MARK Howarth, head of commercial property at Southampton solicitors Paris Smith & Randall, has been named as the leading real estate lawyer in the south by Chambers - the guide to the UK legal profession.

Managing partner Richard Smith said: "Mark is an outstanding lawyer. He is in a class of his own and clearly recognised as such by his peers, whose views result in the number one ranking given to him by Chambers, the well respected researchers of the legal profession in the UK."