Top ranking for Clarke Willmott’s Manchester office in 2026 Chambers & Partners guide

The Manchester office of national law firm Clarke Willmott LLP has once again been recognised in the annual Chambers and Partners Guide.

The office has retained its rankings in Corporate M&A and Social Housing, while there are new rankings for the Family/Matrimonial and Litigation teams.

Eleven Manchester lawyers were named in the individual rankings in the latest edition of the guide, with partner Lindsay Felstead, who heads the firm’s housing management team and leads its social housing team, ranked in Band 1.

Partners Ed Foulkes, Chris Longbottom, Michelle Spark, Lynn James, Matthew Wilson, Harriet Atkin and James Driver maintained or improved their rankings. And Emily Finn, Geraldine Stephens and Harriet Killeen were named in the Associate to Watch category.

Nationally, the firm is ranked in 33 practice areas across its seven regional offices, with four practice areas achieving the top Band 1 ranking in the prestigious guide.

Sixty-six Clarke Willmott lawyers were ranked with 73 individual recommendations, including eight Band 1 rankings and an Eminent Practitioner ranking for the firm’s CEO Peter Swinburn. Some 14 of these recommendations were new and six rankings were improved on the 2025 edition.

Testimonials from the 2026 edition include:

• “Clarke Willmott is an excellent firm which gave very professional and expert advice.”
• “Clarke Willmott’s client service ethic is huge.”
• “They have been excellent in navigating cross-border issues and they go above and beyond for clients.”
• “Clarke Willmott have persistence and strong negotiation skills. The firm is easily contactable and kept us up to date at all stages, providing fantastic advice.”

Clarke Willmott CEO Peter Swinburn said: “We are delighted with this year’s Chambers and Partners rankings, which closely followed our equally impressive Legal 500 results earlier this month.

“To rank in 33 specialist practice areas with 73 of our people receiving recommendations highlights our continued commitment to delivering incredible results to our clients and maintaining the high standards of legal service we have become known for.”

Chambers and Partners differentiates the best legal talent by identifying and ranking law firms and lawyers globally.

Clarke Willmott LLP is a national law firm with seven offices across the country in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton and Taunton. For more information visit www.clarkewillmott.com.