Simon Ricketts

Town Legal

In 2016, after nearly two decades at King & Wood Mallesons, Simon Ricketts seized the opportunity to launch a specialist planning firm. Though it was a tentative time in the wake of the Brexit referendum, the decision proved fortuitous. With a headcount of 10 partners and 11 associates, Town Legal has attracted the cream of the crop in planning, including former planning heads of major City outfits; Norton Rose Fulbright’s Duncan Field, Linklaters’ Louise Samuel and Hogan Lovells’ Michael Gallimore.

The firm has established a reputation for significant mixed-use projects in London, including 62-storey tower 22 Bishopsgate and Elizabeth House in Waterloo. Over 2020, Ricketts scored a win for the Grade II* National Theatre in its objection to the proposed “heavy handed” refurbishment of the neighbouring IBM building, as well as successfully defending Stansted Airport against a legal challenge brought by campaign group Stop Stansted Expansion.

With the Government unveiling radical planning reforms as part of its Planning for the Future white paper, the need for more affordable homes and the reimagining of our high streets, specialist planning advice is set to be hotly sought after. Ricketts is the best man in town.