SMB Shines in 2026 Legal Directory Rankings

Recently published independent legal directories, Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 have once again recommended SMB across multiple practice areas.

Both guides are compiled through a combination of submissions from the firm, peer feedback and client testimonials.

Chambers & Partners ranked 17 SMB lawyers in 10 categories, as well as outstanding firm wide rankings for Corporate/M&A: £10-100 million, Crime: General, Family/Children: Family/Matrimonial Finance: High Net Worth (Band 1), Financial Crime: Individuals, Defamation/Reputation Management (Band 1), International Human Rights Law (Band 1), Film & Television, Music and Publishing (Band 1)

Congratulations to:

• Crime: Anthony Burton and Phil Smith
• Defamation/Reputation Management: Louis Charalambous, Razi Mireskandari, Jeffrey Smele, Martin Soames and Emma Linch
• Family/Children Law: Sarah Harding, Tessa Bray and Tom Farley-Hills
• Family/Matrimonial Finance: High Net Worth: Tessa Bray
• Family/Matrimonial Finance: Ultra High Net Worth: Jane McDonagh and Tom Farley-Hills
• Financial Crime: Individuals: Anthony Burton and Phil Smith
• Franchising: Maninder Gill
• International Human Rights Law: Parvais Jabbar and Saul Lehrfreund
• Media & Entertainment: Film & Television: Razwana Akram and Simon Goldberg
• Media & Entertainment: Music: Non-contentious: Richard Baskind
• Media & Entertainment: Publishing: Martin Soames

To review the rankings in full click here.

Legal 500 2026

Legal 500 reflected these rankings with 37 of our lawyers ranked across 13 categories, many in the top tier, together with glowing testimonials from our clients and contacts.

We are also one of a few UK firms commended for outstanding ‘Client Satisfaction’.

Congrats to teams for their excellent rankings in Crime: General (Tier 1), Media: Theatre & Publishing (Tier 1); Reputation Management (Tier 1); Civil Liberties & Human Rights; Family: Children; Family: Divorce & Financial Remedy; Media: Film & TV; Franchising; Media: Music; Fraud: White Collar Crime;  M&A: Smaller Deals (£10-£100m); Sport; Commercial Litigation (Mid-Market) and Intellectual Property: trade makes, copyright & design

And to the following ranked lawyers:

Crime – General: Phil Smith and Anthony Burton

Media – Theatre & Publishing: Martin Soames, Emma Linch, Jeffrey Smele, Simon Goldberg, Maninder Gill, Raoul Lumb and Gordon Clough

Reputation Management: Louis Charalambous, Razi Mireskandari, Jeffrey Smele and Emma Linch

Civil Liberties & Human Rights: Parvais Jabbar, Saul Lehrfreund, Killian Moran and Bethany Jackson

Family – Children: Jane McDonagh, Tessa Bray, Sarah Harding and Tom Farley-Hills

Family – Divorce & Financial Remedy: Jane McDonagh, Tom Farley-Hills, Tessa Bray, Sarah Harding and Lara Wulwik

Media – Film & TV: Razwana Akram, Nick Miller, Jeffrey Smele, Simon Goldberg, James Greenslade and Blaise Gaymer

Franchising: Maninder Gill

Media – Music: Richard Baskind, Alasdair George and Anthony Orum

Fraud: White Collar Crime (advice to Individuals): Phil Smith, Anthony Burton and Aysu Haker

M&A: Smaller Deals (£10m – £100m): Natalie Wright, Neal Hodges, Peter Weiss, Alon Domb, Simon Goldberg, David Martin, Neil Jones, Sarah Quicke, Robert Hepburn and Lucy Newman

Sport: Marc Sobol, Neil Jones and Barrington Atkins

Commercial Litigation (Mid-Market): Razi Mireskandari, Jeffrey Smele, Antony Perlmutter and Alexandra Cohen

Intellectual Property: Trade Marks, Copyright & Design: Maninder Gill

For full editorial and client testimonials click here.