People: Partner moves from DLA Piper to Walker Morris; Barclays appoints director to South Yorkshire and Humber team; Law firm expands property litigation offering; and more

Walker Morris has appointed Stuart Ponting as a partner in its Regulatory & Compliance Team.  Stuart is a senior appointment to the team and will bring extensive experience in this specialist area.

Ponting joins the team from DLA Piper, where he was a partner.  He has over 14 years’ experience in specialist corporate investigations and prosecutions, handling a range of regulatory issues including health & safety, corporate manslaughter, environmental and fraud and corruption cases.

During his career Ponting has successfully advised on some of the UK’s most sensitive and complex regulatory investigations.  Recognised in Chambers and Legal 500 as a leader in his field, he is qualified a solicitor with higher rights of audience, enabling him to represent clients if criminal cases progress to the higher courts.

His appointment means that Walker Morris now offers a Regulatory & Compliance Team with three partners dedicated to this specialist field, supported by a further 11 fee earners.

Jeanette Burgess, head of regulatory & compliance at Walker Morris, said: “We have built a strong nationally recognised team in this specialist area and we are delighted to reinforce that expertise with someone of Stuart’s calibre and national reputation. With regulatory compliance posing increasing challenges for all businesses, there is a growing need for expert legal advice and Stuart’s experience will further enhance our service offering for clients.”

Ponting added: “I am delighted to be joining such a prestigious and highly regarded practice and I look forward to playing my part in the continued growth and success of this award winning team.”

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Barclays has appointed a new relationship director to the South Yorkshire and Humber team.

Christopher Rushworth will be responsible for looking after the needs of businesses within the manufacturing, transport and logistics sectors.

Rushworth, who has been a banker for the last twenty years, has a broad spectrum of segments and routes to markets dealing with all business sizes from start-up through to corporates, telephony, internet based businesses and face to face portfolio management.

Recently his experience has been as a director of business banking, leading a team across the Humber region. Within his scope have also been the specialisms of real estate, healthcare and agriculture, together with experience gained in his previous role as director of asset finance.

Rushworth said: “The Humber region is not only my home but a place I am passionate about and it’s been fantastic to see the impact the Capital of Culture status has had across the region. The relationship director role with Barclays will give me a fantastic opportunity to work even more closely with some incredible businesses and, where possible, support the continuing growth and regeneration I am seeing.”

Andrew Marsh, head of corporate banking for South Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “This is our second senior appointment in the region and I am proud that Barclays continually invests in talent to support our customers. Christopher’s sector and local market knowledge will be a huge asset for our customers across the region.”

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Gordons’ property litigation solicitor Richard Jobes (left), with partner, Richard Cressall

Law firm Gordons has boosted its property litigation service.

Richard Jobes arrives at Gordons following five years at the Leeds office of Eversheds Sutherland. While there, he worked within the litigation and dispute management group advising on high-profile projects including Thameslink and HS2.

Jobes will advise Gordons’ clients on property-related disputes, including lease renewals, dilapidations and compensation claims resulting from compulsory acquisition. The firm’s current property litigation clients include B&M, Charles Tyrwhitt, Iceland, Santander and Yorkshire Building Society.

He said: “Gordons has a strong brand in the legal marketplace, excellent long-standing client relationships and a great culture. It’s a firm which is distinct because of its people and the way they deliver practical advice.

“This approach has seen the property litigation team build up a great deal of momentum both regionally and nationally. I aim to build upon these firm foundations by getting close to our existing clients, winning further new business and expanding the team.”

Gordons’ partner and head of property litigation, Richard Cressall, said: “Richard is a straight-talker and an excellent lawyer, which is just the type of person we want at Gordons. We are all looking forward to working with him to further grow our property litigation offer.”

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Peter Deutsch, Alice-Rose Humpston, Dale Myers, Alice Wood, BHP’s managing partner John Warner, Harrison Dexter, Sophie Gledstone, Niamh O’Donnell and Sam Allin.

Accountancy firm BHP has recruited 20 apprentices, graduates and placement students to work across five of the firm’s departments in Sheffield, Leeds, Cleckheaton, Chesterfield and York.

The two year programme will see the apprentices work towards the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) and the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) qualifications.

Six of the seven graduates working within the company’s audit and accounts department will support experienced BHP staff who service a range of clients in the manufacturing, retail, creative and digital industries. They will undertake a three year training agreement to attain the Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) qualification and become chartered accountants.

The seventh graduate will be working alongside some of the apprentices within the recently formed outsourcing business Prosper – a service which provides financial, technical and commercial support to small and medium sized enterprises.

Four budding accountancy professionals are joining BHP on a one year professional placement programme. Working in audit and accounts and the corporate finance department, the placement students are all on track for at least a 2:1 degree at university.

Lisa Leighton, partner at BHP, says: “Each year we make a huge commitment to the professional development and training of the next generation of accountants, and this year we have selected some of the finest students who are not only talented, but have a genuine passion for the industry.

“Recruiting apprentices, graduates and placements students enables us to give everyone an equal opportunity to succeed in their chosen field, and we can’t wait to start introducing these talented young people to our team and clients.”