Rachel Smith
HCR HewitsonsWith ‘a good breadth of skillsets’, HCR Hewitsons often acts for farmers and rural landowners on transactional work. Denise Wilkinson oversees the practice from Cambridge, while in Northampton, Gareth Williams is a key port of call for agricultural businesses and landed estates and is knowledgeable of high-value family re-organisations. Stephanie Dennis is lauded as ’an extremely professional and knowledgeable individual’ and is noted for her capabilities in Agricultural Holdings Act tenancies, succession, and tax. Helen Deady and Rachel Smith are well-versed in renewable energy projects.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘The team has a good breadth of skillsets and offers them to the client in a collaborative way. They always appear well-resourced and are responsive. During transactions, they have been fast and accurate in delivering their service and have worked well with other legal professionals in getting deals done quickly, particularly in reference to development land sales.'
- ‘The HCR team provide expert advice in agriculture and landed estates law. The team has a clear affinity for the challenges and nuances in this area and has carefully guided us through a wide variety of matters. The team are structured in a manner that gives us suitably qualified individuals managing each matter.'
- ‘They are a very professional practice, and they have very good communication. We feel they provide brilliant client care and this makes them a firm you want to stay with in the long term.'
- ‘The practice is very knowledgeable about a wide range of subject matters and able to ensure that the right person from their teams is able to deal with the matter in hand. The team ensure you receive regular updates and are always aware of where they are with negotiations and finalising the project.'
- 'They have excellent knowledge of this market sector and are willing to work with other parties to achieve the best result for the mutual client.’
- ‘Stephanie Dennis is an extremely professional and knowledgeable individual, and has become a very trusted advisor on a breadth of subjects within our agricultural business.'
- ‘Gareth Williams is incredibly knowledgeable and reliable, he is always available to us. He is passionate about agriculture and landed estates.’
- 'Helen Deady has produced really quick results and clearly gets on with other professionals well, obtaining responses quickly to get deals done.'
Key clients
- Merton College, Oxford
- Compton Estates
- Arbury Estate, Warwickshire
- The Royal Society for Protection of Birds
Lawyers
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Gareth Williams
HCR HewitsonsNext Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Stephanie Dennis
HCR HewitsonsPractice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Denise Wilkinson