This week’s North West appointments

Caroline Pinney and Alex Sealy, Slater Heelis

Slater Heelis LLP, which has offices in Manchester and Cheshire, has announced the appointment of two new starters in its private client team.

Caroline Pinney and Alex Sealy have both joined from London-headquartered law firm Mills & Reeve LLP.

Caroline specialises in wills, trusts and probate and Court of Protection issues, while Alex specialises in lifetime tax planning and wills and trusts.

Slater Heelis’ head of private client, partner Chris Partington, said of the newcomers: “The experience and expertise Alex and Caroline have gained throughout their careers have significantly enhance the Private Client team.

“We’re delighted to welcome them on board and introduce them to our clients.”

Ali Johnson and Kimberley Smith, Calderpeel

Cheshire firm Calderpeel Architects has welcomed two new architects to its team.

Having passed the advanced diploma in professional practice in architecture, Kimberley Smith and Ali Johnson are now fully qualified architects.

Kim, who joined Calderpeel in 2014, said: “I’ve worked in architecture roles in the UK and Middle East before coming to Calderpeel where I’ve gained a great deal of experience.

“After all the studying, it’s just a huge sense of relief to have finally completed my Part 3. I’m looking forward to working on more exciting projects as a fully-qualified architect.”

Ali, meanwhile, joined the Altrincham-based company in 2013. She said: “I’ve wanted to be an architect from an early age, but it’s a long hard road to become professionally qualified.

“It feels great to have reached that goal. I couldn’t imagine being in any other profession and I’m looking forward to progressing my career here.”

Since working at Calderpeel, Kim and Ali have been involved with various schemes across the residential, office and leisure sectors, among others.

Discussing the appointments, Calderpeel Architects’ MD, Ewen Miller, said: “I’m very happy for Kim and Ali. Career progression is what we’re all about and it’s part of our constitution as a practice to keep the next generation of architects coming through into senior positions.

“It’s great to see Kim and Ali flourishing and others coming through behind them too.”

Andrea James, LHS Solicitors LLP

LHS Solicitors LLP, the Manchester based law firm, has taken on Andrea James as a partner in its regulatory team.

Andrea has joined LHS from law firm Shoosmiths, where she served as a partner and headed up the company’s professional discipline and healthcare regulatory offer. Prior to Shoosmiths, Andrea worked as an in-house legal adviser with the General Medical Council (GMC).

LHS’ head of crime and regulatory legal services, director Ian Lewis, commented: “Andrea is one of the most widely respected regulatory and professional discipline lawyers in the UK and we’re delighted to welcome her on board as a senior leader of our growing team.

“Andrea’s valuable experience as an in-house lawyer at the GMC and her time since successfully building up a loyal client base proves she perfectly understands the profound consequences, both professional and personal, of being subject to investigation by a regulatory body.”

Andrea, who will operate between Manchester and London, commented: “I’m thrilled to be joining LHS with my clients. It was too good an opportunity to refuse in view of the firm’s fantastic team and Legal 500 Tier 1 recognition for its “outstanding regulatory and professional discipline practice.

“I hope to contribute towards maintaining the firm’s reputation as one of the leading law firms in this specialist field.”

Nicola Lomas, Brabners

Brabners, the commercial law firm, has boosted its healthcare practice with the appointment of a new senior associate.

Newcomer Nicola Lomas has over 10 years of experience advising a national client base, from large multi-site corporates to sole practitioners. Previously she worked for dental law firm Goodman Grant, where she held the post of director.

Nicola said of her new role: “Deal activity remains high across the dental sector and in recent months we have seen demand increase.

“Not only is this being driven by younger practitioners with a desire to own their own company, with hundreds registering an interest in each practice that comes to market, but we’re continuing to see larger dental groups, often those backed by private equity, seeking to increase their portfolios.”

She added: “As a result, demand is outstripping supply and the goodwill value of practices is rising.”

Nicola, a corporate lawyer, has previously focussed on the buying and selling of dental practices and incorporations, as well as expense sharing, partnership agreements and associate contracts.

Brabners’ head of healthcare, Richard Hough, commented: “We offer a range of legal services tailored to the healthcare sector and Nicola’s impressive understanding of the challenges facing the dental profession, alongside her unrivalled expertise in this area, ensures we’re well-placed to support our dental sector clients.

“Moving forward, dentistry will be a key area for the healthcare sector at Brabners and I’m looking forward to working closely with Nicola as we expand our service offering and build the team further.”

Five appointments, Degree 53

Digital agency Degree 53 has made five new appointments as part of its ongoing growth strategy.

Richard Bannister, who has previously worked for content marketing agency Tecmark and publisher Trinity Mirror, is Degree 53’s new commercial director.

Jennifer Winter, meanwhile, has joined Degree 53 in the role of marketing manager and will look after the agency’s marketing activities, content creation and third-party suppliers.

Elsewhere, Degree 53 has appointed Kelly Daniels as a business analyst within its development team, where she will offer support on website and mobile app projects.

Newcomer Brian Modica, a project manager, will be responsible for liaising with the agency’s clients and internal developers, while Leonardo Malizia takes up the post of .NET developer to work with front- and back-end technologies.

Degree 53’s MD, Andrew Daniels, said: “I’m delighted to welcome our new additions.

“We’ve strengthened our commercial team to focus on our internal strategy and new business opportunities. We’re also investing more in client-facing roles to lead projects and support our accounts as they grow. Degree 53’s portfolio and client base are growing and we need to ensure we have sufficient capacity to provide the required services.”

He added: “We are committed to attracting the best talent to the business to deliver real value to our clients.”

Cara Bartlett, Mitchell Charlesworth

North West accountancy and business advisory firm Mitchell Charlesworth has promoted Cara Bartlett to the role of marketing manager.

Cara, a qualified marketer with the Chartered Institute of Marketing and former associate of the Institute of Legal Executives, joined Mitchell Charlesworth in 2013 and boasts over 20 years’ experience working in law and professional practice.

Following her promotion, Cara will take responsibility for the strategic planning and management of the firm’s marketing across its offices in Liverpool, Manchester, Chester, Widnes and Warrington.

Paul Wainwright, Mitchell Charlesworth’s managing partner, said: “Cara has already played a pivotal role in communicating with our growing client base and the business community in general, as well as organising our educational and hospitality events.

“Cara is another great example of our highly capable staff members who we want to reward for their consistent, quality work and commitment to the practice.”

Cara said of her appointment: “As well as engaging in traditional relationship marketing, the ever increasing prevalence of digital media provides more opportunities than ever before.

“The technology allows us to communicate with our clients quickly with the latest accountancy and advisory news and opportunities, and provide a holistic client service.”

She continued: “Mitchell Charlesworth have an enviable history as one of the region’s leading accountancy practices, and can boast a varied client base. I look forward to supporting the practice to become the top SME advisor in the North West of England, as well as supporting our clients to achieve their corporate goals.”

Alex Irwin, Hillyer McKeown

North West law firm Hillyer McKeown has announced the appointment of a new commercial debt manager.

Alex Irwin, who previously worked for law firm Cassell Moore, will be based at Hillyer McKeown office in Liverpool and brings more than 15 years’ experience in commercial debt recovery to the role.

Hillyer McKeown’s head of litigation and insolvency, partner Paul Marsh, said: “We are delighted to bring Alex on board. He will play an important role in the continued growth of our commercial debt team.

“He has a proven background of providing clients with high quality and trusted advice.”

Paul added: “His appointment is part of our commitment to providing unrivalled client service. This means being able to offer clients a fast, responsive, cost effective service.”

Gill Graveson, Birchall Blackburn Law

Birchall Blackburn Law has announced the promotion of one of its specialist lawyers, who will now head up its family division across the North West.

Gill Graveson, a partner in the firm, previously served as head of family law at the Birchall Blackburn Law office in Preston.

With over 25 years of experience, Gill works in all areas of family law but has a particular interest in financial issues. Following her promotion, she will be responsible for a team of 10 across Birchall Blackburn Law’s seven offices in the region.

Gill, who joined the company four years ago, said: “I’m really looking forward to this new challenge which is ultimately about ensuring our clients experience the best service in what can sometimes be the most difficult of circumstances.

“Client care is at the heart of everything we do and taking this role gives me the opportunity to make sure those standards are achieved across the entire business.”

She added: “The family law division is a busy area of the business – it’s one where the majority of our work comes from word of mouth and that is a reputation we are proud of and strive to maintain.”

Birchall Blackburn partner Cathy Maccracken commented: “Gill’s promotion follows an internal restructure which is focused on ensuring our clients receive the best service regardless of which office they visit and I’m confident Gill is the best person to lead us forward and ensure we achieve this vision.”

Danny Davis, Blackburn Rovers FC

Blackburn Rovers Football Club have appointed a new business development manager.

Danny Davis has joined the Rovers from Downtown in Business, where he worked as a business development manager for Lancashire since 2014.

In his new role with the Championship side, Danny will be responsible for corporate hospitality, partnerships and sponsorships, working to shore up the club’s relationship with the business community.

Commenting on his appointment, he said: “I feel very honoured to have been approached by Blackburn Rovers to work for the club and represent them on a daily basis out in business.

“I’ve been a lifelong fan and for me it is with true passion I talk about Blackburn.”

Danny added: “I’m here to add new events to engage with business and look forward to the challenge ahead.”

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