On the move: the latest East Midlands hires

A newly-qualified solicitor who has worked up way up with Timms Solicitors has been rewarded with a permanent position in the firm’s Family Law team.

Jessica Barnett first worked for Timms in her school summer holidays 14 years ago – helping in the archiving department before moving away to read History of Art at university.

After completing her Masters, she was invited back to Timms to cover staff illness on reception and was quickly recruited to work with the conveyancing team.

She was then appointed as a paralegal in the Family Law department and combined full time work with studying for the law conversion course at Nottingham Law School which she has completed ahead of schedule with a distinction.

She has joined the highly regarded Family Law team working across all of Timms’ offices in Derby’s Cathedral Quarter, Burton-upon-Trent, Swadlincote and Ashby.

Timms family solicitor and mediator Adrian Rose said: “Jessica has been an invaluable member of the team for many years and we are delighted to offer her a permanent role upon qualification.
“She has managed the pressure of some very high profile and complex family law cases superbly due to her attention to detail and her ability to communicate and translate legal documentation.”

Managing partner Fiona Moffat added: “Jessica is the perfect example of the benefits to both the firm and an individual of ‘home-grown’ talent.

“Colleagues spotted early on that her transferable skills were perfectly matched to a career in law and we are very proud of how she has developed into a highly-professional and empathetic solicitor.

“She has also fully embraced the firm’s local community support programme – helping to organise training seminars for colleagues and stakeholders and joining fundraising activities such as sleeping out to raise money for YMCA Burton.”

Claire Bicknell and Richard Lloyd

Catena Network, the ‘matchmaking’ service for businesses, has appointed Richard Lloyd as a strategic business adviser as it scales up its franchise expansion across the UK.

Lloyd, who is a partner at management consultant CMC Partners, will work with founder Claire Bicknell.

Burton-based Lloyd has been involved in numerous major projects, including company mergers and previously led an acquisition at Experian. Outside of the corporate arena, Lloyd has started two businesses of his own and consulted with numerous small firms.

Bicknell said: “I am absolutely delighted and very proud that Richard has joined the team as he will add huge strategic support to the team in what is a very exciting phase of our growth. We added a Lincoln franchise at the start of the year and now we are seeking to scale that side of the business and with that, attract more members from across the UK.”

Lloyd added: “I’ve known Claire for a long time, in fact since Catena was launched and I’ve watched with great interest as both a member and as a professional outside of the business ever since. This business has evolved from a business introductions specialist into a people and data-driven operation that is able to harness artificial intelligence and crucially combine that with Emotional Intelligence to drive value for the network.

“Whilst the future and the huge potential behind it is driven by the data, the key factor will always be the people within the team and I’m delighted to be a part of that”