birmingham employment lawyers
Chambers 2021 list Averta in Band One for Employment - Employees in the Midlands
Averta Employment Lawyers is listed in Band One in Chambers and Partners 2021 UK Rankings in Employment: Employee for the Midlands.
The firm gained some excellent comments from referees, such as:
“As a firm they stand out as providing an excellent service for senior individuals on the employee side.”
“They are one of the go-tos for senior executive work. They have high-quality lawyers and they are very good.”
“They do a stellar job – they are a pre-eminent firm.”
Notable Practitioners
Both of Averta’s founding partners are listed as notable practitioners.
On David Sykes, Chambers comments:
He has good experience in litigation and will fight with conviction for his client. He is calm and reflective.
Alan Jones is described as:
An excellent negotiator and he is willing to take a stand on issues while also being pragmatic. He is very commercial and pragmatic. He gets deals done quickly and negotiates hard for his clients.
Jones comments:
“It’s a credit to the whole team that our work is regarded so positively in the legal community in the Midlands.”
Chambers and Partners has been the leading source of legal market intelligence for over 30 years now. They have 85 experienced researchers ranking law firms and solicitors in the UK, providing localised knowledge and market insight.
Full entry in Chambers here – https://chambers.com/department/averta-employment-lawyers-employment-employee-uk-1:1887:11815:1:103906
Averta in Times Top 200 for Third Year
Often described as the ‘Best niche firm for senior executives’, and now one of The Times Best Law Firms in 2019, 2020 and 2021
Once again, Averta Employment Lawyers has made it into The Times Best Law Firms. The list is compiled by international research firm, Statista.
Statista ask solicitors throughout England and Wales to recommend the 200 best law firms in 26 categories covering business, public and private-client fields. The final 200 firms in the list got the most votes from 3,271 respondents to make it into The Times Best Law Firms 2020. Solihull based Averta made the first list in 2019 and has again been voted into the 2020 list. Alan Jones, director at Averta Employment Lawyers said: “This is testament to the quality of the whole team at Averta and reflects the experience of the major commercial law firms who deal with us. As well as providing first class legal advice, this shows how much confidence our referrers have in us which means we have a consistent stream of quality clients.” This follows excellent ranking in Legal 500 and Chambers this year as in previous years.
New team unveiled at Averta
Rachel Broughton moves on as Employment Judge
Averta Employment Lawyers is expanding its team and sadly, saying goodbye to director Rachel Broughton.
Rachel has been with the firm since 2007 and is leaving to take up an appointment as a full time Employment Judge.
Alan Jones, director at Averta said: “I have worked with Rachel for nearly 20 years, first at DLA Piper, and at Averta since 2007. She is an outstanding lawyer and will be much missed by me, her colleagues and clients. However, we are all very proud of her appointment to the position of Employment Judge, which reflects not only on her outstanding capability, but the perception of Averta in the legal community’’.
Andrew Lester adds depth, Andrew Spooner returns
Andrew Lester has joins Averta as an associate. Andrew comes via ORJ in Stafford, having previously been a partner at Bowling & Co Solicitors in London where he headed up the employment law team, advising SMEs, partnerships and Individuals as well as representing clients at the Employment Tribunal.
Return of Andrew Spooner
Andrew Spooner returns to the firm as a litigation consultant, alongside his work as a part time District Judge. He was formerly chairman of Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and practises as a Mediator. He has been a consultant at Averta in its early days before moving to Wright Hassall for several years.
Izzy Canning to qualify in early 2020
Izzy Canning, who joined as a trainee paralegal in 2016, becoming a trainee solicitor in July 2018, will qualify as a solicitor in early 2020 and will continue to give excellent support to Averta’s clients thereafter.
Paralegal Melanie Denis
Melanie Denis has joined the firm as a paralegal. Melanie has a Law Degree from Aston University and is current studying for a Master of Law (LLM) at Birmingham City University and will graduate in 2020. She is bilingual, being fluent in French.
David Sykes, director and one of the founders of Averta Employment Lawyers says:
“Whilst we are very sad to see Rachel move on, we are delighted to have Andrew Lester and Melanie onboard, as well as Andrew Spooner back. Our reputation as the best niche firm for employment means we are able to attract the best talent around.”
Averta makes it into The Times Best Law Firms 2019
Averta Employment Lawyers has been named as one of The Times Best Law Firms 2019. The 200 firms on The Times Best Law firms are regarded as leaders in their areas of practice.
Research was conducted by Statistic for The Times, to find out from the UK’s lawyers which of the 10,000 plus law firms in England and Wales they would recommend. Five hundred law firms were then recommended and the firms with the most votes made it to the top 200
According to The Times:
“Established in 2004 by a pair of former DLA Piper partners to provide practical and robust advice to directors, senior executives and professionals, as its name suggests, Averta Employment Lawyers has become recognised as a leader in the field of employment law. Since opening its doors 15 years ago, the firm has acted for more than 7,500 individuals and on many occasions has advised large groups of employees in reaching settlement agreements.”
The partners, David Sykes, Alan Jones, Rachel Broughton and Anne Mannix, have long been recognised as leaders in employment law. Many of Averta’s clients are referred to them by major commercial legal firms, who do not specialise in representing individuals.
According to Averta director, David Sykes: “Since day one our success has been built on the premise that other lawyers can confidently recommend clients to us. Being included in The Times Best 200 Law Firms demonstrates that the Averta team is maintaining the high standards in terms of service and delivery, we have aspired to from day one.”
The full list of 200 can be found at thetimes.co.uk/bestlawfirms
Legal 500 Recommends all Averta’s Birmingham Partners
We are delighted to have all our Birmingham partners recommended in the 2018 Legal 500 West Midlands Employment category, which went live today. Averta was also ranked in Tier two, which is a commendable performance for a niche firm.
According to Legal 500:
“Averta Employment Lawyers LLP is a niche practice that represents senior employees on high value claims, and is 'commercial', 'pragmatic' and 'able to work to tight deadlines'.”
Commenting on the partners, it described Alan Jones as “'hugely experienced' and 'not afraid to give straight advice'. Fellow founder David Sykes has extensive experience handling restrictive covenant and corporate related employment issues. Also recommended is Rachel Broughton, who specialises in discrimination and diversity claims.”
Strong performer in the legal market
Sykes commented: “It’s comforting for our clients, and our fellow professionals who refer clients to us, to know that each partner is acknowledged by Legal 500 as a strong performer in the legal market’
For 29 years, The Legal 500 has been analysing the legal sector across the world, with a comprehensive research programme which is revised and updated every annually.
2017 Legal 500 says Averta ‘the best niche firm for senior executive issues’
Legal 500’s 2017 rankings identify Averta Employment Lawyers as the ‘best niche firm for senior executive issues’ for employment in the West Midlands. Averta ranked in Tier 2 alongside some of the Midlands biggest law firms
All Averta’s partners are singled out as leading individuals for employment law in the West Midlands.
Averta’s David Sykes and Alan Jones are also listed in the elite “Leading lawyers” list, Legal 500 guide to outstanding lawyers nationwide.
'proactive, experienced and streets ahead of their competition'
Legal 500 says; “According to one client, Averta Employment Lawyers LLP is ‘without doubt the best niche firm for senior executive issues’, while another comments that the firm’s lawyers are ‘proactive, experienced and streets ahead of their competition’.”
“Key figures include the ‘vastly experienced and invaluably calm’ Alan Jones and the ‘totally brilliant’ and ‘hugely practical’ David Sykes.” (Legal 500 2017)
Alan Jones comments: “We founded the firm over 10 years ago now and our aim was to provide a specialist service at the same level, in terms of experience, as the larger firms, but for private clients. It’s great to see the positive commentary in Legal 500 as it shows that we are doing something right.”
Winner of the Birmingham Law Society ‘Law Firm of the Year’ award for 2015 and shortlisted in 2017, Averta advises on all employment law matters, with a focus on the issues affecting senior executives, managers, consultants and professionals.
Averta Employment Lawyers operated from offices in Meriden, near Solihull in the Midlands, with satellite offices in Oxford and London.
Contact - Averta on 0300 303 3570