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Global Reach

Apart from offering expert legal consultancy for local jurisdictions, CMS partners up with you to effectively navigate the complexities of global business and legal environments.

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CMS lawyers can provide future-facing advice for your business across a variety of specialisms and industries, worldwide.

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Offices
Global Reach

Apart from offering expert legal consultancy for local jurisdictions, CMS partners up with you to effectively navigate the complexities of global business and legal environments.

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Insights
About CMS
UK Pay Gap Report 2024

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Planning

We are one of the largest planning teams in the UK with over 30 specialist lawyers. We are motivated by a passion to help to create exceptional places and environments and deliver essential infrastructure to meet the UK's demographic and development needs.

Planning shapes every aspect of our lives. The buildings and environments in which we live, work, shop, play and educate the next generation have all been created through commercial enterprise, consultation and the exercise of political power by our elected representatives through the planning system.

Alongside our expertise in real estate we are also leading specialists in energy & infrastructure consenting.

Working for many years across a full range of development and infrastructure sectors gives us deep industry experience and perspective so that we can deliver clear and practical advice on fast-moving projects. We have assisted our clients with obtaining planning permissions and other consents for some of the UK’s largest and most complex schemes.

Our expertise spreads across urban regeneration, housing, retail, data centres, industrial and logistics, hotels and leisure, surplus land and energy and infrastructure. Our aim for every development is to ensure that our client obtains implementable, flexible, bankable and fit-for-purpose consents in accordance with their programme.

In the last three years alone, we have helped our clients to secure planning permissions for:

  • Over 24,000 new homes
  • Over 8m sq. ft. of retail
  • Over 6m sq. ft. of offices
  • Over 4m sq. ft. of industrial
  • 10GW / 1,100 Kms of generation / networks
Awards & Recognitions
01
  • Quote
    "It is a large, strong team that works well together on projects, ensuring that work is dealt with carefully and efficiently."
    Chambers, 2024
  • Quote
    "CMS have very clear and detailed knowledge of planning arguments, legislation and application."
    Chambers, 2024
  • Quote
    "The team are very pragmatic, with the ability to take an overarching view across a wider project."
    Chambers, 2024
  • Quote
    "A technically excellent and professional team."
    Legal 500
  • Quote
    “Clear expertise in their field with a good support network. Their strongest point is that they give very clear advice and do treat the matter personally rather than simply as a remote consultant.”
    Chambers, 2017
  • Quote
    “They made something very complicated and rushed feel easy. They made it as easy as it possibly could be. As a client, I felt it was a great position to be in."
    Chambers, 2016 [Client Quote]

Events

  • United Kingdom
    03 Feb 2026

    Future of Finance: regulatory briefings series 2026

  • United Kingdom
    09 Feb 2026

    Skills For Future Facing Teams: Coaching skills for legal leaders

  • United Kingdom
    12 Feb 2026

    The Class Ceiling

  • United Kingdom
    26 Feb 2026

    A new era? The Employment Rights Act 2025 and AI in employment disputes

  • United Kingdom
    03 Mar 2026

    IP Insights webinar series 2026

  • United Kingdom
    19 Mar 2026

    CMS Nordic Health Summit

  • United Kingdom
    19 Mar 2026

    CMS Scotland Brand Forum

  • United Kingdom
    23 Mar 2026

    Skills for Future Facing Teams: Creating a team culture of coaching and feedback

  • United Kingdom
    23 Mar 2026

    CMS at PTMG Spring 2026

  • United Kingdom
    21 Apr 2026

    On the Pulse webinar series 2026 - Spring

Local market knowledge. Global outlook

We provide future-facing legal advice to help your organisation thrive. Combining local market knowledge and a global perspective, and with lawyers in locations worldwide, your organisation benefits from the expertise it needs, even across borders.

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