Recommendations

“During the course of our inquiry we have been fortunate to have as our specialist adviser Sarah Clover. She is a barrister whose encyclopaedic knowledge of licensing, planning and regulatory law has been invaluable to us. We are most grateful to her for her exceptional contribution to our work.”

“Over the last few years Sarah has become a “go to” barrister for the firm on a wide-range of licensing and associated regulatory issues.

From an Instructing Solicitor’s perspective it is important to be able to obtain prompt advice and assistance so as to minimise the time taken to relay it back to the ultimate client. Despite having a very busy practice, Sarah will always take the time to respond as quickly as possible either providing the advice sought or a very clear timescale on doing so. Her written Advices are clear and compelling and have often led to success in avoiding unnecessary and expensive court hearings.

A particular strength of Sarah’s is her ability to identify weaknesses in police incident logs which often form the basis of a review application.

Should the need arise Sarah is always up for the fight and can be devastating in cross-examination.

Her sense of humour and charisma are also useful tools in dealing with courts, committees and clients alike.”

“Having worked with Sarah on a number of cases I have found her to be professional, pragmatic in her advice, and an outstanding advocate. She reads the situation well instantly understanding the core issues not only in legal terms but in real terms for the client. Sarah is bright, sharp and is a delight to work with”

“Sarah. An exceptional talent and a barrister of choice for our practice.”

“As a senior solicitor working exclusively in the field of liquor licensing, I would have no hesitation in recommending Sarah for this genre of work.
I have known and worked with Sarah over many years. She is one of very few barristers in the licensing arena that I can confidently introduce to clients.
Sarah has a passionate interest in the hospitality sector and her grasp of the issue at hand is both impressive and reassuring.
Her paperwork is first class and always swiftly delivered. Sarah is both approachable and a formidable advocate.”

“I worked with Sarah Clover on a complex planning enforcement case involving a wedding venue within a Grade I listed building, in a World Heritage Site and within a flood risk zone. The successful resubmission followed an earlier refusal and faced repeated Environment Agency objections.
Sarah’s advice was exceptionally clear, strategic and robust. She was instrumental in rebutting policy-based objections and steering the case toward a successful outcome. Calm, authoritative, and highly effective throughout.
I would highly recommend Sarah for complex planning, heritage and enforcement matters.”

“I have used Sarah for advice and assistance on many occasions since 2020. She has supported the work I do for a large leisure company in Blackpool and in several other cases I have dealt with as part of my licensing consultancy company, M Squared Services, which was incorporated in 2022.

Sarah is without doubt one of the most knowledgeable professionals I know and has a positive, creative attitude to problem solving. I have used her in both planning and licensing cases, big and small. Her planning and preparation is thorough and rarely does she leave any stone unturned: as a result she always seems to know what is around the corner.

She offers superb value for money, bearing in mind her skill level and experience and the reputation of her being a formidable opponent is well deserved.

Whenever I get Sarah involved in a case the intended outcome is always achieved.

“Over the 20 years we have used Sarah ,she has helped us with a few knotty problems. Her advice is always straightforward and pragmatic . She has great knowledge of the Law. Her advocacy is superb. We could not recommend her highly enough.”

“I cannot recommend Sarah too highly – she has that rare combination of skills in Counsel of being not only excellent in her knowledge of the law, clarity of advice and advocacy skills but also being extremely approachable and easy to relate to. Clients find her particularly easy to get on with – always a bonus for us.
She also tells me she has a great singing voice!”

“Sarah is a barrister with a reputation for being fearless. She is first-rate at everything she does and is a tough opponent to say the least. Having said this, Sarah is very personable and always puts my clients at ease. However, you would only want her on your side. I have instructed Sarah on licensing and planning cases where sometimes it seems there is no hope but we have always come out on top. I would recommend Sarah to any company or individual who has a licensing or a planning dispute. She gets results!”

“Sarah Clover is an excellent licensing lawyer who combines a friendly approach with a detailed technical knowledge of the law to make it easy for clients and more particularly councils and magistrates to understand. Sarah and I are professional colleagues – she appears for clients who oppose me and I instruct her for my own clients. I have no hesitation recommending her as an excellent lawyer who delivers value for money.
Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Good Value”

“I’ve worked with Sarah, providing acoustic expert witness services, since 2005 and continue to be impressed with her ability to grasp the important point of a technical argument and then deliver it in a highly convincing manner. I always thank my lucky stars that she is on my side, and very much enjoy working with her on both Licensing and Planning cases. She is an outstanding Barrister, and in truth the best I’ve worked with in 18 years of giving evidence.”

Sarah has excellent knowledge of the Licensing Act 2003. She is great to work with and has great results to her name. Nothing is too much trouble and she often replies to emails later than I do! She is extremely approachable and was a great find. I have some happy clients now thanks to the assistance of Sarah.”

“Sarah is a great attorney. I’d recommend her to anyone. She’s charming, unfussy and direct to deal with; masters a brief rapidly; and is an awesome advocate. Barristers don’t get any better than that.”

Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Expert

“I would not hesitate to recommend Sarah. Totally professional, detailed knowledge of law, 110% effort, 110% focused, skilled at cross examination (pleasure to watch and relief not to be on receiving end). I thoroughly enjoyed working with Sarah and the success of our results included full costs award.”

“Sarah Clover is an exceptionally skilled Barrister in her chosen fields of expertise. Sarah is approachable, friendly and from the outset provides her client with great insight into and understanding of the legal issues to be successfully addressed. I have been hugely impressed with Sarah on each occasion she has represented me. From my personal experience as a client on a number of occasions I can truly say, Sarah Clover always delivers best advice and always acts in the very best interests of her client.

Top qualities: Great Results, Expert, High Integrity”

“Sarah is first choice for a lot of our clients and always my first recommendation for the others. I was asked once by a client what would I like to have been had I had my time again and I simply said ‘Sarah Clover’ (honest !!) I always enjoy watching her in action – she has a special ‘presence’ in a hearing that very few advocates have – people listen when she speaks. She takes no nonsense – so making sure that her client gets heard even when before ‘difficult’ committees/courts. If I personally ever needed anyone to fight my legal corner Sarah would be my choice.”

Sarah is a lady to be respected no matter on which side of the fence you are sat, but one to be feared if you are on the wrong side. Highly recommended.”