Appointments: New corporate team for Shoosmiths; BCL takes on new consultant, and more. . .

LAW firm Shoosmiths has added a corporate team to its Manchester office with the recruitment of a partner and two associates from Halliwells.

Partner Mark Dawson and associates Karen Procter and Alex Laver join the firm with immediate effect.

Mark joined Halliwells as an associate in 2004 from DLA in Leeds and was promoted to partner in 2008 in the North West private equity team.

He specialises in corporate finance with a specific focus on private equity investment and related matters, including management buy-ins/buy-outs, equity and debt refinancing, portfolio acquisitions and disposals and mergers and acquisitions.

This appointment takes the number of corporate partners in Shoosmiths to 15, based in six of its eight offices. 

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LEGAL recruitment consultancy BCL Legal has appointed Chika Okeke as the firm’s new trainee consultant.

The Manchester business, which has offices in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol and Reading said Chika will be working with BCL’s temporary contracts department.

Chika, a recent law graduate from Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “It was a big decision to not pursue a career as a lawyer but I know that I have the drive and determination to succeed at a company like BCL Legal.”

BCL said it has seen a surge in demand for temporary staff and predicts a further 20% increase this year.

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ARCHITECTURE and urban design practice Croft Goode Architects has further strengthened its team with the appointment of architects Mike Stewart, left, and Jeremy Totten.

Jeremy, who joins from Cheshire-based Taylor Young Handforth architects, has experience in master-planning large residential areas for urban renewal across the UK, including the North West and London.

Mike joins from TADW Architects in Stockport and has specialisms in social housing and healthcare, including work at leading hospitals such as Christies and Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, and Royal Preston Hospital.

The firm based in Kirkham, near Preston, employs 22 staff.