People on the Move: Davis Blank Furniss; WFEL; Exchange Chambers; Primas

Law firm Davis Blank Furniss has grown its private client team with the appointment of Ameliah McLaren‑Parker who joins as a private client solicitor.

Ameliah, who studied at Queen Mary, University of London, will be based out of the firm’s Manchester city centre office after she completed her training contract earlier this month.

Ameliah’s new role will see her handle all types of private client matters including wills, estate planning, inheritance tax, probate, powers of attorney and Court of Protection applications. She will be working closely with Karen Yates, head of private client.

Ameliah said: “I thoroughly enjoyed my training contract at Davis Blank Furniss so being appointed is an important step in my career.

“The private client team is focused on delivering a first class service to its clients so I am looking forward to playing my part in the department’s growth over the coming years.”

Karen added: “Ameliah is a fantastic young lawyer so I am delighted that she is now with us on a permanent basis. Her attention to detail, enthusiasm and talent make her a great addition to our expanding department.”

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Following WFEL’s recent announcement of its significant involvement in the production of the Boxer Mechanised Infantry Vehicle for the British Army’s £2.3bn contract, the Stockport-based company is delighted to announce the appointment of Andrew Munt as Boxer programme director.

Andrew will take responsibility for WFEL’s new Boxer facility construction and full equipment commissioning while ensuring that the required technology transfer from WFEL’s parent company, KMW, is delivered on time to ensure successful delivery of WFEL’s programme milestones.

His previous experience spans extensive senior level engineering development and production roles worldwide, working on the successful delivery of projects for both the defence and automotive sectors within companies including GKN and BAE Systems.

Andrew was also considerably involved several years ago in the UK MoD’s original multi-role armoured vehicle programme – which subsequently became Boxer MIV – and, therefore, is perfectly placed to head up this project.

Andrew Munt

Andrew said: “I am delighted to be joining WFEL at such an exciting time for the business. The prospect of building Boxer for the British Army is going to be rewarding for the whole WFEL team.

“It is pleasing to be able bring to WFEL my previous armoured vehicle experience and to contribute to the on-time, on-cost and on-quality delivery of Boxer. It will be wonderful to see members of the British Army using this superb vehicle in their training and operational deployments around the world.”

Andrew is a Chartered Engineer, holds a degree in metallurgy and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

WFEL’s managing director, Ian Anderton, said: “I am thrilled that Andrew has decided to join the WFEL team. His previous involvement with the MoD’s initial Boxer prototypes, coupled with experience of working on other armoured vehicle projects, will be invaluable as we increase our pace with this project to meet the expectations of our UK MoD customer.”

Following the appointment of Andrew Munt, WFEL continues its extensive recruitment campaign for a large number of roles which are being created as a direct result of the Boxer vehicle delivery programme for the UK MoD.

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Exchange Chambers has welcomed three new barristers in Manchester – including a Magic Circle lawyer who has relocated from London and transferred to the Bar.

The Set’s new arrivals are David Sandiford, Helen Rutherford and Duncan Hedar.

David Sandiford was called to the Bar in 1995 and joins Exchange from Cobden House Chambers. He specialises in personal injury, civil actions involving the police and inquests.

Helen Rutherford, who was called to the Bar in 2010, specialises in personal injury, credit hire and equine and animal law. She joins Exchange from Zenith Chambers.

Duncan Hedar joins from Magic Circle firm Linklaters where he was managing associate and solicitor advocate. He qualified as a solicitor at DLA Piper in 2014 before moving to Linklaters two years later.

He specialises in commercial dispute resolution, with a focus on high-value and business critical commercial litigation and arbitration and initially joins Exchange as a probationary tenant.

Tom Handley

Helen Rutherford said: “I am delighted to join Exchange. The Set has an outstanding reputation and is well known for its progressive, forward-thinking approach. I am looking forward to further developing my practice at such a dynamic Chambers.”

Duncan Hedar said: “Exchange has an exceptional reputation across its practice areas, particularly in complex and high-value commercial, insolvency and public law work, which were the focus of my practice at Linklaters.

“Given Exchange’s growing strength in these areas, there is no better place for me to begin my career at the Bar.”

In a further boost to Exchange Chambers, a record 17 barristers have been appointed to the Attorney General’s Regional Panel.

The Attorney General’s panel of counsel consists of junior counsel who undertake civil and EU work for all government departments. It is administered by the Government Legal Department.

Tom Handley, Exchange Chambers chief executive, said: “We are delighted to welcome our new barristers in Manchester.

“The appointments to the Attorney General’s Panel further strengthen Chambers’ position as a leading provider of high-quality counsel for government work.”

Exchange Chambers is a multi-disciplinary set of barristers’ Chambers based in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds.

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North West law firm, Primas, has appointed a new head of corporate recoveries and insolvency, further broadening the firm’s offering

Newly-appointed Chris Love will head up the corporate recoveries and insolvency department at the firm, acting for a range of insolvency practitioners, corporate and company director clients across the UK.

A Legal 500-ranked professional, Chris specialises in all aspects of recoveries and insolvencies, including restructuring and turnaround advice, business and asset sales, insolvency litigation and disqualification proceedings.

The new department head has also been a Higher Court Advocate since 2007 and joins Primas from Manchester-based legal firm, JMW.

This latest appointment further bolsters the firm’s significant growth plans.

Chris Love

Chris said: “I’m delighted to have joined such a forward-thinking and fast-growing commercial firm. Primas has demonstrated its commitment to strategic expansion, and I was immediately attracted to the firm’s vision and refreshingly modern approach.

“Primas’ presence in Cheshire, as well as Manchester and London, was a massive attraction as I’m proud to have grown up in Warrington and live in the area, so I know first-hand how vibrant it is.”

Managing partner, Adam Kerr, said: “We’re really pleased to bring Chris on board and we’re confident he’ll be pivotal in helping us achieve our ambitious plans.

“We’re really keen to keep the momentum going, continuing to grow our staff and our offering, and Chris’s department is a really big part of our commitment to doing that.”

Primas now has a team of close to 40 with offices based in Cheshire, Manchester and London.