Woodcocks Haworth and Nuttall has strengthened its position among the region’s leading law firms, with several of its specialist commercial teams and its family law team ranking highly in a leading independent guide to the UK’s best legal advisers.
Chambers and Partners ranks the best lawyers and firms through independent research and analysis, with only two per cent of lawyers globally included in the guide.
In total, four of WHN’s legal teams and seven lawyers were recognised in the 2027 guide. This included strong recognition of the firm’s depth and breadth of commercial legal services and family law specialism.
The rankings follow a period of significant investment in WHN’s commercial teams, placing it alongside some of the region’s most established city centre firms and reflecting its position as a leading provider of commercial legal advice outside Manchester and Liverpool.
WHN was newly ranked in Band 3 for Corporate/M&A: SME/Owner-managed Businesses, having been recognised as a practice to watch in the 2026 guide. The guide highlighted WHN’s expertise in ‘handling acquisitions, management buyouts and share sales’.
Team head Paul Matthews also maintained his individual ranking in Band 3 for his ‘high-quality, client-focused service to clients’ and ‘consistent’ Justine Harris Hughes was newly ranked as an Up and Coming lawyer.
The firm’s Real Estate Litigation team moved from Band 3 to Band 2 alongside some of the largest firms in the region, with team head Daniel Long maintaining his Band 2 ranking reflecting his position as a leading North West lawyer in property dispute resolution. The guide cited his ‘exemplary’ and ‘commercial and pragmatic’ approach, with referees saying he ‘understands clients’ needs’.
The Real Estate team maintained its Band 4 ranking for its work on property transactions valued up to £10m and ‘highly respected’ team head Nicola Phelps maintained her Band 5 ranking, with the guide recognising her expertise in development work.
Sara Beaumont from the firm’s Commercial Litigation team also maintained her individual Band 5 ranking.
The Family team maintained its Band 5 ranking in Family/Matrimonial, with ‘knowledgeable, approachable and reliable’ Tanya Magell moving to Band 3 and ‘very safe pair of hands’ Alison Nolan being ranked for the first time, in Band 4, as the team continues to strengthen its expertise in both finance and children work.
Highlighting the firm’s specialism supporting SME and owner-managed businesses across England and Wales, WHN also secured a top level Band 1 ranking in the North West for SME-focused firms and was additionally ranked in Band 3 nationally as an SME-focused firm across its range of commercial services for family, owner managed and SME businesses.
Daniel Long, Director and Head of Commercial at WHN Solicitors, said: “Over the past year, we have continued to invest in the development of our commercial division in response to high demand from clients in the region for tailored, expert led legal advice, as well as maintaining our commitment to provision of first-class family law and other private client advice.
“Our focus is on hiring experienced solicitors who understand the markets our clients operate in and apply their expert legal judgement to deliver maximum value to clients.
“In two years, our corporate and commercial team has grown to five legal experts, with a combined 70 years’ experience. We have also added experienced specialists to our commercial property and litigation teams and we anticipate further growth in the next 12 months.
“It is brilliant to see our strengthened teams recognised through our improved rankings and we would like to thank our clients and partners for trusting us to advise them on important issues across both their personal and professional lives, and for taking the time to share their feedback with Chambers and Partners as part of this year’s research process. We truly appreciate their loyalty and support.”
The Chambers and Partners rankings follow the release of the Legal 500 UK Solicitors Guide earlier this month. WHN was recognised for the sixth consecutive year, again strengthening its presence with five of its legal teams ranked and ten legal experts also individually recommended.
WHN employs over 100 staff in offices in Accrington, Bacup, Blackburn, Bury, Clitheroe, Great Harwood, Haslington, Rawtenstall and Salford.
