’s results, senior partner Paul Jonson said: “What makes this and the Legal 500 rankings so special is the strong client feedback on which both of these rankings are based.

“Excellence in client service sits at the core of what we do. By delivering a personal, collaborative and commercially-minded service, we can help our clients overcome the challenges they face and reach their goals. In turn, that deep understanding and individualised approach allows us to build longstanding relationships that are driven by a group of highly talented people.”

Chambers produces annual global rankings of teams and individuals according to their area of specialism. They take into account: client service; technical legal ability; depth of team; commercial vision and business understanding; diligence and value for money.

This year’s Chambers 2025 rankings have been published, with Pannone once again featuring strongly – both for individual lawyers and teams.

The Chambers publication follows an equally as impressive recognition in the Legal 500, which was announced earlier this month [link to story].

Highlights from this year’s annual Chambers 2025 rankings include:

• The Corporate team maintaining their Band One ranking for the third successive year
• The IP and Media team maintaining their Band Two ranking
• The Litigation team making it eight years in a row as a Band Three ranked team
• Other Band Three teams, include: IT, Real Estate Litigation and Real Estate, with eight teams ranked in total
• Individually, Tom Hall (Corporate) and Paul Jonson (Dispute Resolution) have been ranked in Band One, with Jonson featuring as an Eminent Practitioner. In Band Two, Mark Winthorpe (Corporate) and Amy Chandler (IT) feature, with Tim Hamilton (Corporate), Amy Chandler (IP), Gemma Staples (Real Estate Litigation), Daniel Clarke (Restructuring and Insolvency), David Walton (Health & Safety), David Brown ( Dispute Resolution), Martin Pennington (Dispute Resolution), Fiona Hamor (Employment), Jack Harrington (Employment), Melanie McGuirk ( IP), Bill Dunkerley (Regulatory) and Gareth Birch (Real Estate) also ranked
• In total, Pannone has 17 individually ranked lawyers, up from 12 in last year’s rankings, with Arshnoor Amershi (Corporate) ranked as ‘Up and Coming’ and Sarah Bazaraa (IP and Media) featured as an ‘Associate to Watch’.

So, what do our clients say about us?

Corporate: “The team at Pannone were experienced, with the intellectual horsepower to be able to deconstruct the complexity and guide us through their solutions. They go head to head with the big firms and can hold their own.”

Employment: “They exhibit a remarkable aptitude for dissecting issues, giving diverse perspectives and devising innovative solutions. Each member brings a unique set of skills and experiences to the table.”

Litigation: “Pannone takes the time to understand the key points of the matter, which means that in complex areas they rapidly develop a deep understanding of the issues to provide appropriate advice.”

IT: “They have their finger on the pulse and have a lot of relevant experience to draw upon.”

IP: “Pannone has a hard-working and dedicated team at all levels, from partner through to associates, who are intellectually rigorous and sensitive to clients’ priorities.”

Commenting on this year’s results, senior partner Paul Jonson said: “On the back of our success in the Legal 500 rankings, it’s fantastic to see such a strong showing in Chambers – both across teams and for individuals.

“The feedback we get from clients reflects the hard work and dedication of the team, as they continue to deliver innovative, responsive and commercially-minded solutions that demonstrate a deep understanding of our clients’ needs and the challenges that they face.”

Chambers and Partners identifies the best law firms globally, from multi-nationals to boutiques, based on independent research and analysis of feedback from clients, peers and the wider market.

Chambers produces annual global rankings of teams and individuals according to their area of specialism. They take into account: client service; technical legal ability; depth of team; commercial vision and business understanding; diligence and value for money.