People: Napthens; Betfred; Weightmans; Butcher & Barlow; British Council for Offices; PM+M; Express Solicitors
North West law firm, Napthens, has invested in a major expansion of its Kendal office to enhance its offering to clients throughout Cumbria.
The growing firm has made seven key appointments to its team, taking the total number of staff at Kendal to 20.
The seven appointments are legal director rural law Kate Seymour, real estate solicitor Sophie Ward, senior associate solicitor litigation David Tew, residential conveyancing executive Rebecca Coombes, litigation legal assistant Jodene Conway, private client services legal assistant Jo Pritchard, together with business administration office apprentice Jodie May Eldon under the firm’s Flourish programme.
Sophie Ward
Having lived and worked in Cumbria since 2005, Kate Seymour brings experience in rural and commercial property law through acting for individuals, charities, landed estates and corporate clients in matters including agricultural, commercial and residential tenancy, land and property sales and purchases. Kate also has expertise in lending, surrender of tenancies, claw back and option agreements and other farm estate management issues.
She joins Napthens from Burges Salmon, having previously worked at Thomson Hayton Winkley Legal Services and will develop the firm’s pioneering offering FarmFuture, which serves over 400 farming families.
Sophie Ward has experience in representing individuals and small to medium sized enterprises in the sale and purchase of property for investment. She also acts for institutional lenders offering advice to lenders, vendors and purchasers on the real-estate aspects of any given transaction and will work alongside Jamie Allison and Yasmin Blamire.
During her training contract, Sophie achieved a place on the Dean’s List and won awards for Outstanding Achievement in Professional Conduct and Solicitors Accounts.
David Tew joins from Arnison Heelis Solicitors with particular expertise in will, trust and estate disputes, property litigation and professional negligence claims. He is a member of the Professional Negligence Lawyers Association and associate member of the Association of Contentious Trusts and Probate Specialists.
Jamie Allison, partner, head of Cumbria and real estate across the firm, said: “Our recruitment of seven key new members reflects a rising workload at Kendal given our successes with assisting many Cumbria-based businesses and entrepreneurs enhancing our offering to valued clients in Cumbria and reinforcing our commitment to people and businesses throughout this county.”
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Nick Cockerill
Betfred has appointed former Stats Perform VP of Product, Nick Cockerill, as new Chief Product Officer at the Warrington-based business.
The industry expert moves into this new role for the bookmaker with the aim of elevating the brand’s online business, enhancing its strong retail offering and accelerating the transition of Betfred into a technology-first organisation.
Cockerill, who has 10+ years’ experience in the sports betting and iGaming industry including senior product and technology roles at Sky Betting and Gaming, Pokerstars International and Flutter, joined Stats Perform in 2021. While there he was central to the launch of ‘Instant Highlights’, an industry first, which is now used by some of the world’s largest sportsbooks and was deserving of the SBC Innovation In Mobile award in 2023.
Cockerill also worked for Adidas and Asda Walmart in commercial and online trading roles.
He said: “Betfred is one of the UK’s strongest brands in the sector and I’m looking forward to working with the excellent team here to elevate Betfred to where it should be as one of the top online bookmakers in the UK and advancing our leadership in retail.”
Joanne Whittaker, Betfred’s CEO, said: “Nick joins with a wealth of experience and has an excellent track record in the sector. His appointment is key to our huge ambitions for Betfred.”
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Aidan Thomson
Liverpool-based national law firm, Weightmans, has welcomed a leading figure in the environmental sphere to its London office.
Aidan Thomson, previously the head of environmental law in London at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, has been practicing environmental law for more than 30 years (20 at partner level) and specialises in environmental liability and compliance issues.
At Weightmans, Aidan’s focus will be helping to grow and develop the environment work the firm does with its insurance clients. He will also work alongside Weightmans’ head of ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance), Abhay Srivastava, to further strengthen the firm’s ESG offering to its clients, especially those in the insurance sector.
Simon Colvin, partner who leads Weightmans’s ESG programme, said: “Aidan is a leading light in the environmental world, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the team at an exciting time in the firm’s ESG journey.
“His credentials speak for themselves, and I know he will contribute immensely to our ESG programme, both by supporting our clients with their ESG endeavors, as well as supporting Abhay with our own ambitions to be one of the UK’s most socially and environmentally conscious law firms.”
Aidan Thomson said: “Weightmans is a great new home for me. The platform here is very strong for the types of clients that I have traditionally worked for, particularly insurers, and for advising on emerging environmental issues. The support that is available here is fantastic and I am really looking forward to getting started.”
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Lewis Coffey
Legal 500 law firm, Butcher & Barlow, with 11 offices across the North West, has announced a number of promotions, newly-qualified Solicitors and new starters to the firm.
Lewis Coffey joined the Commercial Property Team at Sutton Weaver office at the end of August. A recent graduate of Manchester University, Coffey qualified as a Solicitor in June 2024. He brings a fresh perspective and strong foundational skills to the team.
He said: “I was attracted to Butcher & Barlow because of their outstanding reputation and the professionalism I observed when working on the other side of matters to them in the past. The fact that so many staff members have remained with the firm and developed here is a testament to the firm’s strong career progression opportunities.”
Butcher & Barlow has also announced the qualification of George Flanders, Remi Kelly, and Tom Travis as Solicitors.
In addition to welcoming new talent, Butcher & Barlow announced the promotions of Ella Holland and Hannah Sharrock from Paralegals to Trainees, and Ella Richardson to Apprentice Paralegal.
Also promoted to Associate is Thomas Sedley who undertook his training at Butcher & Barlow before qualifying in 2020.
Joining the firm as Trainee Solicitors are Annabel Jones, Emily Scott, and Lorrain Saqualiyan, along with Harry Aldersley as an Apprentice Paralegal, and Abigail Mosely as a Paralegal, with a view to starting her training contract in September 2025.
Jonathan Aldersley, Senior Partner, said: “It’s always pleasing to see our team grow with the addition of new talent and the promotion of staff. At Butcher & Barlow, we believe in investing in our people and creating an environment where they can thrive.”
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Alex Stork and Clare Danahay
Alex Stork has been appointed Chair of British Council for Offices Northern chapter. Previously Vice Chair of the regional committee, Alex, who is Business Development Manager at fit-out specialist, Overbury, succeeds Curtins’ Jon Moister in the role, which he has held since the end of 2021.
The British Council for Offices has appointed Alex Stork as Chair of its Northern chapter.
The new role of Vice Chair will be taken up by Clare Danahay of Will + Partners, a current committee member and contributor to the BCO’s forthcoming Guide to Fit Out.
Alex Stork joined the BCO as a committee member at the end of 2020 and is looking forward to his continued collaboration with the wider team.
He said: “The BCO is a beacon for the very best workplace practices and I’m keen to ensure we continue highlighting the exemplary workplaces in our region.”
He added: “The BCO Northern committee has a wealth of experience. I’d like to continue making the very most of this knowledge to support our members, while constantly seeking input from all backgrounds, within the wider region, including our growing NextGen and student communities.”
Departing Chair, Jon Moister, said: “Alex has provided significant support and leadership to the Northern committee in his previous role as Vice Chair. I am delighted to pass the mantle to him during this exciting time for the BCO.”
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PM+M apprentices 2024
PM+M – the Blackburn and Bury-based chartered accountancy, business advisory and financial planning group – has appointed 10 new apprentices who will now be working across the firm’s various divisions as they kick-start their careers in the finance sector.
This is the second year in a row that 10 apprenticeships have been offered.
Working across the Blackburn and Bury offices and joining the audit, accounting and cloud accounting teams are: Adam Ball, Isabelle Parkinson, Dylan Brogden, Ayaz Adam, Elle Hilton, Aaliya Vali and Maria Gomes. They will all be studying towards the Association of Accounting Technicians qualification.
Additionally, Zain Shahzad joined the audit team in August, where he will be undertaking the Level 7 Professional Accountant apprenticeship, working towards being a Chartered Accountant.
Kyle Doherty, a student at Manchester Metropolitan University, also joined the audit team in August. Kyle has joined for his placement year.
The final apprentice, Beth Sant, has joined the financial planning team as a trainee client relationship associate and will be studying a Level 3 Business Administration apprenticeship.
All new trainees will take part in the firm’s Apprentice Bootcamp to learn about PM+M. They will work closely in their respective teams to gain practical experience alongside their respective study programmes.
Helen Clayton, managing partner, said: “September is always a highlight of the year as we welcome the newest apprentices to the PM+M team. Every single one of them has demonstrated a desire to succeed and excel which is inspiring. Our focus will now be supporting them as they achieve their career goals and ensuring they become an integral part of the business where they can succeed.”
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Express promotions 2024
Manchester-based personal injury specialists, Express Solicitors, has unveiled a round of promotions.
As many as 68 staff members have been promoted across varying departments and Ontime Reports, part of the Express group, has seen 29 promotions.
Express Solicitors CEO, James Maxey, said: “Express is continuing its upwards trajectory and this is largely down to our people and the dedication we have to retaining and developing them.
“Congratulations to each and every one of our employees who have been recognised this year.”
Among those promoted are four Partners who have stepped up to Principal Partner and four new Partners have been created. They are: Rachel Flannigan, Principal Partner Road Traffic Accidents; Rachel Price, Principal Partner Road Traffic Accidents; Leanne Rowley, Principal Partner Occupiers’ & Public Liability; Craig Phillips, Principal Partner Occupiers’ & Public Liability; Sam Nicholson, Partner Employers’ Liability; Craig Bibby, Partner Employers’ Liability; Adam Farrell, Partner Employers’ Liability; Collette McCann, Partner Road Traffic Accidents.
Express has also promoted 10 employees to Senior Associate and 13 to Associate.
Eleven budding solicitors officially became Trainee Solicitors, meaning the firm now has 76 trainees in total.
Express recruited two Pupil Barristers last year and they have been joined by two more this year to further boost the in-house Advocacy team.
Various other promotions were confirmed within the HR team, New Claims Team and other departments both legal and non-legal.
Chief HR Officer, Carole Jones, said: “We’re incredibly proud of all the talent we have here at Express and Ontime and these promotions are testament to what a great place we have to work in and how much we value our employees.”
