Judge & Priestley LLP

With offices in Bromley, Beckenham, Blackheath and Sidcup, Judge & Priestley is one of the leading providers of legal services in the South East London / Kent and Surrey borders. Supported by ongoing investment in the latest technologies and its skilled workforce, it is developing an increasingly national presence in areas of key competency and specialism. The practice has long-standing commercial clients of all sizes across many business areas and in the public sector, and a thriving practice delivering support and legal advice to private individuals.

Founded in 1889, this practice has always looked to move with the times, while not forgetting that expert service and value for money never go out of fashion. It prides itself on providing high-quality, value-for-money legal services for businesses, local authorities, housing associations and individuals alike, who value trusted independent and expert advice.

The firm’s commitment to quality and high levels of service has been recognised by several independent external bodies. The practice has been awarded the Law Society’s rigorous Practice Management Standard Lexcel. It also holds the ‘Investors in People’ award, which confirms the commitment to staff training and development. The firm takes security of client data very seriously, holding the ISO27001 IT data security standard and the government accredited Cyber Essentials Plus award.

Principal areas of work: The property litigation and housing management teams have long been recognized in the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners for their expertise in social housing matters and advise on a range of contentious property issues. The housing management team has been acting, predominantly for landlords, for over 20 years. Clients include leading London local authorities and housing associations such as LB Southwark, LB Havering, Barnet Homes and Wandle Housing Association etc. along with developers and private landlords. The team advise on all aspects of leasehold management and a variety of other litigious matters including disrepair claims, possession proceedings, squatters, unauthorised occupiers, adverse possession claims, and nuisance-related matters etc.

J&P Credit Solutions, the specialist debt recovery and commercial litigation department of the practice is ranked in Tier 1 of the Legal 500 and has grown significantly in recent years. The department has an excellent reputation in the industry in key specialist areas including local authority debt recovery, utilities collections and subrogated insurance losses arising from road traffic claims for example. The team has over 20 years’ experience in acting for local authorities and represents an ever growing number of London boroughs and Midlands authorities, assisting and supporting a variety of debt recovery strategies including adult social care charges, residential charges, home care charges, service charges, deceased debtor, CIL and sundry debts. The team also has a growing reputation in the fields of insolvency, and other complex commercial and contract litigation. The insurance team has also been recovering debts for insurance clients for over 20 years, and clients include several leading national insurers. The department has considerably expanded its bulk pre-legal capabilities as it looks to enhance its growing reputation in general commercial and consumer debt collections. It already works for many national and international businesses in the utilities, finance and other business sectors, providing efficient value-for-money solutions and working closely to align debt recovery processes with clients’ internal systems and workflows.

Judge & Priestley has one of the largest residential conveyancing teams in the SE London area, with experienced partners for both professional property investors and private clients, and a separate team providing specialist advice on lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement.

The private client team has also been recognised in the Legal 500 currently ranked in Tier 2.  The department focuses on wills, trusts and probate with a particular emphasis on contested probate, inheritance tax planning, elderly client services and trusts involving foreign jurisdictions.

Led by three highly experienced private litigation experts, our Private Wealth Disputes team provide sensitive and expert advice in all areas of inheritance and wills and trust disputes. The team has an in-depth understanding of the laws relating to the distribution of assets and have an enviable track-record of resolving private wealth disputes in a timely manner, whilst being considerate of the high emotions such disputes can often elicit.

The family team, currently ranked tier 3  in The Legal 500, offers a full range of services covering family, children and divorce law and the private dispute resolution team assists individuals and businesses with all manner of disputes including employment law, contract disputes, insolvency and bankruptcy and professional negligence for example.

The commercial property team covers a range of work for businesses, including site acquisition, development, purchasing and selling or leasing commercial property. The company commercial team provides a broad spectrum of advice including business start-ups and structure, employment, sale and purchase of companies, partnership and shareholder agreements, management buy-outs and formation of limited liability partnerships.