Burges Salmon LLP has a ‘great practice’ with a large and dedicated rail team, which covers a broad range of specialisms in the rail sector. It has an excellent client base, including some of the UK’s largest train operating groups, and has an excellent track record in franchising and major rolling stock procurements. The group also has a superb reputation for its regulatory and health and safety work. Names to note include Brioney Thomas, who is a known name in public service rail contracting and procurement matters. Ian Tucker garners praise for his work on some of the largest industry sector disputes. Simon Coppen is also well-regarded, along with Chris Jackson. Chris Simms is recommended for his knowledge of all aspects of rail regulation, as well as for his experience in infrastructure finance transactions. Charlotte Whitaker has recently been promoted to the partnership - she frequently advises clients at the incident response phase to multi-fatality health and safety incidents in the railway sector.
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Their key strengths in my opinion are their speed of response combined with a straightforward and pragmatic approach'.
‘The individuals stand out to me because they make themselves part of the client's team and work to our timescales'.
‘Wide experience with strength in depth in the team'.
‘Simon Coppen brings a wealth of experience and commercial understanding - he has coached the team behind him led by Brioney Thomas over many years'.
‘I really value the friendly, no problem too small approach Burges takes. Just through engagement with the employees, I feel in safe hands and I trust them'.
‘Charlotte is wonderful, she is just a delight to deal with and so knowledgeable about everything she gets involved in. She puts a human side to her work and is able to build rapport super quickly, this automatically builds trust between us'.
‘Great understanding of the sector. An ability to find creative and helpful solutions. Engaging people; Chris Simms, Simon Coppen'.
‘Clear and responsive, excellent depth and specific specialisms within the department. Excellent communicators and diligent in their work’.
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Ian Tucker, Brioney Thomas, Chris Simms, Philip Beer, Colin Ligman, Ann Metherall, Brian Wong, Chris Jackson, Simon Coppen