Appointments: BLP’s Manchester head; Fieldfisher & more
INTERNATIONAL law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner has appointed Richard Sawtell as head of centre for its expanding legal services delivery team in Manchester.
Sawtell joined BLP on a consultancy basis in April last year and has been both leading the Manchester team and heavily involved in managing workflow from clients into the office. Before joining the firm, he established the UK’s first direct conveyancing firm, Countrywide Property Lawyers, which became the largest national provider. More recently, he was at Addleshaw Goddard where he led process mapping and managed a successful project to introduce paralegal transaction teams.
Based on King Steet BLP’s Manchester base opened in August 2014 with 21 staff which service the firm’s client facing functions.
Sawtell said: “aving worked for BLP in Manchester for nine months now, I’ve seen a real shift in the demands made by clients and how we as a firm need to service these requirements. Our legal services delivery team can play a big role in helping to deliver on this and my new role will put me right at the heart of this exciting change.”
BLP is also taking additional office space in Manchester, giving it the capaciity for up to 100 people with support facilities and meeting rooms.
::
MANCHESTER-based Just Costs Solicitors has appointed commercial litigation specialist Alex Bagnall as an associate and costs advocate.
Bagnall joins Just Costs from Lawlords where he was head of commercial litigation costs.
Paul Shenton, managing director of Just Costs: said: “Alex is widely respected within the commercial litigation costs marketplace and is an important addition to our team. He has a proven track record and an excellent reputation.”
::
LEGAL practice Fieldfisher has appointed David Carmichael as a partner in its Manchester office. David focuses on both contentious and non-contentious employment matters. He joins from Eversheds where he was a legal director for two years. Prior to this, he worked at Pannone where he spent 11 years and was a partner and head of employment.
He acts for a wide range of clients from multinationals, financial institutions, and owner managed businesses, being instructed by in house lawyers, HR professionals and executive directors. He also acts as trusted adviser to senior executives in connection with discrete managed entry and termination issues.
This appointment follows the hire of non-contentious insolvency partner Michelle Sheen, who also joined from Panonne last year
Michael Chissick, managing partner at Fieldfisher, said: “David has fantastic experience and will be of great benefit to our clients across the northern region. This is an exciting time for our Manchester office as we start building our product offering in the North. We are continuing to see excellent talent and hope to grow the team further over the next 18 months.”
::
IAN Clarke has been appointed senior operations manager NW for Ward Security, the security services supplier.
Based in Manchester, he has responsibility for clients in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds. Ward Security has a strong presence in the region and clients include Braemar Estates and MJ Mapp, both specialist property management businesses with sizeable portfolios.
Clarke comes from a military background, having served 23 years as an operations Warrant Officer and has expertise in close protection and security advice. Since leaving military service Ian has worked as a security manager for a Gibraltar based hedge fund and as a security manager for a firm in Dubai.
