A Shropshire and West Midlands law firm is celebrating top rankings for its teams in a prestigious national legal guide.
Chambers 2018 has recognised four departments from FBC Manby Bowdler and seven “Ranked Lawyers” in its latest edition which identifies the most outstanding law firms and lawyers in the UK.
The firm’s Shropshire-based Agricultural & Rural Services team, and the Shropshire and Wolverhampton Family & Matrimonial teams achieved the top Band 1 rankings.
And the Midlands-wide Litigation team was also recognised in the guide, with Partner Guy Birkett named as “Ranked Lawyer”.
Managing partner Kim Carr said it was the second impressive set of rankings for the firm in the space of a month. 
“The Chambers directory is a prestigious guide to the best legal minds in the country and the best teams delivering stellar service to their clients.
“We are absolutely delighted to see our Agricultural and Rural Services and Family teams achieve the top rankings they deserve and it’s fantastic to have seven top ranked individual lawyers.
“This achievement follows on from our record-breaking results in the Legal 500 guide last month.”
Family law specialists recognised included Telford-based Anne Thomson, Head of the firm’s Family department, and Elizabeth Cleverley, a Partner in the same team. Steven Corfield, who leads the county’s Agricultural & Rural Services team at Shrewsbury, and his colleague Sarah Baugh were also named in the guide.
Philip Cowell, a Partner in Telford’s Family department, was also highlighted as a ‘notable practitioner’ while Tom Devey, from the Agricultural & Rural Services team, featured as ‘up and coming’.
Wolverhampton-based Guy Birkett, who heads up the 20-strong Litigation team that is one of the largest West Midlands teams outside Birmingham, was also named as a ranked lawyer.
Last month the 2017 Legal 500 Directory named FBC Manby Bowdler as a top tier firm for Agriculture & Estates, Contentious Trusts & Probate, Family, and Commercial Litigation.
The firm now employs more than 200 people at five offices in Wolverhampton and Shropshire and has an annual turnover of nearly £12 million.
Picture: 'Up and coming' Tom Devey
