The 2013 edition of the leading independent directory of top lawyers, Chambers and Partners, has now been released.
This has resulted in two firsts for Gibson & Co:
(i) for the first time the Private Client department of Gibson & Co. has been ranked by the directory; and
(ii) the litigation department has gone straight into tier one of the new regional banking litigation rankings.
Private Client recognition
The directory commented that:
” This compact team joins the rankings as a result of its impressive client base and positive market feedback. It provides an array of services, from wills and probate to trust and succession planning. Practitioners continue to deliver advice to high net worth individuals and families. A source notes that the team “always puts clients’ needs first. It is incredibly professional and highly respected.” “
Senior partner Anthony Gibson said, “We are proud of this achievement for the firm. It is a pleasing recognition of the excellent reputation of our Private Client team, built up over the years, showing that we are one of the leaders in the market for the provision of advice to a wide range of private clients”.
In a further development, David Bawn, a Private Client partner in Newcastle, was also rated as a ranked individual by Chambers and Partners for his reputation as a Private Client solicitor.
Chambers & Partners – David Bawn
Litigation Success maintained
The directory commented that:
“Its former City litigators have a “really strong and enviable practice,” according to observers, with a truly stellar client list that includes Credit Suisse, the European Commission and the government of Sri Lanka.”
As in previous years, the litigation department maintained its band two rating for dispute resolution, with both Toby and Jane Gibson ranked as leading individuals in their fields.
Chambers & Partners – Gibson & Co.
Gibson & Co.
Gibson & Co. holds the record as the country’s oldest practice still in family hands.
This legal dynasty now stretches back ten generations since its founder Jasper Gibson opened his first office in the Northumbria market town of Hexham early in the eighteenth century. A will drafted by him in April 1715 has been framed as one of his firm’s oldest documents and has pride of place in the foyer of the new Newcastle headquarters.
Experts say that it’s most unusual for any family law firm to survive beyond the third generation. That Gibson & Co. has managed to achieve its record is evidence of a willingness to seize new opportunities in a highly competitive market.
The trend started in the mid-1960s when the need to build on an already strong private client base prompted the move to Newcastle, leaving the original Hexham office to deal with an excellent practice specialising in agricultural matters. Forty years on the West Road headquarters of Gibson & Co. has seen its green field surroundings disappear under domestic housing, much of it conveyed by the firm.
Conveyancing, both commercial and residential, together with a busy tax planning, wills and probate practice have traditionally been the twin peaks of Gibson & Co’s operations.
To that has now been added a third opportunity for growth, commercial litigation; a field very much in keeping with the changing business conditions of the new millennium.
It is a specialisation which Toby Gibson, the tenth and latest generation of family partners, brings to the firm after a career based in London and the Far East. His wife Jane who has a similar background is also a partner and joins him in running the department.
One of the great advantages of a North East base, says Toby, is that Gibson & Co. can offer a London standard of service without the high overheads which City-based law firms are obliged to factor in to their charges. The result is that an impressive number of international corporations and financial institutions are beating a path to Gibson & Co’s door.
Please contact Toby or Jane Gibson on 0191 273 3817