People on the Move: BLJ Solicitors; Studio KMA; Reflexallen UK; Kings Chambers; Beever and Struthers

Following a busy year for recruitment, Liverpool law firm Bell Lamb & Joynson has welcomed a further five members of staff since November 2019, bringing annual growth of the team up by 122% with a total of 52 employees across its Liverpool and Runcorn branches.

As part of a company-wide strategy to implement modern working practices and keep staff wellbeing at the forefront, BLJ Solicitors says it is a leading employer in its field, adopting new technologies to streamline processes and aid internal and external communication.

Managing partner Mike Leeman said: “We’re delighted to have recently welcomed into the team five additional members in areas such as conveyancing, family law and commercial law.

“Having experienced incredible growth in terms of the volume of work across all departments, we need to match this demand with resource and have increased the size our workforce accordingly to ensure that we can uphold our reputation as a client-centric firm, with customer care at the heart of everything that we do.

“Recruiting within the legal sector can be difficult in this current economic climate, but we feel that our focus on staff wellbeing and our dedication to professional and personal development really sets us apart and has enabled us to hire incredibly skilled and passionate employees that we’re sure will contribute to our continued growth as we head towards our 200th year in business in 2021.”

BLJ Solicitors currently deals with more than 4,000 matters annually, working with clients from across the region and further afield in criminal law, conveyancing, wills, probate, family law and personal injury.

Mike added: “At the end of our last business year we had reported company growth of 27%. With this in mind, we’re already recruiting for two additional positions including a family solicitor and conveyancing fee earner with plans to expand again in the new year.

“We recently welcomed Terry Otty to the team as a commercial litigator and as an experienced solicitor in this field, we are confident that he will be instrumental in helping us to establish this area as a department in its own right to complement our current private client work. We’re pleased to say that 2020 is shaping up to be our busiest year yet.”

::

As part of its continued expansion, Oldham-based architects practice Studio KMA has recruited Stephen Irvine as director of town planning.

Studio KMA, which expanded its traditional front end service to incorporate design delivery with the recruitment of Stuart Hadfield and Peter Fisk earlier this year based in Chester, now provides a full end-to-end service for clients.

Design capabilities for planning applications is where the company made its name and the model which it followed at set up in 2012. The recruitment of a planning specialist to work alongside the architectural team means that clients can now avail themselves of the whole service, meaning the journey can begin with land promotion to pre-planning, through to their extensive building design experience, then on to construction delivery.

Stephen is a highly-respected, energetic and motivated town planner and planning, project and departmental manager of 29 years, with a track record of success in managing schemes from concept to completion and delivering large, important and sometimes difficult planning applications successfully.

He began his planning career at Westminster City Council before moving to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets where he worked on some of the most significant high density and tall building schemes in East London and Canary Wharf.

Stephen Irvine

On returning home to the North West he worked for Cheshire East Council, Litchfields and Oldham Council on a variety of housing and employment schemes, as well as successfully engaging in planning policy, site allocation and appeals work, and leading and managing various development management, planning policy, land charges and building control teams.

He said: “The prospect of joining a practice that sees planning and architecture as two complementary pieces of the development process – something I’ve always argued passionately for – was an opportunity I just couldn’t turn down and it’s great to be working with such talented colleagues and forward thinking clients.”

Andrew Titterton, founding director of Studio KMA studio, said: “Stephen is a great addition to our team and is one of the most knowledgeable and experienced town planners I know.

“He has worked on many significant and prestigious schemes across London and the North West, adding value and expertise to them all. He will ensure our clients get the best town planning advice available, adding to the practice’s already considerable architectural and design skills. Bringing together architectural and planning skills under one roof makes this practice a ‘one-stop shop’ for development advice.”

::

Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) students so impressed one company with their expertise they inspired the hiring of a LUMS graduate.

Jason Butler, aftermarket sales director (Northern Europe) with Reflexallen UK, worked with a team of five Lancaster Executive MBA students on a student marketing project. That project demonstrated to Jason the benefits of employing a marketing manager.

Reflexallen, a manufacturer of plastic and electrical components for commercial vehicles, with bases in Wales and Northern Ireland, have since appointed a LUMS Marketing graduate into the new role, while Jason’s daughter Libby started as a student in the department this Autumn.

“Working with the EMBA students confirmed to me that I wanted a marketing manager,” said Jason.

Jason Butler, left, and Andrew Francomb

“We were looking for someone who was fresh from university and looking for their first job, and we found that person in Andrew Francomb, who has just graduated from Lancaster.

“Andrew was the best person for the job, but I already knew Libby wanted to go to Lancaster, I was concerned I was being unconsciously biased towards Lancaster, so he probably had a harder time to get the job than he might have done otherwise – so it just shows how good a fit he is.

“The family later found out that Libby had managed to get her first choice university place on the LUMS Marketing course, so we have a full house of connections.”

LUMS graduate Andrew recognised the role his degree and the Management School’s career service played in his being able to impress and earn a job with Reflexallen.

He said: “As any student knows, finding employment after finishing their degree is one of the most stressful parts of the university experience. I feel fortunate to have had the constant support of LUMS staff, from academic advisors, to course coordinators and careers advisors.”

::

Leading Barrister set Kings Chambers has been joined by top barrister Gordon Exall.

Gordon’s practice focuses on a range of areas such as clinical negligence, personal injury, limitation and civil procedure, along with a focus on litigation funding and costs.

Gordon is ranked as Band 2 for personal injury in the North Eastern circuit and is noted by Chambers and Partners as being “renowned for his written work and opinions in complex cases, particularly fatal accident claims. He has authored a number of widely read texts relevant to the personal injury field”.

His book Munkman and Exall on Damages is in its 14th edition and is published this week. Gordon’s Blog Civil Litigation Brief is widely read throughout the legal profession and has more than a million views each year.

Gordon Exall

Gordon will be clerked by Stephen Loxton and Louise Barnes senior clerk in Leeds.

Stephen Loxton, chief clerk, said: “We are delighted that Gordon Exall has joined Kings Chambers. Gordon is widely admired and respected in the fields of personal injury and costs.

“Gordon’s profile is second to none and we look forward to working with him to achieve further success. Everyone at Kings Chambers offers a very warm welcome to Gordon.”

Gordon will join the clinical negligence and healthcare and serious injury teams and will also remain a member of Hardwicke Chambers in London.

He said: “I’m excited to join Kings Chambers and become part of what is one of the most well-respected and prestigious sets in the UK.

“Following the set’s brilliant performance in this years’ Chambers and Partners UK Bar Guide, it’s clear that the Chambers is going from a strength to strength.

“I look forward to what the future holds”.

Kings Chambers is based in Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham. In the latest Chambers and Partners UK Bar guide, Kings Chambers achieved more rankings than any other barristers set.

::

Narinder Sandher has joined accountants and business advisors Beever and Struthers as an internal audit director in the firm’s expanding specialist not-for-profit team.

He previously worked for top 10 international audit firm Mazars, where he spent 12 years as a leader within the risk assurance team, specialising in the provision of internal audit, risk assurance and governance advisory services to not-for-profit organisations throughout the UK.

As head of internal audit, Narinder also advised client executive teams and audit committees on their risk management and assurance services.

At Beever and Struthers he will assist with the further development of the firm’s national internal audit service and continue to strengthen its role as a provider of services to the not-for-profit sector, working with social housing, education, charity and third sector organisations.

Narinder Sandher

His appointment takes the number of staff in the firm’s not-for-profit team to 14 partners and directors, supported by 60-plus colleagues.

Narinder said: “I’d met senior representatives of Beever and Struthers over the years via mutual clients and they’d always left me with a very positive impression. It’s a firm with a reputation for technical excellence, expertise in not-for-profit and outstanding client service. The culture of the firm greatly appealed to me and the decision to join was an easy one.”

Maria Hallows, executive partner at Beever and Struthers, added: “Narinder’s appointment is another strategic investment by the firm, ensuring we continue to meet the assurance needs of clients, with the delivery of award-winning and sector-leading services.

“We’re genuinely proud of our hard-earned reputation within not-for-profit, and Narinder joining us can only enhance that standing.”

Based in Manchester and with offices in Blackburn and London, Beever and Struthers is a member of HLB International, a global network of some 700 well-established accountancy firms with about 25,000 staff in 150 countries, with most firms ranking among the top 12 nationally.