On the move: the latest East Midlands hires

Leicestershire law firm Lawson-West has welcomed paralegals Sejal Patel and Phoebe Tranter to its team.

Patel works in Employment at Lawson-West’s Leicester head office at Meridian Park, while Tranter, a Wills and Probate paralegal, is based in Market Harborough but also spends time at the Leicester and Wigston offices.

Patel attended Judgemeadow Community College in Evington and studied for A-Levels at Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College. She read law at the University of Leicester and took her Legal Practice Course at De Montfort University at the same time as Tranter.

Tranter has a law degree from De Montfort University.

Derby-based composites manufacturer epm: technology group has appointed Andrew Walker as its new commercial director.

CEO Graham Mulholland said: “Operationally epm is a completely different company today as we continue to grow the business.

“Strengthening the business operationally and commercially has been, and will continue to be, a major priority for me. We’ve waited patiently for Andrew to join team epm and we are introducing new skills to our industry as many of our future programmes are multi-million, multi-year work programmes.

“In our 20th anniversary it’s a giant step forward as we grow to become an engineering powerhouse.”

Walker said: “Joining the team in a growth phase is very exciting. We will be moving quickly to bring more depth to the team as we continue to gear up epm.

“But in two years the business has built a new home, moved, grown, brought online its own academy programmes and won AS9100 and a couple of very high profile contracts.”

Walker continued: “It’s my job to ensure we all keep up with the customers’ expectations and Graham’s drive to challenge and change this industry sector.”

Smith Cooper’s new graduates

East Midlands accountancy firm Smith Cooper has added three new graduates to its audit team as graduate audit assistants.

Mohammed Imran joins the firm having graduated from Derby University with a 2:1 in Accounting and Finance in 2014. He has previously been working for Boots as a finance assistant.

Alex Symonds joins Smith Cooper having recently graduated from Nottingham Trent University studying Financial Mathematics.

Dan Dobrzycki has also joined the firm having graduated from Loughborough University with a Sports Science and Business degree.

Sarah Flear, partner in the Nottingham office, said: “Smith Cooper has always prided itself on our commitment to training our staff and continuing to nurture and recognise the future talent in the accountancy profession.

“We have always regarded our staff as our most important asset and welcome both Mohammed and Alex to our growing team. We are sure they will become valuable members of the firm and look forward to helping them progress their careers.”