People on the move: Hall Brown; Studio KMA; Clough & Willis; PM+M

Family law firm Hall Brown has announced that plans to train solicitors have been approved by the legal profession’s governing body.

Hall Brown Family Law revealed that securing the Law Society’s endorsement means it will be able to begin offering training contracts this autumn.

Amy Hamilton

Managing Partner James Brown has described the move as another important step in the firm’s evolution.

The news has coincided with the arrival of solicitor Judith Showman from another of Hall Brown’s North West rivals.

She becomes Hall Brown’s 23rd member of staff with the firm still yet to complete two years in business.

Brown said that the twin boost illustrated both Hall Brown’s current sense of achievement and its future ambitions.

“Since we opened our doors, we have assembled a formidable team and been engaged by a growing number of clients both across the UK and much further afield.

“As well as handling what are sometimes quite complex financial and jurisdictional issues, we have added a specialist children’s division to accommodate more work of that nature.

“However, the firm focus has been on sustainable growth and the maintenance of our high standards.

“By bringing in Judith, we have been fortunate to recruit someone who can add both talent and endeavour immediately.

“In addition, we will be taking on graduates from September with the specific intention of imbuing them with what we believe to be the essential elements of our firm’s personality – being accessible and straightforward, responding promptly and properly to the needs of our clients – early in their legal careers.”

Showman has joined after spending the previous four years with Kuits and BLM in Manchester.

A former pupil of Manchester High School for Girls, she graduated in law from Liverpool University before gaining a master’s degree in the same subject at Queen Mary University in London.

Showman also spent a year studying theology at the Midreshet HaRova Jewish seminary in Jerusalem.
She becomes Hall Brown’s 15th fee earner with the firm still celebrating having overcome more established counterparts to claim another prestigious award.

Judges in the recent Manchester Legal Awards (MLAs) decided that Hall Brown’s “outstanding growth…through a strategy which encompasses a ‘whole team’ culture” merited this year’s Family Team title.

The prize was the 11th won by the firm or its lawyers since it began trading in April 2016.

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Oldham-based architect Studio KMA (SKMA) has recruited two new staff members to support recent growth and demand from existing and new clients for an extended construction delivery service – Stuart Hadfield – and enhanced residential expertise, Amy Hamilton.

Studio KMA was established in 2012 with the objective of reducing the risk to landowners, developers and clients by supporting the front-end design process in order to secure planning consent.

SMKA has recruited Hadfield as director in response to client demand for a full delivery / build out service for projects.

He joins the team from a leading tier one contractor in Manchester and previously held an Associate position for 17 years with an award-winning architectural practice.

Hadfield has extensive technical experience in both the public and private sector and will be helping to implement and develop SMKA’s technical team capabilities including delivery of projects in building information modelling (BIM) to level 2 integrating the most up to date technological interfaces.

As a BIM expert, he currently teaches a post-graduate course in BIM and strategic project delivery at the University of Derby.

Hamilton has also joined the team as architectural assistant from Oldham-based Nicol Thomas where she had been in post since 2013 and will be receiving support towards her final architectural qualification.

Hamilton’ss experience has focussed on the residential sector and she will be supporting Richard Hamill on a number of existing and new commissions including high rise apartment schemes, large private dwellings, later-life living accommodation, care homes and sheltered housing projects.

Andy Titterton, founder of Studio KMA said of the extension to the team: “Studio KMA remains a niche practice with over 90% of our business supporting the front end of the development process.

“That said, having been consistently asked by our clients to build out our planning approved projects, we felt that an equally focussed and specialist delivery team required an correspondingly experienced, dedicated BIM specialist to ensure our delivery capability provides the same level of consistency and quality that our clients have come to expect from our service.”

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Bury & Bolton based law firm Clough & Willis has appointed Nicola Finbow as the new head of its private client department.

She joins Clough & Willis from Temperley Taylor Solicitors and she has previously worked at Butcher & Barlow.

Her new role will see her focusing on a variety of core work including wealth and succession planning, inheritance tax advice, trust creation and administration, wills, lasting powers of attorney and estate administration.

Finbow – who is full member of STEP, the global professional association for practitioners which specialises in family inheritance and succession planning, and a Dementia Friend – will be primarily based at the firm’s Bury head office but she will also have a presence in the Bolton office.

She studied at Keele University and Montpellier University. She took her Legal Practice Course at Leeds Metropolitan University.

Lee Marston, managing partner of Clough & Willis, said: “Nicola is one of the region’s leading private client lawyers so we are delighted that she has joined Clough & Willis. I’m sure her experience will add real value and direction to the department and wider firm.”

Finbow added: “I’ve respected Clough & Willis for many years so I am really pleased to have joined the firm. I’m now looking forward to building on the established reputation that the Private Client team already has.”

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Blackburn headquartered PM+M, the chartered accountancy, business advisory and wealth management firm, has made five appointments across the business.

Elizabeth Buckley has joined the Run My Business team, a division of PM+M that offers an all-inclusive service to SMEs including cloud accounting, year-end accounts preparation, payroll, VAT and tax returns. Buckley has worked in finance for five years.

Tara Maynard has join PM+M Wealth Management as a financial adviser. Her core role will be to provide independent financial advice to her clients, specialising in pensions and investments. She previously worked at Pierce and True Chartered Financial Planners in Bury.

The most recent appointment to the firm’s corporate services team is Andrew Witte. His new role will see him lead audit assignments of varying sizes and control the production of accounts. His previous employment includes positions at Ainsworths, Sedulo Group and Pierce.

Vinaya Prabhu joins PM+M as a company statutory administrator. Prabhu, a qualified company secretarial graduate, will now be handling routine company secretarial compliance and legal matters for clients.

The final new addition to PM+M is Laura Bannan, the firm’s new marketing executive. Bannan will be helping to co-ordinate PM+M’s marketing activities including data management, direct marketing, event management, social media and content writing. Laura was previously a marketing assistant at KBS Corporate.

Jane Parry, partner at PM+M – added: “We are delighted to welcome the latest batch of PM+M recruits. The success of our business in based on the talents of our people and it’s great to see that all five are already adding value.”