Legal Appointments: Thomas Horton; Clark Brookes Turner Carey; Irwin Mitchell; mfg Solicitors; Bowcock & Pursaill

Brace of new partners for Thomas Horton

THOMAS Horton has increased its number of partners to seven with a brace of new appointments.

The firm said the appointments of Tina Circus, Head of Wills, Trusts & Probate, and Lisa Johnson, Head of Property Services, was a sign of its continued growth.

Ms Circus has been at the firm for three years and as a member of STEP (the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners), she specialises in the creation and administration of trusts, estate tax planning, probate administration and Wills & Court of Protection work for the firm’s private and business clients.

Ms Johnson joined the firm last year, helping to grow its local and national commercial property portfolio. Going forward, she will utilise her experience of the property sector in a wider role as Head of Property Services.

Richard Hull, managing partner at Thomas Horton, said: “We’re delighted to welcome both Tina and Lisa as members of the partnership. They are both extremely experienced solicitors and, with their expertise in the private client and commercial arenas, they really strengthen our partnership team.”

Bernard Shepherd takes on new consultancy role

BERNARD Shepherd, one of Birmingham best known and longest serving lawyers, has joined West Bromwich law firm Clark Brookes Turner Carey as a consultant.

He joins from Miles Pierce where he was also a consultant.

Shepherd has been involved with the Birmingham Law Society for many years and has held positions including president and chairman.

In a lengthy career in the Birmingham legal sector he has worked for firms including Gateley and Blakemores.

Clark Brookes Turner Carey recently announced it is relocating to Guardian House in West Bromwich from its two branches at High Street and Lombard Street in the town.

 

Corporate team boost for Irwin Mitchell 

THE Birmingham office of  law firm Irwin Mitchell has boosted its corporate and commercial team with the appointment of Sarah Riding as partner.

The move, which is part of an on-going strategic drive by Irwin Mitchell to expand its business legal services (BLS) division, represents the second partner to join the Birmingham team since the start of 2014.

Joining from Mills & Reeve where she headed up the firm’s private sector Commercial Contracts team in Birmingham, Riding acts on a wide range of deal-driven commercial contracts including supply chain management, routes to market, strategic alliances, advertising and sponsorship.

Her arrival comes just two months after Irwin Mitchell appointed corporate partner Nick Dawson from DWF.

mfg Solicitors targets agricultural sector with new appointment

Iain Morrison and Stewart Smith, mfg SolicitorsLAW firm mfg Solicitors has strengthened its agricultural team with the appointment of a specialist lawyer.

Renewables expert Stewart Smith, right, has joined mfg as an associate after almost a decade with Cheshire-based practice Walker Smith Way.

An experienced renewable energy specialist, with a specialism on wind farms, Smith will work closely with partners Susan Morrissy and Iain Morrison across the firm’s Shropshire and Worcestershire offices.

Morrison, left, partner and head of the agricultural and rural affairs division at the firm, said: “Stewart is a first-class addition to the firm. He has the credentials and expertise we are looking for as we increase the depth of sustainable energy and environmental advice we provide.

“Over the past 12 months we have advised an increasing number of landowners on renewable and agri-environmental initiatives – not just in the West Midlands, but across the country.

“Stewart’s experience will add considerable strength to that growing client base as more landowners concentrate on the countless benefits environmental schemes can bring.”

mfg Solicitors has 33 partners and has eight offices across the West Midlands with main branches in Worcester, Kidderminster, Telford and Bromsgrove.

New partner for Bowcock & Pursaill

Robert Fearnley, partner, Bowcock & PursaillSTAFFORDSHIRE-based Bowcock & Pursaill has recruited a new partner to its 17-strong team.

Robert Fearnley, left, who has joined the firm from Knights Solicitors, will work across all three of the firm’s offices, dealing with all aspects of inheritance tax planning, succession planning, wills and probate and agricultural matters.

He said: “I will be concentrating on areas such as agricultural work, which is about protecting the family farm for the next generation and organising assets for the purposes of tax.

“I am also STEP qualified, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, and I’m a member of Solicitors for the Elderly. An independent, national organisation of solicitors who provide specialist legal advice for older and vulnerable people, their families and carers in everything from care home contracts to wills and trusts.”

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