People: Clarke Willmott; Krystal Clear Accounting; Dals; Dunphy Combustion; LSH; Harrison Drury; Cassidy+Ashton; Slater Heelis
National law firm, Clarke Willmott, has made a raft of internal promotions for 2025, including in its Manchester office.
The announcement includes five individuals due to become partners, seven new senior associates and three new associates across several offices.
Rebecca Clarke is due to be promoted to partner, subject to approval from the Solicitors Regulation Authority, in Manchester.
Making the move from associate to senior associate in Manchester is divorce and family law specialist, Emily Finn.
Manchester also has a new associate, in social housing lawyer, Harriet Killeen.
Clarke Willmott CEO, Peter Swinburn, said: “I’m pleased to announce this year’s internal promotions. This process has been a great opportunity to see the strength of talent and diversity we have across the practice.”
Dan Jones, Clarke Willmott’s HR director, said: “We are clear that our people sit at the centre of our success and our people experience forms a core pillar of our three-year strategy.
“Those being promoted developed exceptional skills that will allow us to meet our clients’ needs but also demonstrated the values and behaviours that make Clarke Willmott the firm we are.”
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Yulia Micallef
A Hale-based accountancy firm is celebrating another year of strong growth with new hires and a commitment to developing future talent.
Krystal Clear Accounting, led by Kim Marlor and David Swarbrick, has strengthened its team with the addition of Yulia Micallef, a highly experienced management accountant who holds an MBA, is part-qualified with ACCA, and is also a Chartered Manager (CMI).
Yulia brings valuable strategic and commercial insight to the firm’s advisory and app-based accounting services, working closely with Kim and David to support a growing and ambitious client base.
Kim said: “Yulia’s appointment is a key part of our growth strategy. Her strong commercial background and proactive approach make her a fantastic asset to our team and to our clients.”
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Jon Burke
Language service provider, Dals – formerly DA Languages – has appointed Jon Burke as its group marketing and sales director.
Jon brings with him more than 20 years of marketing experience on an international scale. He joins Dals from the pharmaceutical research organisation Sygnature Discovery, where he oversaw marketing and sales.
Prior to this, Jon held senior marketing roles at post-merger integration specialists Global PMI Partners, marketing consultancy Osmaston Associates and European industrial supplier Rubix.
Matthew Taylor, CEO at Manchester-based Dals, said: “It’s a huge pleasure to have Jon on the Dals team to lead on marketing our new brand.
“We’re committed to providing high quality, accessible language services in the most sustainable way possible, and with over two decades of experience creating very successful marketing strategies, we strongly feel that Jon is the right person to tell this story.”
Jon Burke said: “The coming months will see big ambitions become exciting realities for Dals and its clients, and I look forward to driving the narrative around this ESG (environmental social and governance) revolution.”
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Jonathan Rigby
Rochdale-based Dunphy Combustion, a specialist in industrial combustion technology, is expanding its board of directors to include two non-family members for the first time in its 60+ year history.
Jonathan Rigby, with more than 34 years of experience in mechanical and combustion design, has been appointed technical director.
Matt Brierley becomes operations director after 22 years with the business, including the last five as general manager.
Matt Brierley
Managing director, Sharon Kuligowski, said: “Having worked closely alongside Jonathan and Matt throughout my career, I’ve seen first-hand how their dedication, expertise and leadership have shaped our success.
“These appointments reflect our confidence in them personally, and our ambition for the company’s future.
“We’re excited for this new chapter and to see how the impact of their leadership fuels our growth in the years ahead.”
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Simon Marshall
Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) has appointed Simon Marshall as a director in its capital markets division in Manchester where he will focus on growing LSH’s agency presence across the North West as well as supporting the firm’s growing pipeline of instructions across the region.
Having previously held roles at Savills, Cushman & Wakefield and Christopher Dee, Marshall boasts 17 years of experience within the North West investment market and joins LSH with a strong client base and a remit to drive its office, industrial and retail sectors forward across the region.
Christiaan Flatley, head of LSH’s Manchester office, said: “Simon is a key hire for us and represents a major coup for our existing North West offering. We are delighted to welcome him to our ever-expanding Manchester office where his wealth of experience and key industry contacts will add significant value to both clients and colleagues alike as we continue to grow our market presence across the region.”
Simon Marshall said: “I am thrilled to have joined Lambert Smith Hampton at a time of strategic transactional growth in the regions, in particular supporting the continued growth of the North West offering.”
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Amanda Brown and Charlotte Cooper
North West law firm, Harrison Drury, has expanded its wills, trusts and probate team with the appointment of experienced senior probate executive, Amanda Brown.
Amanda joins from Napthens, where she worked for 30 years, and will be based at Harrison Drury’s Preston office serving clients across the region.
She will support with all aspects of estate administration, including applications for grants of probate, letters of administration, and lasting powers of attorney.
Charlotte Cooper, legal director in the wills, trusts and probate team at Harrison Drury, said: “We’re all about bringing in the best legal talent from across the region, and Amanda is a fantastic example of that.
“She has a real depth of expertise, especially when it comes to estates involving rural and business assets, making her a great fit for our team. We know our clients are going to really value her support.”
Amanda said: “I’m excited to be joining Harrison Drury, a firm that’s known for genuinely looking after its people and going the extra mile for clients.
“It’s great to be part of a team that supports rural communities with sensitive and sometimes complex matters like wills and probate. It means a lot to be able to help people protect what matters most and give them peace of mind for the future.”
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Mark Trickett and Phil Gornal
North West-based architectural, planning, and building surveying practice, Cassidy + Ashton, has appointed Chartered Building Surveyor, Mark Trickett, to the position of associate director.
Mark, who joined Cassidy + Ashton in 2022, is a highly skilled Chartered Building Surveyor with a wide range of experience working in the education, healthcare and commercial sectors.
The appointment is in recognition of Mark’s hard work and commitment to the practice over the past few years, in particular his role in developing its building surveying team’s graduate surveyors with their Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) APC training.
Phil Gornall, director and head of the building surveying team at the Preston office, said: “Mark is a knowledgeable and accomplished Chartered Building Surveyor with a broad range of skills and experience.
“Mark has worked hard to help consolidate Cassidy + Ashton as one of the region’s most sought after and well-regarded building surveying services. His addition to the senior management team will also help strengthen our commitment to deliver a first class service to our many and varied clients.”
Mark said: “My appointment as an associate at Cassidy + Ashton is a proud moment in my career. I’m excited to continue building strong relationships with both existing and new clients, while supporting the senior management team in achieving our strategic objectives.”
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Sater Heelis promotions
Slater Heelis has announced a series of promotions across its legal teams, with 10 individuals recognised for their outstanding contributions and dedication.
The wills and probate team has seen promotions for four individuals with Charlotte Otton and Ashleigh Kelly both promoted to associate partner, while Richard Kershaw and Paul Baker assume new roles as associate solicitors. The residential property team sees promotion for David Jones to associate partner and Helen Taylor to associate Chartered Legal Executive.
Alex Barley has been promoted to partner in the personal injury team and Claire MacKenzie is now partner in Court of Protection. Finally, Chloe Huggins is promoted to associate solicitor in the family team and Laura Bennett to associate partner in the employment law team.
Rachel Fletcher, managing partner at Sale-based Slater Heelis, said: “We are incredibly proud of our newly promoted colleagues, whose dedication and talent continue to enhance our firm’s reputation and service excellence. Their promotions reflect not only their professional achievements but also their commitment to collaboration, innovation and delivering exceptional client outcomes which is at the very heart of our business ethos.”
