Wigan law firm stays among the nation's elite for the eighth year running

Stephensons, based at Wigan Investment Centre, has been given the elite status for the eighth consecutive year.

The legal directory is seen as the definitive guide to the industry, by undertaking stringent research into the profession.

The independent guide recommends law firms for their expertise, by ranking them in tiers and also highlights any outstanding legal professionals.

The rankings achieved by each firm represents months of extensive analysis by the research team, who conduct thousands of interviews to gather their data.

In total, the guide awarded rankings to eight practice areas with commendations given to Stephensons’ crime, fraud, clinical negligence, personal injury, family and social housing teams.

Further recognition was given for local government law and professional discipline.

Among numerous departments which were ranked this year, the assessors reserved particular praise for the Wigan firm’s family team, which achieved a “tier one” ranking in addition to the crime and fraud department – both receiving the coveted rank for the eighth year in a row.

Andrew Welch, managing partner at Stephensons, said: “The Legal 500 continues to be a useful barometer of success in legal services and this latest edition of the guide underlines our credentials as one of the leading law firms in the North West and indeed the country as a whole.

“To be recognised across such a breadth and depth of legal services is a huge achievement and demonstrates the quality of work being performed at every level.”