Addleshaw Goddard makes six-partner swoop

Law firm Addleshaw Goddard has announced the appointment of six partners from Irwin Mitchell into its Manchester real estate group.

Anita Weightman – outgoing head of Irwin Mitchell’s Manchester real estate team – and Paul Barnard, Patrick Duffy, Chris Perrin, Tony Weightman and Emily Williams will join the firm shortly.

Peter Kershaw, head of AG’s Manchester Real Estate team, said: “Commitment to the real estate market and growing local market shareare at the heart of these appointments.

“Manchester has a key part to play in the ambitious strategy we have set for ourselves to service new clients and deepen some of our existing institutional relationships, as well as looking after the businesses in our local markets.”
Anita Weightman is an established practitioner, with profile and track record on securing and leveraging client mandates.

Outgoing head of Irwin Mitchell’s Manchester real estate team, she was also head of DLA Piper’s Manchester Real Estate team for over 10 years.

A “stalwart of the North West legal community” (Legal 500 2016), she specialises in commercial real estate, with an emphasis on investment and development.

Barnard provides advice on all aspects of non-contentious real estate with a particular focus on advising major space occupiers and landlords across the full range of property portfolio management – landlords and developers in respect of the development process from site assembly (planning promotion and option agreements) through site development to the final disposals.

Perrin specialises in all areas of real estate litigation for landlords, tenants, developers and investors and to financial institutions and insolvency practitioners. He is recognised in Chambers with clients saying he is “commercial and gets to the crux of issues.”

Duffy leads large scale sophisticated portfolio commercial real estate investments, large-scale acquisitions, disposals, development, landlord and tenant matters, property management and investment matters.

He has particular experience in multi-million pound portfolio acquisitions of shopping centres and/or office schemes and city and town centre regeneration and redevelopment schemes as well as forward purchase/sales, and forward funding agreements and property investment funds.

Tony Weightman specialises in commercial real estate, advising clients on all aspects of development and investment in real estate portfolios. He advises private companies as well as several government organisations.

He is acknowledged in Legal 500 as someone who “provides practical advice and solutions”.

Williams is a planning lawyer with over 13 years’ experience in planning and related public, highways, infrastructure, and compulsory purchase law and has experience in both contentious and non-contentious matters, advising clients on issues such as planning obligations, permission for judicial review and statutory challenges and renewable energy schemes.

A large proportion of her work is focused on administrative and public law matters.

A spokesperson at Irwin Mitchell said: “We’d like to thank the partners who are leaving for their contribution during their time with Irwin Mitchell and wish them well in the future.

“We recently changed the leadership team in our business legal services division and in real estate we have a clear direction and focus following the arrival of new national head of department, Adrian Barlow.

“We have over 30 Real Estate partners in seven offices across the UK who are committed to our new plans. They’re working with great clients and will continue to attract new work as our business continues to grow and develop in the areas in which we are focusing.

“In Manchester Irwin Mitchell’s real estate team will be headed up by partner Roy Beckett and the business has recently recruited two well-respected Corporate partners and three experienced Court of Protection partners to add further experience to our 250-strong team in the city. We’ll also shortly be moving into new offices in the city centre and we look forward to continued growth and commitment to all our business in Manchester and the North-West, as well as the rest of the UK.”

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