People: Weightmans’ Birmingham office welcomes Bermingham; Agency promotes; and more

A leading public sector lawyer has joined law firm Weightmans.

Henry Bermingham has joined the firm’s Birmingham office as partner from BLM, where he was head of the local Government team.

He has decades of experience dealing with all aspects of claims against public authorities including human rights, abuse, discrimination and data protection, as well as highway claims and risk management.

He served as president of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL) from 2007 – 2008 and regularly writes, speaks and provides training on issues involving local authorities.

He said: “Weightmans is one of the preeminent national practices for local authorities. It is a firm that is intimately acquainted with the market and understands the unique requirements of public sector clients and I am delighted to be on board.

“This is a great opportunity to be at the centre of local authority excellence and I look forward to helping to grow the reputation of the firm even further.”

Peter Wake, partner and head of Local Government litigation at Weightmans, added: “Henry is a first rate lawyer and his well-deserved reputation for getting the right result for clients is matched with a solid track record of delivering top quality advice and support to the public sector.

“Local authorities face a considerable amount of pressure to deliver more services with less resources. Like us, Henry truly understands the challenges they face – he is a great fit and we are delighted to welcome him to the firm.”

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Birmingham-based creative communications agency One Black Bear has promoted Kate Hartshorn to managing partner. The move will see Hartshorn lead the agency alongside owners and founders, Richard Elwell and Jon Harrison.

Hartshorn spent 15 years with Big Communications – now known as Big Dog – as client services director and later, as managing partner working closely across a range of national and international brands. Having previously worked as associate planning director at One Black Bear for two years, her new role will now involve the broader remit of developing the agency from its current 25 strong team whilst retaining planning, insight and client liaison responsibilities.

Richard Elwell of One Black Bear, said: “I can’t overstate how pleased we are to have Kate in this role – she’s the brightest planning brain for miles around and genuinely a brilliant agency personality. Kate brings vast experience and ability and is a champion of ‘the big thought’. Her insight, intuition and forensic detail across briefs will further bolster our offering to clients.’

 

 

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Day Out With The Kids has welcomed a string of new appointments in the last month, with four new faces joining the team heading up the biggest website for family days out in the UK.

The business has strengthened its digital, sales and brand teams as it continues to grow, as well as appointing a new managing director.

Simon Applebaum joins the team from parent company, Attraction World, with over 10 years’ experience in the travel industry. Having previously worked for Thomas Cook in a variety of marketing roles, his move to Attraction World also saw him overseeing the product portfolio, experience which he plans to bring to dayoutwiththekids.co.uk as part of its growth plans for 2018 and beyond.

Elsewhere in the team, Daniel Mahon joins as a senior developer, having previously worked at The NEC and Ticket Factory. Zach Cabey, who hails from New York, has recently relocated to Birmingham and joins the team as new business manager, helping to build relationships with some of the UK’s most popular attractions.

April Pickersgill, who has previously worked in the communications teams at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and The Belfry, joins as social media content manager, while new digital content executive, Dela Lozanova, has moved to dayoutwiththekids.co.uk from a similar role within the wider Attraction World Group.

Simon Applebaum, managing director at dayoutwiththekids.co.uk. said: “I’m excited to support the growth within our business – and it’s a fantastic opportunity to head up a team that are such brilliant ambassadors for the brand – I think it’s rare to work for a business where everyone totally gets the vision of the company.”

 

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