A hattrick of award wins for leading law firm

Marking a marvellous end to 2024 

25th November 2024, UK: Leading regional law firm, Gardner Leader, has marked the end of the year with a hattrick of industry accolades, having been named ‘Law Firm of the Year’ by LawNet, a national network of around 70 high quality independent law firms, and The Royal Berkshire Property Awards, as well as ‘Best SME' at Maidenhead & District Chamber of Commerce (MDCC) Community & Business Awards. 

As part of a five-year roadmap, these recent achievements highlight the firm's sustained growth, solidifying its reputation as a leading regional law firm in the south of England. In 2021 Gardner Leader expanded into Swindon and Wiltshire, following its merger with Clark Holt and then into Oxfordshire, when it joined forces with Sally Addis of Addis Law last year, while its team has grown by 19% to over 200 people in the last two years alone. 

An annual national event, the LawNet awards recognise excellence amongst its members. For more than 30 years the body has been supporting independent firms across the UK and Ireland, enabling a collaborative approach between members while sharing best practices and the highest standards. The Royal Berkshire Property Awards celebrate excellence within the county’s property, architecture, and construction sectors, and the MDCC’s awards recognise contributions by businesses and individuals in the Maidenhead region. 

At the LawNet award ceremony, held at Vox Conference Venue in Birmingham, Gardner Leader was recognised for its strategic vision, development of practice areas such as Life Sciences, its advancements in digital service delivery, and its commitment to looking after clients and employees. The firm was also highly commended in LawNet’s Best Innovation category for its weekly update videos by the firm’s Managing Partner, Derek Rodgers, which have transformed the firm’s internal communication processes, and encouraged engagement and continuous improvement amongst its members of staff. 

Gardner Leader’s Real Estate team was also awarded ‘Law Firm of the Year’ at The Royal Berkshire Property Awards, which took place at Reading Town Hall, an accolade received for the firm’s vision, growth and innovation, as well as its investment in technology, and commitment to enhancing customer satisfaction and client care. The firm’s people-focused talent management programme was highlighted, as was Senior Associate Tim Blackman, who was shortlisted in the award’s Next Generation category. 

At the Maidenhead & District Chamber of Commerce (MDCC) Community & Business Awards, the firm was recognised as the region’s ‘Best SME’, a title which acknowledged the firm’s outstanding contributions in the local community and success in many different areas. 

Last month the firm was awarded recommendations across 12 practice areas in the 2025 Legal 500 Guide, the industry’s foremost directory of the best law firms in the country. 32 members of its team received individual recognition and Chris Felton, Partner in the firm’s Dispute Resolution and Life Sciences team, and a member of the Board, was named for the 10th year in a row as a ‘Leading Individual’. While in the Chambers and Partners rankings five members of the team received individual recognition, including Head of Employment, Vicky Schollar, who was named as an Associate to Watch and Katie Dyson, Partner in the Dispute Resolution Team, who was also chosen as an Associate to Watch. 

“November really has been an incredible month. Being recognised as Law Firm of the Year at two separate awards is a true testament to the hard work of every member of the team, across all our offices and practice areas.” said Derek Rodgers, Managing Partner at Gardner Leader. “Industry awards, especially ones where we are being reviewed by our peers against a strong lineup of other quality firms, give us confidence that as a firm our ambitions are on the right track, and we are succeeding in our vision. The award for our Maidenhead team comes as we celebrate 10 years in the town following our merger with Heath Buckeridge in 2014. 

“At Gardner Leader we are committed to delivering peace of mind to all our clients and we’re looking forward to providing continued support to businesses and individuals as we head into the new year and beyond.” 

ENDS 

Ends

Editors notes

With offices in Newbury, Thatcham, Maidenhead, Windsor, Swindon, Oxford and London, Gardner Leader is a leading regional law firm across the Thames Valley and south of England, offering a wide range of legal services for businesses and individuals.      

In the Legal 500 prestigious guide for 2022 the firm was described as ‘shining above all with their approachable and friendly way of doing things’, with Partner Niamh Minihane named as a “Next Generation Partner”, and Katie Dyson, Partner, singled out as a “Rising Star.”      

In 2024 the firm won LawNet’s ‘Law Firm of the Year - £6m turnover and above’ award, a title it last won in 2016, and was highly commended in the ‘Best Innovation’ category. In the same year, Gardner Leader also won ‘Law Firm of the Year’ at The Royal Berkshire Property Awards. In 2018 the firm won ‘Best in Business’ and ‘Best in Customer Service’ awards in the Newbury Weekly News award, and in 2016 it won the Halsbury Legal Award in Business Development. Other awards include the LawNet Excellence in Employee Engagement award (2015), Highly Commended in the Regional Conveyancing Firm of the Year category in the 2015 National Conveyancing Awards and Commended. In 2024, the firm was named as the ‘Best SME’ at the  Maidenhead & District Chamber of Commerce (MDCC) Community & Business Awards. 

The firm was first founded in 1895. It has over 200 members of staff. Its team of highly experienced and friendly solicitors are all specialist, specifically dedicated to their areas of expertise. Each team is driven by what matters to the client and committed to delivering results.      

Gardner Leader services to business and services to individuals include:      

• Corporate (e.g., M&As, venture capital & private equity transactions, management buyouts and shareholder agreements) 
• Commercial (including commercial contracts, IP, IT and procurement) 
• Real Estate for Businesses 
• Life Sciences 
• Dispute Resolution 
• Employment (for individuals and businesses) 
• Family (such as family breakdowns and divorce and pre-nuptial agreements) 
• Residential Property 
• Wills, Probate and Estate Planning 
• Charity 
• Crime 

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