People on the Move: Primas; Hayes Connor; Veterans for Britain; Property Perspective; Napthens
Commercial law firm, Primas has announced the appointment of an experienced partner to head up a new built environment projects team to provide specialist and related construction advice, further bolstering its offer to businesses across the North West and London.
In response to increasing demand from real estate clients, specialist construction lawyer David Vayro has joined the firm from DWF.
David’s experience of more than 20 years lies in providing construction legal services to clients in the building, development, private and social housing, occupier, hotel and leisure, energy and industrial and groceries sectors.
Throughout his career David has acted for end-users, developers, funders, contractors, specialist subcontractors and professional team members in a range of construction disputes.
He specialises in transactional work, but also has many years experience in conflict management and dispute.
Adam Kerr, Primas managing partner, hailed David’s appointment and the creation the new team as another key milestone for the firm, which has offices in Manchester, Cheshire and London.
“We are really pleased to announce the arrival of David as a new partner, and he has a key role to play in spearheading the set up, development and growth of our new built environment projects team.
“Establishing a specialist construction team, led by an experienced and highly-regarded partner like David, will help complement and strengthen the expert service provision of our other teams, and this has been one of our key strategic objectives during the last two years.”
The appointment follows the firm’s recent expansion into corporate recoveries and insolvency, which saw Chris Love join to head up the new service.
Primas’ growth plans have been ambitious over the past few years, with the firm merging with Manchester-based corporate law firm, Freeman Fisher at the end of 2019.
David Vayro said: “I am incredibly excited to be joining Primas at this key stage in the firm’s ongoing growth and development.
“The Primas mantra that a legal services business doesn’t have to be big to be great is so refreshing, particularly in a business world where the personal touch can often get lost in corporatism.
“The high-quality service and value for money ethos we share, as well as the focus on building genuine relationships between clients and colleagues, were major factors in my decision to join. I look forward to working with everyone at Primas to provide an integrated construction legal services offering to existing and new clients.”
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Widnes data breach law firm Hayes Connor has a new management team.
Arriving on the scene in 2018, Hayes now has a team of 15 lawyers and assistants and a wealth of collective experience, paving the way in all things data breach, cyber security, and online fraud.
In just over two years the firm hassettled more than 300 claims for clients, securing compensation from £1,000 to well over £100,000 against a wide range of organisations including multinational corporations and banking giants. Fee income has doubled over the past 12 months and the new management team will be working hard to deliver the same again next year.
Dan Thompson, William Betts and Jon Else now have full control of the business and the client service team is now headed up by senior associates, Christine Sabino and Richard Forrest.
From left: Dan Thompson, Richard Forrest, Christine Sabino, Jon Else, William Betts
This reorganisation comes at a key moment for Hayes Connor, with the firm predicting a big increase in the number of people likely to be bringing data breach claims post-lockdown.
With COVID-19 changing the way we live and work in the UK, millions of people are working from home, making it harder for employers to ensure their team are following data protection guidelines and IT security.
Also, the introduction of test and trace, as well as the continued growth of shopping online, means people having to hand data over to a growing number of businesses. These changes make data protection mistakes, and thus individual data breach claims, much more likely.
Dan Thompson said: “We are excited to be reorganising our team and building upon the great work that has been done by Christine, Richard and the team over the past two years.
“Going forward everyone will have a greater say in the direction of the business, and that’s something we’re really proud of.”
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Wilmslow solicitor Hilary Meredith has been appointed to the board of Veterans for Britain.
Hilary, founder and chair of Hilary Meredith Solicitors and visiting professor of law and veterans’ affairs at the University of Chester, is a solicitor, lobbyist and campaigner with decades of experience representing UK service personnel, their families and military veterans.
Her career in protecting the welfare of our Armed forces spans cases from Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Gulf War 1, Afghanistan and Iraq, including incidents on manoeuvres and in training in countries from Belize to Hong Kong and Canada.
She has acted in a range of precedent setting cases, worked closely with Parliamentary inquiries and government ministers and successfully campaigned for changes in the law.
Hilary Meredith
Major General Julian Thomson, chairman of Veterans for Britain, said: “We are delighted that Hilary Meredith will be joining the board. Her experience, passion and professionalism will all add to our ability to help veterans and the Armed Forces in general.
“Her knowledge on veteran’s prosecutions is second to none, and we look forward to working together on this area in particular.”
Hilary Meredith said: “I am delighted to strengthen my links with Armed service veterans by joining the board of Veterans for Britain.
“Having represented the Armed forces for my entire career I am committed to protecting the welfare of our veterans and ensuring their views are represented at Westminster and beyond.”
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Following some of the highest monthly sales figures since opening, Property Perspective has announced new recruits and a promotion to support its continued growth.
The property sales firm, which provides specialist services to the new homes sector, has welcomed two new members to its account management team, plus a promotion.
The trio of changes will ensure the South Manchester-based company, which operates across most of England and Wales, can continue to successfully sell homes in a post-COVID world.
John Halliwell has joined as an account manager, Libby Greaves has been promoted to account manager from her previous assistant account manager role, and Natasha Vanyj joins the company as an assistant account manager. All three work out of the company’s headquarters in Altrincham.
From left: John Halliwell, Natasha Vanyj, Libby Greaves
John Halliwell, 30, from Wythenshawe, previously worked in estate agency for three years. His new role involves assisting developers to progress their part exchange and assisted move schemes. In doing so, he supports and advises the developers’ customers from when their own homes are first put on the market, through to exchange and completion.
John said: “I was really keen to work at Property Perspective due to the vision managing director John Jarvis has for the company. It really sets itself apart from the competition with an in-house valuation team and an experienced team with property backgrounds.
“There is a great close-knit feel in the office, I’m really enjoying working in the new-build sector and am looking forward to growing my experience even further.”
Libby Greaves, 22, from Lymm, has been promoted to account manager after two years with Property Perspective. Having previously worked in finance, Libby says starting as an assistant to the account management team gave her a great deal of insight into what her new role now involves and has helped her understand the importance of working in a timely manner.
She added: “It’s my role is to make sure we are doing everything we can to help our customers’ house sales go through as efficiently as possible – we sell homes 50% faster than the average 80-day selling time. I’m really looking forward to being responsible for my own accounts going forward.”
Natasha Vanyj, 23, is originally from Huddersfield and was a qualified primary school teacher before moving to Manchester, where she worked initially as a personal assistant before joining Property Perspective as an assistant account manager.
“The property industry is something that I’ve always had an interest in,” she said.
“I did some work experience at an estate agent a few years back and loved how fast the industry moved. I’m looking forward to progressing and learning what it takes to be successful in the industry.”
Managing director, John Jarvis, said: “From June until August we sold a record number of homes. In August alone we brought 76 homes to market and agreed 74 sales. We have also taken on some fantastic new housebuilder clients and begun selling homes at The Depot in Whalley Range, Manchester, on behalf of Rowlinson.
“It’s great that we have been able to further strengthen our account management team, despite the pandemic, and the expansion will enable us to make sure each sale goes through as quickly and smoothly as possible.”
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Regional law firm Napthens has invested in new talent with seven trainees joining the firm during 2020.
Katie Egan joins the litigation team, initially in Blackburn, while the Preston office welcomes Ben Mayson in commercial property, Tasneem Mohammed in residential conveyancing and Emma Andersen in the family team.
Two trainees – Evie Hubble and Hannah Gleave – joined the firm earlier in the year, and Safiya Sidat, an existing member of the Napthens team, is also moving to a training contract.
Five existing trainees are also set to qualify after completing their training contracts, taking up posts with the firm in employment and HR, litigation and estate planning.
From left: Tasneem Mohammed, Emma Andersen, Katie Egan, Ben Mayson, Safiya Sidat
Napthens is committed to appointing a number of trainees each year, offering on-the-job training for those looking to pursue a career in the law, gaining experience in different departments across Napthens offices and, ultimately, graduating as fully qualified solicitors.
Chief executive, Shru Morris, explained that the programme was an important way for the firm to invest in its future: “Our trainee programme has always been key to our long-term growth strategy – each year we have appointed trainees who have gone on to play important roles in the firm.
“Even with the ongoing pandemic, we remain committed to supporting our clients through a time of change and meeting demand for our specialist skills. Growing our own talent is crucial to both our own and our clients’ future success.”
She added: “Our programme ensures that each trainee obtains practical experience in a range of different disciplines. This helps them see what life is like at a busy law firm, as they learn from our experienced lawyers and gain the knowledge they need to have successful careers in the legal profession.”
