KENT-based law firm, Cripps Harries Hall LLP, has been ranked first in the South East region, and Kent, Surrey and Sussex in particular, for a range of services in the latest edition of The Legal 500, the most comprehensive guide to the legal services market in Britain.

In May 2005 the Top 100 UK commercial law firm re-organised into eight sector-facing business groups in the belief that clients are less interested in stand-alone legal disciplines and more interested in commercially-based legal advice from lawyers that understand their business.

This accolade from The Legal 500, which is based on law firm client interviews, shows the success of that strategy and how clients in the region have responded to the firm’s new approach.

The Legal 500 describes Kent as 'the UK’s most populous county, acting as a bridge between London and continental Europe, serviced by a top-class transport infrastructure’ and goes on to say that affordable rents make it the natural base for French companies to conduct their forays into Britain’s markets.