People: Law firm eyes Harrogate expansion with key hire; Addleshaw Goddard promotes; and more

Leeds-headquartered Milners, marking its 120th anniversary this year, has appointed John Robson as residential property manager of its Harrogate office. The hire comes as the company eyes further expansion in the spa town’s thriving legal sector.

He brings 35 years of residential property experience to the Harrogate team, which is spearheaded by Milners’ commercial property partner Mat Haynes; and Jessica Savage, who leads its private client department providing services including wills, trusts, probate and Lasting Powers of Attorney.

“John injects an extra dimension to the collective legal excellence we are assembling in Harrogate to meet ever-growing demand,” said Milners’ managing partner Simon Bass.

“Few people can match his track record in conveyancing and we are delighted our clients can now access his skills and industry insight alongside that of our wider team.

“As well as a loyal following across Yorkshire – some repeat clients date to the very start of his career – his expertise is in demand UK-wide,and he recently oversaw the purchase of a £12m property in St John’s Wood, London.

“The appointment of someone of John’s stature represents a major coup for us, and is a clear signal of our confidence in the local marketplace and our ambitions to consolidate our position within it.

“The town retains untapped potential for forward-thinking businesses. And its property market continues to demonstrate great strength and resilience in the face of tough economic challenges.

“We have already accelerated our plans to move into bigger offices in the town centre. Parallel to this, we are stepping up the recruitment of other specialists to complement our pool of home-grown legal talent.”

Robson joins Milners after 25 years working for a major Leeds city centre law firm.

The practice also has a third Yorkshire based in Pontefract.

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West Yorkshire law firm Wilkinson Woodward has announced the appointment of two senior solicitors to its team.

Commercial solicitor Tim Manock and family law specialist Emily Fish have both joined Wilkinson Woodward’s expanding legal practice.

Fish, who will be based at the Huddersfield office, brings with her almost a decade’s experience in matrimonial law, divorce, separation, children disputes and financial matters. She began her legal career with Armitage Sykes before transferring to Ramsdens Solicitors in early 2017.

Manock began his career with a Leeds based law firm before joining Skipton-based Savage Crangle in the 1990s where he later became a partner.

Over the course of his career, he has developed a strong reputation in commercial law and brings with him three decades of experience in commercial and residential sales, plot sales and commercial law.

He will be based at Wilkinson Woodward’s Brighouse office.

Managing director Maureen Cawthorn said: “We’re delighted to welcome Tim and Emily to the team. Both are highly respected solicitors in their chosen fields.  Their appointments form part of our continuing plans to expand in West Yorkshire.”

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Addleshaw Goddard has announced the promotion of Kerry Westland, to head of innovation and legal technology, a newly created role.

Axel Koelsch, Addleshaw Goddard’s chief operating officer, said: “Intelligent Delivery is the way we do business at AG.  We combine technology, flexible resourcing, process improvement and strategic consultancy for our clients, as well as providing the platform for new thinking and smart solutions beyond pure legal advice. It is a powerful way of working involving more than 300 people across different elements of our delivery approach with more planned in the future – so a clear indication of how seriously we are taking it.”

Previously, part of the firm’s Transaction Services Team (TST), which has paralegals and apprentices based in its Leeds office, Westland was responsible for the development and delivery of creative and bespoke technology tools for clients, including the firm’s introduction of artificial intelligence.

She also played a lead role in developing a strategic piece of technology which allowed the firm to co-ordinate the transfer of over 15,000 properties relating to the sale of National Grid’s GasD business.
Koelsch added: “Kerry’s appointment is a clear indicator of our commitment to embed innovation into everything we do. As a firm we understand that innovation is not simply focused on technology, but is about leveraging the fusion of smart people, flexible resourcing, advanced processes and strategic consultancy we have on offer and blending these to help clients achieve better business outcomes.”