Appointments: New partner for JMW; Shoosmiths hires three & more

EXPANDING Manchester law firm JMW Solicitors has strengthened its corporate and commercial team with the appointment of Richard Parkinson as a partner and head of commercial.

Mr Parkinson moves across Hardman Street from national firm Pinsent Masons.   He specialises in all areas of commercial law including, outsourcing agreements, goods and service agreements and strategic partnerships agreements both to the private and public sector. He works with a range of clients across a number of sectors including North West based Speedy Hire,  for whom he has advised on a number of long- term strategic agreements with key customers.

Chris Moss, head of corporate at JMW said: “Richard is a great fit for our corporate and commercial teams and brings with him extensive knowledge across all areas of commercial law and intellectual property and his appointment will only strengthen further our corporate and commercial offering and help us to develop further.”

Mr Parkinson added: “I am pleased to be joining an entrepreneurial and growing law firm such as JMW and I am looking forward to working with their already established client base as well as introducing some clients to the team. It is an excellent opportunity to help grow and develop even further the corporate and commercial team at JMW.

Senior Partner Joy Kingsley said JMW is looking to continue its recent growth with more partner hires.

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SHOOSMITHS, the national law firm has made three hires in its Manchester real estate team with the addition of two new senior associates as well as a solicitor.

Matthew Forrest as a senior associate specialising in real estate litigation working with retailers, developers, investors, utility and telecoms companies.  He was previously an associate with Hill Dickinson. He is recommended in legal directory Legal 500 2013 as a property litigation specialist.

Also joining the firm as a senior associate is construction lawyer Neil Armstrong, who has previously worked for Addleshaw Goddard, Semple Fraser and then Weightmans.

Meanwhile real estate litigation solicitor Sophie Kindon also joins the team from DAC Beachcroft.

Harold Brako, head of Shoosmiths’ Manchester office said: “Matthew’s, Neil’s and Sophie’s arrival again demonstrates our commitment to building our presence here in Manchester with class-leading experts in their field. This is an extremely exciting time for the Manchester marketplace and the team here at Shoosmiths continues to expand rapidly as we match our offering to local demands.”

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ASCENT Performance Group,  the debt recovery law firms part of Irwin Mitchell, has made two new appointments.

The firm. based at City Tower in Manchester, has taken on  Lisa Quarin as bid manager and Scarlett Cooke as paralegal, taking its workforce to 178. One of the roles – bid manager  is a newly created position, as the business needs to add new skills to meet growing operational and regulatory expectations.

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ALTRINCHAM company Property Perspective has expanded its team with two new staff.  Mark Keenan has joined as a valuer and Kristiane Cooke as a receptionist.  Property Perspective provides sales and part exchange services to builders including Eccleston Homes, Redrow and Persimmon.

Founder and managing director, John Jarvis said: “Mark brings with him a wealth of experience and I am sure that Kristiane will prove to be a valuable member of the team, which now stands at 10.”

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CUSHMAN & Wakefield, the commercial property adviser, has appointed Alex Haigh as senior surveyor in its national retail agency team in Manchester.

Mr Haigh, who joins from The Co-operative Group where he was a portfolio manager, will work with Nicola Harrington and Lizzy Kay.

Ben Roberts, partner and head of Cushman & Wakefield’s Manchester office, said: “Alex’s appointment will serve to further strengthen the high level of service that we provide as a team in Manchester.  He has a strong track record in the retail sector and his experience means that he will be a great asset to the firm.” Cushman & Wakefield now employs 25 people in Manchester.