Member Article

Law firm moves forward with new appointments

A North East law firm has continued to expand despite the Covid-19 pandemic to keep up with growing demand following the easing of lockdown restrictions.

Clark Willis, which has clients across County Durham, the Tees Valley and North Yorkshire, has appointed Jo Anderson to its property department. This brings the total number of new team members to four since April, with Nicola Merson and Rebecca McIntyre joining the Family Law team, and Bethany Smith joining the Private Client team over the course of the pandemic.

Jo, who previously worked for BHP Law, makes the residential conveyancing team now nine-strong across the firm’s offices.

Alister Jones, partner and head of Property at Clark Willis, said: “Demand for residential conveyancing services has grown rapidly following the release of the property market after the initial lockdown. Having remained open, albeit remotely, throughout the pandemic, we have benefited from members of the public being able to speak to our team regarding their queries, whereas some competitors temporarily closed or furloughed their property teams.”

“We are delighted that Jo has joined our team, bringing with her a wealth of experience in the local residential property market, as we continue to develop our highly-regarded property team, with an emphasis on legal knowledge and client experience.”

Jo added: “It’s an absolute pleasure to have been invited to join the firm; having worked with members of the team over the years, I have a great deal of admiration and respect for the firm.

“I’m really looking forward to bringing my enthusiasm and positivity to the role and contributing towards the ongoing growth of the team.”

The appointments form part of the firm’s overall strategy to be the clear choice for personal legal services and follows investment in its IT and telecoms systems at the start of the year. This allowed the Clark Willis team to adapt to the changing restrictions across the course of the coronavirus crisis.

During the pandemic, the firm offered remote appointments, telephone or video calls, remote court hearings and, at the height of lockdown, offering evening and weekend appointments to support shift workers on the front lines in the battle against Covid-19.

Tanya Bloomfield, Partner and Head of Family Law, said: “There has been a constantly increasing level of demand across our range of personal legal services since the onset of the pandemic, including a notable increase in our will-writing service, as people ensure their affairs are in order.

“Appointments such as Jo’s are vital to ensure we invest in the legal talent of the future, as well as helping us remain at the forefront of personal legal services across the region.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Harvey & Hugo .