Dolmans ranked “Top Tier” in the UK Legal 500 2024 rankings
Dolmans is once again recognised as a Tier 1 law firm in Wales in the category of Personal Injury: Defendant in the Legal 500 rankings for 2024. The Legal 500 seeks quotes from other legal practitioners operating in the same area of the law and clients of the practice. The quotations are gleaned from confidential research about Dolmans.
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The 2024 guide states: - Drawing upon ‘solid tactical acumen allied with shrewd financial awareness’, Dolmans is consistently engaged in the highest-profile mandates across the spectrum of personal injury work and richly deserves its reputation as ‘the go-to defendant firm in Wales for insurers and local authorities alike’. ‘The firm has a dynamic ability to move with the times and it has been quick to adapt post-lockdown and delivers first-class advice and case management to its loyal clients.’
‘They are client focused, hardworking and what I would describe as a safe pair of hands. They are extremely professional and consistently provide prompt, confident and expert advice.’ ‘Dolmans are highly professional, efficient, and reliable. They always go above and beyond to achieve successful outcomes for their clients.’
Senior Partner, Adrian Oliver, who heads up the team and has vast experience representing police forces across many claims has consolidated his personal recognition in the ‘Hall of Fame’ in the area of Personal Injury: Defendant.
Managing Partner, Justin Harris, is once again a ‘Leading Individual’ in the Personal Injury: Defendant category. Justin heads up the firm’s road traffic department, which through its panel appointment with Ageas Insurance Company receives a raft of high-profile and complex catastrophic defence work and clients describe him as an ‘outstanding litigator’.
Peter Bennett, Partner, is again ranked as a ‘Leading Individual’ in the area of Personal Injury: Defendant and is described as ‘outstanding’, has a 'complete dedication to the client's needs' and his ‘attention to detail and ability to distil complex information quickly is outstanding.’
Simon Evans is also ranked as a ‘Leading Individual’ in the area of Personal Injury: Defendant noted for his ‘excellent legal knowledge’ and ‘is dedicated to achieving the best possible outcome for his clients across a wide range of defence work, spanning employers and public liability, as well as road traffic and property-related defence work.
Melanie Standley, Nicola Edwards, and Clare Hoskins are recommended. Melanie Standley ‘delivers confident advice on complex matters’, including in the defence of claims against social services for alleged failure to protect children from abuse and neglect. Nicola Edwards has a ‘great understanding of the challenges of the public sector’ and regularly handles a range of work for both local authorities and police forces’. Herself, formerly a successful Welsh international triathlete, Clare Hoskins has deep knowledge of the sector and is one of a number of practitioners within the firm's personal injury team that handles work for sporting bodies and individuals.
Dolmans has also retained Tier 2 status in Health & Safety, with Peter Bennett also being recognised as a ‘Leading Individual’ within this category. Drawing upon a great deal 'of experience and excellent knowledge in the field', Dolmans provides 'sage advice' to insurers, corporates, and public authorities across a wide range of health and safety matters, including catastrophic personal injury cases. 'Brilliant' associate Claire Thomas is particularly well-versed at advising on environmental-related regulatory matters.
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Tier 2 status is also achieved in Sport and Property Litigation. Overseen by Adrian Oliver, Dolmans' sports team has developed a particularly strong reputation acting for national governing bodies/organisations across a range of their regulatory, governance and commercial arrangements. A significant amount of this work is on behalf of sports clients (including federations), an area in which Adrian Oliver and Tom Harris are particularly skilled. The Property Litigation team, headed by Partner, Philip Bradley, is described as 'approachable, professional and very efficient' and provides 'clear, accurate and practical' advice to clients across a myriad of property litigation, including on boundary disputes and adverse possession.
Dolmans is recommended in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Corporate & Commercial and Personal Injury: Claimant, with Philip Bradley recognised as a ‘Leading Individual’ and described as very thorough with a ‘good relationship with his clients’ and works hard to achieve the best possible settlement in often very complex cases involving intricate issues surrounding liability, causation, and quantum.
The Legal 500 rankings also recognise other key lawyers across the practice areas in which Dolmans are recommended and these include Amanda Evans, Claire Thomas, and Tom Harris.
Adrian Oliver, Senior Partner, said: “I am once again delighted to see the recognition of the practice as having the most talented individuals working in these areas of the law to provide the best possible services to our clients. We continue to receive very positive feedback from our clients and work well with other lawyers which is recognised by the comments of our peers and those with whom we work. I am proud of the continued development of the firm and the recognition of the talents of many of the lawyers in our practice.”