CLIENT AWARDS: 59-solicitor team upstages Clifford Chance Herbert Smith takes giant leap with property awardSize is not everything, according to research released this week which shows that City firm Herbert Smith's commercial property team has beaten larger departments to become the clients' favourite.

The firm scooped the Surveyors and UK Property 500 commercial property award - which was only launched last year - from the 2000 winner, Clifford Chance.

It ranked just 27th in terms of size, with 59 solicitors, compared to Clifford Chance's 116-strong department which secured fifth spot.

The seventh edition of the guide also revealed that Eversheds has topped DLA to boast the largest commercial property department, with 245 solicitors compared to DLA's 161, down from 270.

However, DLA attributed the fall to the fact that its solicitors working in the property insolvency, banking and mortgage fields were not included, as they have been in previous years.

Nabarro Nathanson held its position in third place with 145 solicitors, while the merger that produced Hammond Suddards Edge caused the firm to leap-frog into fourth place with a combined 125 property practitioners.

In the 25-category competition, based on clients' recommendations, Herbert Smith also raced ahead to clinch the private finance initiative award, which last year went to Norton Rose.

Herbert Smith's marketing partner, Gerald Bland, said: 'We're delighted, and this reflects the fact that we seem to be on something of a roll at the moment.

It shows that big isn't necessarily beautiful.' Construction specialists Masons picked up the construction award for the second year running, while Nabarro Nathanson took the property litigation prize.

Pre-merger Berwin Leighton secured a hat-trick of wins for its development, planning and local government work.

Paula Rohan