Coodes Solicitors celebrates 2026 Chambers rankings success

Prestigious legal directory includes expanded recognition across key departments and new individual accolades.

Coodes Solicitors has once again been recognised among the UK’s leading law firms in the 2026 Chambers and Partners guide, with top rankings across five departments and seven lawyers – including first-time listings for two departments and three individuals.

This year’s results highlight continued excellence in Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Clinical Negligence and Real Estate Litigation – while also seeing new rankings for Real Estate and Family/Matrimonial and welcoming Victoria Walters, David Usher and Demelza Pallant to the prestigious legal directory for the first time.

Chambers and Partners has ranked the world’s leading lawyers and law firms for more than 30 years, using in-depth written submissions, client interviews and independent analysis; assessing firms on their technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial insight, diligence and commitment to delivering results.

Department highlights / rankings for Coodes in 2026 include:

Coodes’ Agriculture and Rural Affairs team has maintained its Band 2 ranking, reaffirming its role as a trusted adviser to farmers, landowners and rural businesses. Head of Rural Services, Pam Johns, has been ranked for the twelfth year in a row and is praised by clients as, ‘very professional and competent’, ‘an excellent lawyer with a broad depth of professional and local knowledge’ and ‘always a delight to work with’. In Clinical Negligence, the team is ranked for the fourth year, recognising its expertise in a range of clinical negligence claims.

Head of Clinical Negligence Rachel Pearce appears for a sixth consecutive year, acknowledged for her work on misdiagnosis and delay in treatment claims, as well as birth injury cases. She is described as being ‘renowned for her exceptional client care’ and leaving ‘no stone untouched to achieve the best possible outcome for her clients’.

Julie Hatton acts for clients in maximum severity cases such as those arising from brain or spinal injuries, fatal accident claims, delayed diagnosis, surgical errors and obstetric injury cases including cerebral palsy. She wins praise as, ‘a first-class lawyer committed to going the extra mile to achieve the best possible result for those whose lives have been tragically affected by negligent medical care’.

The Commercial Dispute Resolution team’s work in Real Estate Litigation maintained its ranking, having entered the guide for the first time last year, and is described by Chambers as being ‘regularly sought out by clients for its experience of commercial property disputes’.

It is joined in this year’s guide by a ranking for Coodes’ Real Estate Services, with the firm praised in this area as having ‘a great team with a vast amount of knowledge who provide great communication throughout any legal engagement’.

Also appearing for the first time in the guide this year is the Coodes Family/Matrimonial team, reflecting their client-focused dedication and commitment and their work in offering clients, ‘a good, efficient service from solicitors with a high level of expertise’.

Three Coodes lawyers have earned Chambers recognition for the first time in this year’s edition:

Victoria Walters, ranked in Family/Matrimonial, is described by clients as ‘practical’, ‘empathetic’ and ‘an exceptional solicitor who works very hard for her clients’.

In Personal Injury, David Usher and Demelza Pallant are named as Associates to Watch. Clients praised David as ‘approachable’, ‘thorough’ and ‘a great solicitor … happy to help in any way he possibly can’, while Demelza is recognised as, ‘a very experienced, very capable solicitor for large personal injury cases’, with ‘excellent attention to detail’ and ‘an in-depth knowledge of the subject’.

These new inclusions highlight the firm’s investment in attracting and nurturing legal talent and its commitment to delivering expert services across a wider range of practice areas.

Elise Alma, Chair of Coodes Solicitors, said: “We are incredibly proud to see even broader recognition for our talented lawyers and specialist teams in the 2026 Chambers guide.

“These rankings reflect not only the depth of expertise at Coodes but also our long-standing commitment to delivering outstanding legal services with care, clarity and integrity across Cornwall, Devon and beyond.”

“It is also great to see the calibre of the firms against whom we are ranked, in most cases they are national competitors with very large teams with a wider geographical reach.

“As these rankings demonstrate, Coodes Business Services teams are an emerging force in the region, with the Corporate and Commercial team completing a number of high value transactional deals during September and October. The Commercial Property team’s first listing in the directory for their real estate expertise demonstrates the quality of work undertaken, and this expertise is enabling them to win many new corporate clients. Also of note was the increase in work from disputes, which saw the Commercial Property Litigation team gain further recognition within Chambers. The overall success of our various teams has enabled the attraction of recruits of the calibre of Melanie Henson and Natalie Owen, as well as our recent acquisition of Christopher Key Solicitors. It is driving our plans to expand our teams across all areas of the firm and reflects the fact that Coodes is an exciting place to work.”

With nine offices located throughout Cornwall and Devon, Coodes Solicitors has built a well-deserved reputation for providing individuals and businesses with exceptional legal services and as well as being recognised as a leading law firm in the Chambers and Partners guide, it also features in the Legal 500, the latest edition of which was released earlier this month.

While its history and roots lie firmly in the South West, it is also of increasing national significance, both for the level of expertise it offers, in wide-ranging and niche areas of legal practice, and its growth into an £11 million-plus business, placing it among the top four per cent of UK law firms by turnover.

For more information about the UK Chambers and Partners rankings, visit their website.

For more information about the Legal 500 rankings, visit their website.