Legal panel discounts worth £500,000 available to farmers

Two law firms have been reappointed to the NFU’s legal panel in East Anglia following the outcome of the union’s 2022 review.

Legal panel firms offer a comprehensive service encompassing all areas of law relevant to farming and growing, including succession planning, diversification, renewable energy, dispute resolution, planning, probate, family and conveyancing.

Tees and HCR Hewitsons were reappointed after a review that assessed their legal services, engagement with the NFU and its members, as well as feedback from farmers and union staff.

Expert advice

The legal panel offered discounts worth more than £500,000 to NFU members during the latest financial year, said NFU regional director Zoe Leach. “The panel is an important feature of the NFU’s legal services offering to our members,” she added.

“NFU panel firms are committed to supporting NFU members and have clearly strengthened their agricultural and rural teams over the past few years. Their broad expertise is highly valued by our in-house legal team and NFU members.”

Denise Wilkinson, head of agriculture and rural affairs sector at HCR Hewitsons, said: “We are delighted to be reappointed to the legal panel to serve Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.

“These are challenging times for those involved in agriculture, rural business or land management and the NFU membership services and support will be needed by them more than ever.

Complex challenges

“We are committed to supporting the NFU and its members. As a team we have decades of experience dealing with the complex legal and strategic challenges that arise and we have a wide range of specialists who can help.”

Tees has been reappointed to help members farming in Essex, Hertfordshire and Suffolk. Partner Caroline Metcalf said: “We are pleased to have been selected to be on the NFU legal panel again. Being selected really demonstrates Tees’ depth of legal knowledge and expertise in agricultural and rural issues.”

NFU regional representative for the legal assistance scheme Richard Hirst, said:  “We are entering a period of transition for the industry. This undoubtedly puts the legal panel in high demand.”