Appointments: 12 made up at Brabners; NatWest & more

LAW firm Brabners has announced a raft of promotions, including one partner, eight senior associates and three associates.

The firm, with offices in Liverpool, Manchester and Preston, said Matthew O’Brien, a commercial property lawyer had been promoted to partner. He joined Brabners a decade ago as a trainee.

In addition, the following lawyers have all been promoted to senior associate: Colin Bell (commercial and intellectual property); Adrian Rogers (corporate and insolvency); Nicola Soden and Simon Bloch (employment); Claire Brown and Philip Parker (litigation); Susan Thackeray (property) and Stuart Baird (sport).

Chris Pavlou (employment), Thomas Starkey (housing & regeneration) and Glyn Lancefield (litigation) have bene made up to Associates.

Managing partner Mark Brandwood said: “All 12 promotions are well deserved. They are all outstanding lawyers who have made an invaluable contribution to the firm’s success and we are delighted to recognise their dedication, hard work and commitment to exceptional client service.”

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NATWEST has appointed Paul Thomas as head of structured finance for the North, and also strengthened his team.

Mr Thomas, who joined the bank in 1987, worked in the structured finance team from 2006 to 2010 and prior to this role was a director in corporate and institutional banking.

He is joined in structured finance by new director James Burgess, previously an assistant director in the corporate and institutional banking team.

Mr Thomas said: “I’m pleased to take up this new role leading the good work we are doing in supporting structured finance deals in business communities across the North. This is a team with a lot of experience and the expertise to find those solutions that a lot of firms need in order to grow and progress their business ambitions.

“I’m also delighted to welcome James to the team; he is a new face in a brand new role which demonstrates our investment into this area. He brings with him a wealth of experience from his previous role and is a great addition to our team.”

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LAW firm SAS Daniels has lured litigator Ray Woodward to join its Chester office as an associate.

Mr Woodward, who joins from Aaron and Partners, has more than 20 years’ experience in commercial litigation.

Partner Kaye Whitby, head of the Chester office, said: “We are extremely pleased to be able to attract such a wealth of talent to strengthen our dispute resolution team and provide an even better full service offering to our clients.”

Mr Woodward added: “I’m excited to be joining such a forward thinking and dynamic firm. The changes that the legal profession is going through are having a major impact on the way we offer services to our clients, and in my view SAS Daniels is ahead of the pack in the way it helps clients and structures its fees in this new environment.”