New promotions at Harrison Clark Rickerbys

HARRISON Clark Rickerbys has made a series of promotions at its offices in Worcester and Hereford.

In Worcester, James Phelps, who carried out his training at the firm and joined its Insolvency and Corporate Recovery team following qualification, has been promoted to Senior Associate. Jessica Beddows has also been promoted to Associate Solicitor in the Private Client team and Anita Lenegan promoted to Associate Solicitor in the Family Law department.

In Hereford, Natalie Smith has been promoted to Associate Solicitor after joining the Private Client team from the firm’s Cheltenham office. This is in direct response to the growing demand for services offered by the Wills, Trusts and Probate department and highlights the continuing growth of the Hereford team.

Jonathan Brew, Senior Partner at Harrison Clark Rickerbys, said: “These recent promotions indicate the success of the firm as a whole and the demand for city-quality legal services across the Three Counties. We wish to congratulate our colleagues on these well-deserved appointments and are pleased to support the career progression of our staff at all levels.”

Ex-Challinors lawyer heads for Sydney Mitchell

SYDNEY Mitchell has strengthened its private client team with the appointment of Nick Bennett from Challinors.

Bennett, left, specialises in wills, tax planning, probate, trust work powers of attorney and court protection.  

He has worked on complex probate cases and is a member of the Society of Trust Estate Practitioners and member of Solicitors for the Elderly. Prior to Challinors he worked for a number of local firms including Higgs & Sons.

The private client team at Sydney Mitchell is led by Tracy Creed, who said: “Nick is a great addition to the team and his experience and practical knowledge of dealing with complex estates will certainly be welcomed by our clients.”
Sydney Mitchell has offices in Birmingham city centre, Sheldon and Shirley.

Aaron & Partners barges ahead to strengthen equity partnership

COMMERCIAL law firm Aaron & Partners has strengthened its senior team by adding family solicitor Richard Barge to its equity partnership.

Barge, right, who joined the firm in 2010 as head of family law, has doubled the size of the department over the last three years and overseen a 145% increase in the team’s fees.

The appointment of its 10th comes as the Shropshire firm reports a 31% increase in fee income in the first quarter of this year, taking the overall figure to £1.7m for the period.

Aaron & Partners chief executive Andy Duxbury, left, said: “We are firm believers in our equity partners being at the helm because they always have their clients’ best interests at the forefront of everything they do.

“Our equity partners share a common vision and commitment in how the business should be run and it is certainly working for us as we are a demonstrably successful, growing company.”

He said Barge had achieved “terrific results” for his clients and developed a strong referral network and ‘word of mouth’ client base.

Aaron & Partners recently expanded into Shropshire with the acquisition of a niche legal firm in Shrewsbury.

“We are delighted with the increase in our fee income and even if you remove the effects of the acquisition, we are still 27% up on the same quarter last year, which is significantly higher than our competitors,” added Duxbury.