The team at SA Law LLP combines ‘strong knowledge with practical expertise’ when advising a diverse client roster of universities, shareholders and multinational corporates. Robert Ryall and Tracy Lacey-Smith jointly head the St Albans-based team. Lacey-Smith often appears before the High Court, and ‘always goes the extra mile’ when acting in cases concerning breach of contract claims, while Ryall is ‘calm and experienced’ when handling claims of alleged wrongdoing, frequently advising professional athletes and sports clubs. ‘Stand-out’ practitioner Simon Walsh has expansive experience in insolvency and civil claims, in addition to handling freezing injunctions. Praised by clients for being ‘the ideal solicitor’, senior associate Clare Mackay predominantly handles shareholder disputes, purchase agreements, and vexatious complaints, and associate Helen Young takes a ‘tenacious and realistic’ approach when assisting clients with contested debt recovery mandates.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Clare Mackay is the ideal solicitor. She is totally on top of her cases and is fantastic at putting clients at ease. Top quality service delivered in a friendly and approachable way. Clare provides very strong support and advice from a legal perspective.’
‘SA Law has a strong commercial litigation practice, particularly in relation to shareholder disputes, and is very highly regarded outside London in the home counties. The team combine strong knowledge with practical expertise, including a welcome focus on finding practical, commercial solutions alongside potential resolutions of dispute in court.’
‘The team are very pragmatic, dedicated to their clients, highly responsive and pragmatic when it comes to questions of legal and commercial strategy. Clare Mackay is very strong in this regard and stands out in this area.’
‘Tracy Lacey-Smith is so approachable and is able to get to the heart of the problem very quickly. She understands the pragmatic needs of an in-house legal team. Tracy is friendly, proactive, and able to deal with demanding matters, she always goes the extra mile for clients.'
‘Robert Ryall is someone that I can relate to on a personal level, someone who has the patience to clearly explain legal terms and implications when necessary. He particularly impressed me with his skills of quickly building a position and a chronological way forward. I recommend Robert and his team. Rob has a calm, experienced approach making him the go-to lawyer on messy, heated disputes.’
'The team fully supported me, not only on legal matters, but in an emotional way as well. SA Law projects a team environment, where everyone supports all clients, there was always someone at the end of phone who could help.’
‘SA Law's service is enriched by a diverse, knowledgeable, and easy to talk to team. The firm's strengths are its people, there is always a person that can help. The service provided is about quality. Genuinely down to earth solicitors who get on well with clients - this makes such a difference in long running litigation.’
‘Helen Young is a stand out solicitor and star of the future. She has excellent grasp of the detail whilst also being user friendly and very commercial. Helen is a superb associate who is a great mix of tenacious and realistic.'
Key clients
- Motor Fuel Group
- Techna International Limited
- The Watford Association Football Club
- Oaklands College
- Ocado Group PLC
- Chesside Homes Limited
- Arora Group
- Upstream Workplace Solutions
- MSH Planning Limited
- Middlesex University
Work highlights
- Advised Motor Fuel Group on a range of commercial disputes, including obtaining judgment in a fraud claim, and advising on the termination of supply and equipment leasing agreements.
- Acting for Techna International Limited in the High Court in a multi-jurisdictional commercial dispute.
Lawyers
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Robert Ryall, Tracy Lacey-Smith