Appointments: EY; Fat Media; Vincents
ACCOUNTANCY group EY has hired 12 people to work in its new Manchester-based forensic technology hub.
The £650,000 lab specialises in eDiscovery, which involves collecting, managing and analysing data for legal disputes and regulatory investigations, for clients across the UK.
EY has hired nine new associates and executives, and three people from its London-based team have moved to work in the Manchester lab, taking headcount in its Forensic Technology and Discovery Services (FTDS) practice in the North West to 14.
The team has promoted Chris Brown, Tom Jackson and Seth Hughes to the position of manager, and Jack Evans to executive. Jackson, Hughes and Evans have all joined from EY’s London office. EY expects to create a further 38 jobs within the lab over the next two years.
Simon Allport, EY’s North West senior partner, said: “Since we announced the lab in May, we have been hugely encouraged by the interest shown from potential clients, intermediaries, candidates for roles and the wider business community. The hub’s opening highlights our firm’s commitment to the North West, growing our business in the region and investing in people.”
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MICHAEL Gibson has stepped down as managing director of Lancaster-based Fat Media five months after selling the business to the Cumbrian entrepreneur David Durnford.
He joined the four original founders in 2006 after 14 years in London where he helped build up and sell two businesses.
He now plans to “take a break, catch up on a few years’ worth of sleep”.
He said: “Seeing Fat Media grow from humble beginnings to over 100 staff and become one of the most successful creative and digital agencies in the UK is something I’m enormously proud of. The fact we’ve achieved it in a sector that is changing so rapidly, with huge technological change and in of the UK’s smaller cities makes it even better.”
The agency works with clients like Lakeland, Warburtons, Balfour Beatty, Jessops, Mitsubishi Pharmaceuticals and Glaxo SmithKline.
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TWO young lawyers have entered into full-time training contracts with Vincents Solicitors.
The Lancashire law firm has formally appointed James Yates and Jonathan Laverey to the team following completion of their legal practice course (LPC).
Both have been with the firm on a part-time basis since 2009 while they completed their LPC at The University of Law, Manchester. Prior to that, both undertook graduate diplomas in law at the University of Central Lancashire after undergraduate degrees elsewhere.
Yates, 26, has been working as part of the criminal team over the last three years but has now transferred to the personal injury department. Laverey, 28, has been part of the personal injury department in recent years but has since moved to the commercial team for the start of this contract.
Phillip Gilmore, Vincents’ managing partner, said: “We’re pleased to offer Jonathan and James the chance to continue their career development here with Vincents. Both have proven themselves to be hard workers and fast learners over the last few years and have become an integral part of the team.
“As a large firm with almost a dozen different departments, Vincents is in a good position to provide the kind of broad training that will benefit new entrants to the profession. From our point of view, we’re always on the look out for new talent to support the growth of the firm, and so bringing on young lawyers means we can train them in-house to the level and standard our clients expect.”
