Firm wide growth recognised in Chambers and Partners legal directory for HCR Law

HCR Law has achieved recognition across all its regions in the UK 2025 Chambers and Partners rankings, underscoring our strategic growth across England and Wales.

With a total of 80 rankings spanning various practice areas and individual lawyers, it’s particularly noteworthy that we have secured 9 new practice area rankings and 14 lawyers receiving recognition for the first time. This achievement highlights our commitment to client excellence and our strategy for growing and hiring leading talented lawyers at HCR.

The Wales office in Cardiff has celebrated its growth with three new practice area rankings: a Band 2 in Agriculture and Rural Affairs, along with two Band 3 accolades in Corporate/M&A and Employment. Agriculture Partner Bryn Thomas earned a Band 2 ranking for the first time, while Rory Hutchings successfully retained his Band 1 ranking. The team has also maintained its Band 1 status in Information Technology and a Band 2 ranking in Intellectual Property. Partner and Head of Technology, Nicola McNeely, has received recognition with two Band 1 lawyer rankings in these retained practice areas.

The expertise across the Midlands was equally evident, with new rankings in Family and Matrimonial, Construction, and Litigation. The Midlands offices also successfully retained their standings in several practice areas, including SME/Owner Managed Corporate M&A and Restructuring and Insolvency.

The strategic growth was further demonstrated by a total of 15 lawyer rankings achieved across the Midlands, with Charlotte Thornton-Smith, David Browne, Dominic Hopkins, Gareth Williams, and Paul Grundy all advancing in their respective rankings, alongside 8 new individual lawyer awards.

The Cambridge office received commendation across multiple practice areas, retaining its rankings in all previous categories. Thirteen team members were recognised, including new rankings for Frank Brumby, Gemma Dudley, and Inger Anson, Head of the Cambridge office.

Across HCR’s service and sector teams, we achieved UK-wide recognition. HCR’s Healthcare team, whose service offering has grown this year with the addition of a specialist regulatory arm, achieved UK-wide recognition for the first time. This accomplishment highlights the team’s growth across the country and the clients they support.

The Education practice, led by Kristine Scott—who held her Band 1 UK-wide ranking—also achieved UK-wide recognition, retaining its Band 2 accolade as a team. Partner Oliver Daniels has maintained his UK-wide ranking. While Rachel Khiara also received a UK-wide ranking within the Partnership practice area.

The Family Law team is also celebrating its achievement of a Band 1 ranking in the West Midlands and a Band 2 ranking in the South West, highlighting the team’s expertise across the country, which was also recognised in the 2025 Legal 500 rankings. Eight members of the Family Law Team received individual rankings which included two new individual rankings for James Osborne and Sally Robinson.

Across HCR we received 52 individual lawyer and 28 practice area rankings. For the first time, there were three Senior Statespeople rankings, recognising individuals’ significant standings in their practice areas.

Chambers and Partners is a leading independent professional legal research company operating across 200 jurisdictions. It delivers detailed rankings and insight into the world’s leading lawyers and law firms.

The 2025 results follow the Chambers and Partners High Net Worth Guide 2024 results which were released in July 2024, which saw 14 members of the Private Client team ranked.

HCR Law’s strong performance across both demonstrates the firm’s national growth, showcases our leading expertise, and, most importantly, reflects the commitment to delivering an exceptional service to clients.