This week’s North West appointments

Rachel Harrison, Charlotte Mills and Laura Walmsley, Farleys Solicitors

Farleys Solicitors, the North West law firm, has appointed three new associate partners.

Rachel Harrison, Charlotte Mills and Laura Walmsley have now taken up their new roles following the firm’s yearly round of promotions.

Rachel Harrison joined the company in 2013. As a commercial litigation solicitor, she advises businesses and individuals on a range of commercial disputes.

Charlotte Mills, also a commercial litigation solicitor, specialises in business sales and purchases, corporate finance and company law and procedure.

Laura Walmsley joined Farleys 11 years ago and works in the firm’s fraud and business crime team, where she deals with a national caseload of criminal law matters.

Farleys partner Ian Liddle said: “I would like to congratulate all three solicitors on a deserved recognition of their invaluable contribution to the firm’s success.

“As a firm we strive to offer the highest quality of service at all times and their talent, hard work and dedication to clients enable us to maintain this.”

He continued: “These promotions also demonstrate Farleys’ continued commitment to support and invest in our people and expertise as we continue our growing presence in the region.”

Paul Tennant, Re:allies

Social housing procurement consortium Re:allies has announced the appointment of Paul Tennant OBE as chair of its board.

In his new role, Paul will play a key role in the organisation as it works to strengthen frameworks to help registered providers boost supply chain efficiency.

Re:allies also aims to support local communities through the procurement process, helping those furthest from the job market secure employment.

Paul has almost 35 years of experience in the housing sector. Most recently, he worked as the chief exec of housing association Orbit Group. During his 13 years with Orbit, Paul oversaw the transformation of the organisation into the UK’s second-largest housebuilding association.

Commenting on his appointment, Paul said: “Going forward, I will be focused on highlighting the ability of Re:allies not only to give its members a collective voice in the sector but also, through intelligent procurement, to add value to the communities they work in, by creating job opportunities for vulnerable local people.”

Re:allies chief executive Mike Brogan commented: “Paul brings truly formidable expertise to Re:allies that will bolster our board.

“With Paul as part of the team, we will really be able to improve our offer to members in terms of services and best practice guidance.”

Simon Taylor, Brabners

Brabners, the commercial law firm, has appointed lawyer Simon Taylor to the role of partner.

Bringing over 30 years’ experience to the position, Simon specialises in sport, entertainment and licensing.

He has previously advised national governing bodies, teams and drivers, including the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, on a range of legal services. He has also represented clients at the FIA International Court of Appeal and National Motorsport Tribunals.

Outside sports, Simon has likewise built up a strong client base in entertainment, having advised Festival Republic, Live Nation, SJM and a number of other promoters, organisers and venues.

Simon commented: “Brabners is renowned for its strong sports sector expertise and the calibre of clients it supports across the piece demonstrates the team’s deep understanding of the sporting world.

“This focus is a perfect fit for my experience and I’m looking forward to working with the team as we develop this further.”

Brabners’ managing partner, Mark Brandwood, said: “By recruiting the best talent, we are significantly enhancing the service we can provide to clients.

“Simon is a highly respected lawyer and he has built a reputation for being the best in the business. With specialisms in motorsport and entertainment, his expertise complements our current offering and will be a key factor in the future growth of our national sports team.”

Nyssa Crorie, Express Solicitors

Express Solicitors, the Manchester-based personal injury law firm, has chosen Nyssa Crorie for the newly created position of in-house barrister.

Following her appointment, Nyssa will work across all teams, including road traffic accidents, clinical negligence, serious injuries and occupiers’ and public liability.

Her remit will include ensuring all Express Solicitors’ clients benefit from instant access to a barrister when they require one.

Nyssa previously worked for six years in the in-house advocacy department at DWF, until 2016 when she left to travel North and South America.

She said: “Very few firms subscribe to the in-house barrister role and the fact that Express Solicitors has created this position demonstrates it is a forward-thinking and ambitious firm.

“There was a real enthusiasm and willingness from the senior partners to take on board my experience so I jumped at the chance to develop my career here and potentially establish a new department.”

James Maxey, Express Solicitors’ managing partner, commented: “For a firm as busy as Express Solicitors, an in-house barrister will provide a cost-effective way of offering expert advocacy that can win cases.

“Furthermore, Nyssa will even work on those small claims that may not have warranted an external barrister in the past and being able to offer this is a real coup for both our firm and its clients.”

Ros Jones and Rob Parker, Dow Schofield Watts

Advisory firm Dow Schofield Watts has made two promotions in its due diligence team.

Ros Jones (pictured above) is now senior manager, while Rob Parker has been promoted to the role of manager.

Ros joined the company two years ago from Manchester-based recruitment business Air Energi, having previously worked in due diligence for another advisory boutique in the region.

Since joining Dow Schofield Watts Transaction Services, she has worked with various private equity, corporate and banking clients, among them NorthEdge Capital and NWF plc.

Rob previously trained as an auditor with professional services firms Grant Thornton and CLB Coopers. He has worked for Dow Schofield Watts since 2015, during which time his clients have included the Business Growth Fund, RSK Group and GMIF.

Nicola Merritt, partner at Dow Schofield Watts Transaction Services, said: “Ros and Rob’s promotions are really well deserved and reflect their hard work during two very busy years for the firm.

“They also demonstrate our commitment to identifying and nurturing professional talent amongst the northern business community.”

Image L-R: Vaqas Farooq, Paul Gidman, Lisa Gibbs and Tim McNamara

Lisa Gibbs, Tim McNamara and Paul Gidman, Shoosmiths

National law firm Shoosmiths has established a Manchester-based conveyancing team and announced senior appointments in its Northern banking and real estate teams.

The firm has appointed conveyancing partner Lisa Gibbs at the Manchester office, signalling the launch of its conveyancing offer for the North to complement existing teams in Northampton, Solent and Edinburgh.

Lisa has joined the company from Simpson Millar, where she managed the Manchester conveyancing team. Prior to this, she worked in conveyancing at law firms Irwin Mitchell and Eversheds.

Shoosmiths has also strengthened its banking offer with the appointment of partner Tim McNamara, who is returning to private practice after seven years with The Royal Bank of Scotland.

The first six years of Tim’s time with RBS were spent leading transaction management for corporate real estate finance teams across the North. In the past year, he worked as senior in-house counsel for the bank’s Future Williams & Glyn division.

With Shoosmiths, Tim will operate across the North with a focus on Manchester and Leeds, joining deputy Manchester office head and banking partner Liz Sweeney in growing the company’s Northern banking team.

Elsewhere, Shoosmiths has added to its Manchester real estate practice with the appointment of real estate partner Paul Gidman.

In his new position, Paul will help Shoosmiths service its expanding property sector client base in the North and further build its market. Paul previously worked at DWF.

The head of Shoosmiths in Manchester, Vaqas Farooq, said: “In a competitive marketplace, we continue to attract the very best of Manchester’s legal talent; individuals like Lisa, Tim and Paul who have built up years of experience and are leaders in their respective areas of law.

“These are exciting times for the firm as we continue to evolve our offering and we look forward to providing clients in the North with our award-winning conveyancing service, along with enhanced capability in our banking and real estate teams.”

Ann Harrison, Law Society

Ann Harrison, a senior solicitor at Greater Manchester-based law firm Stephensons Solicitors LLP, has been appointed vice chair of the Law Management Section of the Law Society of England and Wales.

The organisation’s Law Management Section supports those responsible for managing the business, offering members advice and networking opportunities.

Talent management, cyber security, IT, financial management and client relations are some areas of focus for the section, which addresses these issues through activities such as webinars, regional forums, seminars, e-newsletters, blogs and other media.

Ann Harrison commented: “I am delighted to have been appointed in this role and look forward to working with the Law Society as well as its members on growing and improving the support being provided by the Law Management Section.

“It is more important than ever for those managing law firms to adapt and innovate to ensure they weather the period of change and uncertainty ahead of us in the legal sector.”

Law Society president Robert Bourns said: “We welcome Ann and look forward to working with her to further strengthen our member offering.”

Pam Maddock, RSM

Accountancy firm RSM has strengthened its tax practice with the appointment of a new associate director.

Chartered tax adviser Pam Maddock has joined the company’s Preston office from a ‘Big Four’ accounting firm.

In her previous role she worked within the private client team, specialising in advisory and compliance tax services for individuals, family owned businesses, partnerships and trusts.

At RSM, Pam will support a growing number of private clients with advice on personal tax, trust, estate and succession planning issues.

Kevin Duffy, managing partner at RSM’s office in Preston, commented: “It’s great to have Pam on board. She joins at an exciting time as our private client tax practice continues to grow and drawing on Pam’s extensive experience we will further strengthen our offering – allowing us to support more high net worth individuals with complex tax planning needs.”

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