Chambers and Partners
Our Aviation team is ranked Band 1 in the 2024 Chambers directory, with Chambers commenting that Stewarts is “widely regarded as the go-to firm for claimants in aviation litigation”.
Interviewees said: “Stewarts has an incredible team of dedicated, hard-working and principled legal experts.” The two highest ranked claimant aviation lawyers in Chambers are from Stewarts, and we are the only firm to have more than one ranked lawyer in this specialist practice area.
Chambers highlights the team’s work acting for the families of deceased victims in the Shoreham Airshow disaster, during the inquest which reached a conclusion of unlawful killing.
See our latest entry in Chambers UK here.
Our aviation specialists: Chambers
Ranked in Band 1, Sarah Stewart is “esteemed for her handling of fatal and serious injury claims following domestic and international aviation disasters”, and described as “the leading Plaintiff aviation solicitor in the UK”. Sarah has been described by clients and opponents alike as “good, kind and diligent”, “superb” and as having “excellent client care skills”.
Peter Neenan also ranked in Band 1, is an “absolute expert in the field of aviation” and “a dream attorney for any client to have”.
He stands out for his experience acting for victims and families on domestic and multi-jurisdictional investigations and claims following serious airline accidents and is referred to as “a fantastic lawyer with unrivalled technical expertise in aviation accidents“.
“Peter was entirely dedicated to the case, hard-working and upstanding,” a client said. “We are incredibly thankful we have Peter as our solicitor.”
Rebecca Smith is listed as a ‘Star Associate’. With over 25 years’ experience, she is described as “excellent in all aspects” with “a wealth of knowledge and expertise.” Rebecca is described as “truly a great asset to her firm”.
Our aviation reputation: Chambers
Stewarts is the only firm to have been consistently ranked as a Band 1 practice since the creation of a Claimant Aviation section in Chambers in 2014. A decade on in the 2024 guide the department was described as “an incredible team of dedicated, hard-working and principled legal experts who are committed to bringing justice to book..”
The 2023 Chambers guide described the Aviation department as “a well-oiled machine at work”.
-
Expertise
-
Experience
"Widely regarded as a go-to firm for claimants in aviation litigation"
Chambers
The Legal 500
The Legal 500 groups Claimant Aviation practices together with Claimant and Defendant international travel-related injury practices under a combined Travel section.
In the 2024 guide Stewarts is top-ranked in the Travel section. The guide states that “Stewarts dominates the field of travel and personal injury law,” highlighting a recent caseload including matters related to incidents that have attracted news attention across the globe such as the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 in 2019 and the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 over Ukraine in 2014.
“It is an incredibly warm and caring team, from the receptionists to the paralegals and solicitors,” a testimonial to The Legal 500 said. “They provided a personalised service that made me feel like an individual and not a billable item.”
See our latest entry in The Legal 500 here.
Our aviation specialists: The Legal 500
Peter Neenan is “an excellent lawyer with a background in physics – it’s the latter knowledge that helps Stewarts understand and fight the technical aspects of the aviation claims.”
“He is one of the top aviation lawyers in Europe. He an aviation law supremo who is details focused with brilliant technical knowledge. Nobody knows more about the Montreal Convention than Peter”, a client said.
Sarah Stewart has been described as “an excellent lawyer, with significant experience and expertise in fatal accident and catastrophic personal injury claims,” and is ranked as a leading individual.
Rebecca Smith is also listed as a key name in the team.
Our reputation: The Legal 500
Stewarts have consistently been listed as a Band 1 firm in the travel section of the Legal 500 since it was created in 2012.
The guide states that “Stewarts’ travel team are leaders in their field, the créme de la créme of the travel and international law personal injury market”.
"I honestly couldn’t ask for more and feel incredibly grateful to be working with such a bright and incredible team"
The Legal 500
Who’s Who Legal
Peter Neenan and Sarah Stewart are named as ‘Recommended’ Global Leaders for Transport – Aviation Contentious in the 2024 edition of the Who’s Who Legal report on the most prominent aviation and shipping lawyers across the world.
Who’s Who Legal says the following about its guides: “Over nearly two decades WWL has used the recommendations of clients and private practitioners to pick out the leading experts in a wide range of practice areas around the world. WWL: Thought Leaders brings together the insight, expertise and wisdom of some of the world’s foremost lawyers and experts.”
The Times
Stewarts is listed in The Times’ annual report on the best lawyers for business, public and private client law in the UK for the sixth consecutive year. In the commercial disputes resolution and personal injury & clinical negligence categories, Stewarts is acknowledged as one of the top three firms in England and Wales.
Our Aviation team is also spotlighted, in particular for representing the majority of the families who lost their loved ones in the 2015 Shoreham Airshow disaster at the long-awaited inquest.
"The team are highly experienced in aviation matters and were amply able to deal with matters of particular complexity."
Chambers
Accreditations and committees
Sarah Stewart is a lecturer as part of the MSc in Aviation Safety at Cranfield University. Delivered through the Cranfield Safety and Accident Investigation Centre, this programme pools the expertise of academics with that of senior staff from the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
Peter Neenan is a lecturer as part of the LLM in Advanced Air & Space Law at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Air & Space Law in the Netherlands. Expertise offered in the course includes accident investigation, environmental protection and drone use. Peter holds an LLM in Advanced Air & Space Law from the same institute.
Peter is the Chairman of the Air Law Committee at the Royal Aeronautical Society. The group’s aims include “promoting the establishment and co-ordination of facilities for the objective study and evolution of law applicable to aeronautics and astronautics”.
"They always kept us up to date with progress and responded very quickly to any questions we had."
Chambers
Meet the Aviation Team
Our team has unrivalled experience in dealing with aviation accident claims and aviation litigation.
We are ranked No.1 in the UK by Chambers and The Legal 500 and are one of the top five firms worldwide for aviation accident litigation.
Recent aviation articles and news
Stewarts instructed by injured passengers following Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321 turbulence
Why climate change is leading to more aviation disasters – and how the industry must respond
Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321 Severe Turbulence: passenger briefing
