Stewart Matthews

I joined Hopkins Reynolds as a trainee solicitor in 1999, a firm that Neves acquired in 2002. I qualified as a solicitor in 2001, initially into the dispute resolution team dealing with commercial disputes. I progressed within the firm first transferring into company/commercial work, becoming a Senior Associate and joining our Management Group before then being promoted to Partner in 2011.

I am currently the Managing Partner of the firm, responsible for the day to day running of the firm. I also head up our Company/Commercial team and still work with our commercial clients alongside Eleanor Parkinson, Mohamed Abdalla and Kyran Ram. 

My management duties also include being the Compliance Officer For Legal Practice (COLP) and Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) for the firm, which means that I am ultimately responsible for ensuring proper compliance practices across the firm.

I am listed in the Legal 500 2026 edition. 

Legal 500 editorial comment "Praised as a ‘very professional and approachable firm’, Neves is a key port of call for education and care provider businesses. The group is also geared to handle company sales and acquisitions, fundraising and lending agreements, IT agreements, investments, and corporate reorganisations. The practice is headed by Stewart Matthews" 

Testimonials collected by Legal 500:

"Stewart Matthews provides an exceptional service. He always makes time for our pressing and urgent requirements."

"Broad capabilities with a friendly, pragmatic, easy to do business style. It is never like a conversation with a lawyer, more a friendly consultation with a clear explanation of legal issues.’"

"Stewart Matthews has wide knowledge of all commercial situations that I put to him. The practice also has a team that specialise in different elements of business that Stewart sometimes calls upon."

"Three factors: excellent communications, outstanding value for money and the ability to manage complex legal challenges."

Being recommended by Legal 500 provides clients with an independent assessment of our ability, gives a flavour of who we are and what sets us apart from other law firms. Follow the web link for full details of the Legal 500 rankings.

How I Work With Clients

It is, of course, a given that I understand the legal requirements of my clients, but I also understand the commercial practicalities and realities of how to run a business and therefore I can provide my clients with concise, practical, to the point advice to assist them in reaching the best commercial decisions for their businesses.

“Bipedal locomotion; high manual dexterity and heavy tool use compared to other animals; and a general trend toward larger, more complex brains and societies” apparently, according to wikipedia!

As my children are now teenagers, in between my second job as a taxi driver transporting them here, there and everywhere, I try to find time to go to the gym and to also play the odd round of golf. I am longing for the day that they can drive themselves so that I can then try to improve my golf and reduce my handicap.