The Cardiff office of national law firm Clarke Willmott has been ranked highly in this year’s Legal 500 guide, with five lawyers being named as a ‘Leading Partner’ for the first time.
The guide, which ranks the UK’s top lawyers and firms, recommended Clarke Willmott’s Cardiff office in four practice areas. The banking and finance team was named in the Legal 500’s top tier, up from Band 2 last year, while social housing, commercial property and construction were also listed.
Four Cardiff partners were named as a ‘Leading Partner’ for the first time: Bethan Evans (banking and finance); Fraser MacRae (social housing and banking and finance); James Williams (construction); and Vicky Kells (social housing and commercial property).
Meanwhile Declan Goodwin (IT and telecoms) was recognised as a ‘Next Generation Partner’ for the first time and Fraser MacRae maintained his position in the Legal 500’s ‘Hall of Fame’ nationally for social housing finance.
Nationally, Clarke Willmott received the top ranking possible for eight of its specialist practice areas and in total was ranked in 51 practice areas across all seven of its regional offices.
Individually, Clarke Willmott’s lawyers received a total of 131 recommendations, of which seven were improvements from last year, and 59 were new recommendations for the 2027 edition.
Clare Gregory, partner and head of the Cardiff office, said: “It is great to see the depth of expertise that we offer being recognised in the Legal 500, and having four of our lawyers being listed as ‘leading partners’ and another one as a ‘next generation partner’ – and with a further three first-time recommendations – is an outstanding achievement.
“As Clarke Willmott’s second decade in Cardiff progresses, our clients continue to place their trust and confidence in us, and this speaks to the breadth, consistency and quality of the services that we deliver.”
Clarke Willmott CEO, Peter Swinburn, said: “The Legal 500 is an important independent benchmark of quality and service in our profession and this year’s outcome is a clear reflection of the outstanding talent, commitment and professionalism of our lawyers across every department.
“All of this is against a healthy financial backdrop which saw our revenues increase to over £68 million for 2026. Compared to many of our mid-sized competitors, we have an enviable financial position that increases our strategic flexibility to support both investment and growth.”
The Legal 500 series is widely acknowledged as the world’s largest legal guide. It is an independent guide and firms and individuals are recommended purely on merit.
For a full overview of Clarke Willmott’s Legal 500 2027 results, including our national rankings and highlights from across the firm, read our main Legal 500 announcement here.
