A Cumbria-based law firm, Harrison Drury, has achieved record recognition in the influential Legal 500 guide to the UK’s top lawyers.

The firm, with offices at Bridge Mills, Kendal, holds an impressive 28 ‘Recommended Lawyers’ in the 2024 edition of the esteemed Legal 500 publication.

This is a marked increase from the 22 noted in the previous year.

These 'recommended lawyers' encompass various specialisms such as dispute resolution, commercial property, licensing and family law, among others.

John Chesworth, executive chairman at Harrison Drury, said: “We’re very proud to have had even more of our people recognised by the Legal 500 this time and it marks a fifth year of continuous improvement in terms of both individuals and specialisms being ranked.

“Each year we must prove that not only do we have the experience and expertise within our chosen legal areas, but also that we’ve gained outstanding results for our clients and offered them the highest levels of advice and service.

"We’re incredibly thankful to our clients for their support in helping us to achieve this.”

The ‘Recommended Lawyers’ are Nick Booth, Sean Gibbs, Matthew Astley, Helen Griffin (dispute resolution); Simon England, Naomi Fell, Hannah Hughes, Nicola Beneduce, Amanda Marwood, Lara Watts, Wendy Newbury, Danielle Leeming, Lucy Beachell, Jackie Bate (commercial property); Jack Stephenson, David Edwards (corporate and commercial); James Robbins, Peter Barlow (insolvency); Colin Fenny, Joseph Mitchell, Alex Walmsley, Zoe Taylor (property litigation); Malcolm Ireland, Samantha Faud (licensing); John Osborne, Janine Hutson, Emma Panchal, Rebecca Patience(family law).

For the first time, the firm's family law and licensing teams have earned recognition, joining existing teams that have been saluted in the list for years.

Additionally, three of the firm's professionals have gained the coveted ‘Leading Individual’ status – Simon England (commercial property), Malcolm Ireland (licensing), and James Robbins (insolvency). Hannah Hughes (commercial property) has been ranked as a Next Generation Partner, while Helen Griffin (dispute resolution) and Samantha Faud (licensing) maintain their Rising Star status.

The Legal 500 has served as a benchmark guide to clients for choosing the best law firms and practitioners in over 150 jurisdictions around the world for over three decades.

The selection process includes stringent analysis involving client and peer feedback, interviews which are then reviewed by a panel of experts.

Harrison Drury’s teams won praise for exceeding expectations, with comments such as “going above and beyond, leaving nothing to chance” and demonstrating “a wealth of knowledge both of legalities and real-world processes”.