Appointments: Walker Morris; Irwin Mitchell; Stowe Family Law; Opus North

WALKER Morris has continued to invest in specialist expertise with the appointment of restructuring and insolvency specialist Gawain Moore as a director in its restructuring and insolvency group.

Moore originally trained at Walker Morris and rejoins the group from Herbert Smith Freehills where he was based in the London office for six years, having established himself as a specialist in restructuring and insolvency.

He has experience in a range of sectors and advises lenders, insolvency practitioners, directors and other stakeholders in all aspects of restructuring and insolvency.

Moore has particular expertise in complex cross-border insolvencies, the use of voluntary arrangements and schemes of arrangement as a restructuring tool, and insolvent groups with significant pension deficits, having advised on some of the most high profile restructurings in recent times, involving multinational groups, national retailers and other household names.

The appointment complements the expertise and depth of resource of Walker Morris in restructuring and insolvency. The Group advises on the full range of matters including formal insolvencies (administrations, receiverships, liquidations, voluntary arrangements and bankruptcies) and is very active in business rescue and restructuring work.

Philip Mudd, Walker Morris’ partner who heads up the group, said: “We are delighted that Gawain has rejoined Walker Morris. His skill set and experience complement the substantial expertise and strength in depth that we have in this practice area.

“Despite signs of recovery in the economy, clearly there are still significant structural issues that have to be overcome and overall levels of debt remain high. We therefore expect to continue seeing significant activity in the restructuring and insolvency area. Gawain brings with him some great experience, we are delighted to have him back in the team.”

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THE Leeds office of law firm Irwin Mitchell boosted its business legal services team with the appointment of insolvency solicitor Sophie Shuttleworth.

Shuttleworth, who moves from Gordons in Leeds, specialises in both contentious and non-contentious insolvency work for both businesses and individuals.

Typical work would includes advising company directors, individuals or insolvency practitioners in relation to distressed transactions, including pre-packaged deals.

She is also involved in providing advice to lenders and LPA Receivers with the aim of realising the property for the benefit of the lender. Other advice includes supporting clients on matters such as supply chain issues preceding insolvency and retention of title issues.

Irwin Mitchell in Leeds recently announced that it had appointed IP partner, Alex Newman, from Squire Sanders.

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Melanie Bataillard SamuelSTOWE Family Law has hired French-speaking solicitor Melanie Bataillard-Samuel, who will be extending the list of services provided by the firm’s international family law team.

Bataillard-Samuel has five years of family law experience, including divorce, matrimonial finance, cases involving children, cohabiting couples’ rights and is a Resolution -first for family law, accredited specialist in mediation.

She is especially interested in the financial aspects of divorce and separation, is a native French speaker and has extensive experience of working with an international client base.

Bataillard-Samuel said: “My new role at Stowe Family Law allows me to draw on my experiences of working with international clients to grow the firm’s global client base.”

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Angela DugganANGELA Duggan has been welcomed on board by property development and investment company Opus North as asset manager.

Duggan, who also runs her own property management and investment company LFT Property, rejoins Ilkley-based Opus North, where she worked from 2003 until 2008.

Andrew Duncan, managing director of Opus North, said: “We are delighted to welcome Angela back. She brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her role and she returns at an important time for the company as we continue to expand and embark on new developments.

“Angela will be working across our whole portfolio, including prestigious new projects at Morecambe, Llandudno, Aberystwyth and Darlington, together with existing assets such as The Bourse office complex in Leeds.”

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