People: Bromleys; EDS; JW Lees & more
LAW firm Bromleys has strengthened its private client team with the appointment of James Charnock as a senior associate.
He will work alongside John Longworth, who heads Bromleys’ Court of Protection and wills, probate and trusts departments.
Charnock, 42, has joined from North West practice Butcher & Barlow, where he qualified as a solicitor in 2007 and worked across offices in Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
He is the third recruit to the private client team of the Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester firm this year, following the arrival of Rachael Barrett and Kate Fletcher.
Bromleys’ senior partner Mark Hirst said: “James has excellent technical skills and will be a key contact for clients wishing to plan for the future.
“He has extensive knowledge of inheritance tax planning, as well as valuable experience of helping individuals and families in administering complex estates and preparing a power of attorney.”
“James also has an exceptional record when it comes to client care. His arrival at Bromleys complements our existing skill set and greatly strengthens our private client team.”
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HIGH voltage engineering contractor, EDS Group, has appointed an ex-Siemens director as its new executive chairman.
With more than 35 years’ experience in the energy and industrial markets, Ron Smith will work with the current directors to lead the strategic direction of the business.
His main remit will be to help refine and expand the firm’s full-service offering for offshore wind farm customers across Europe, incorporating both developers and operators.
Smith said: “I’m joining EDS Group at such an exciting time, with the company firmly focused on expanding into new markets to ensure continued growth.”
Ken Ritson, director at EDS Group, added: “Having Ron on board is a real coup for us and his knowledge of leading businesses in our industry will prove invaluable.
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JW Lees catering director Christina Lees-Jones has opted to step down from day-to-day operations at the company to become non-executive director of the family-run brewery, based in Middleton, Greater Manchester.
A cousin of the managing director, William Lees-Jones, she joined the company in 1993 and, over the past 22 years, has led the creation of a significant catering business within JW Lees, predominantly in
managed.
Lees-Jones will now be using her extensive catering skills to work in the charitable sector, teaching people to cook proper nutritious meals.
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DOW Schofield Watts Transaction Services, the financial due diligence specialist based in Cheshire and Leeds, has strengthened its due diligence team with the appointment of Rob Parker.
He joins as transaction services executive and is the latest recruit to the firm, which also has expanding teams which provide corporate finance advisory, VAT services, forensic accounting and business recovery services.
Parker arrives directly from Grant Thornton, having worked in the audit department in the Manchester office, becoming experienced in a number of sectors including IT security, recruitment, manufacturing and chemicals with turnovers typically ranging from £5m to £100m.
Ed Brentnall, founding partner of Dow Schofield Watts said: “Our transaction services business continues to grow rapidly supported by a buoyant private equity market and the wider investment community.
“Rob is a high calibre appointment and it reflects our ongoing commitment to provide quality services to our clients. We will continue to invest in the best people to differentiate our business.”
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ANDREW Turner, chairman of the Chorley Group, one of the largest volume Nissan dealers in Europe, has been appointed chair of the soon-to-be- developed Chorley Youth Zone.
Turner will bring his vast business knowledge and experience to help develop and grow newly-created charity, Chorley Youth Zone – for the benefit of the town’s young people.
Turner said: “I am absolutely thrilled to have been given the opportunity to help shape Chorley Youth Zone. I’ve lived and worked in Chorley for 35 years and having visited Wigan Youth Zone recently, I believe this facility will make a huge difference to the town’s young people. It will give them somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to in their leisure time.”
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FOUNDER of her own games company while at university, Caitlin Wilks has joined Virtalis’ Software Development Team as a programmer/developer based in Sale, Greater Manchester
“Being from a gaming background, I am not au fait with Virtual Reality so I have just bought my own Oculus Rift and am enjoying learning more from the team here”, said Wilks. “I am being immersed in the development of GeoVisionary 3, which is out this Autumn. I have been working on a host of new features – a different one each week, which keeps it varied.”
Andrew Connell, technical director of Virtalis, said: “We feel confident that, with her excellent C++ programming skills, Caitlin will be able to make a real contribution to our continuing software development.”
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LAW firm Leigh Day has announced the appointment of medical negligence specialist Stephen Jones as a partner based in its Manchester office.
Former head of medical negligence at Pannone in Manchester, and Clinical Negligence National Practice Development leader for Slater & Gordon after it acquired the Pannone practice, Jones is described as “outstanding” in the latest edition of the independent directory, The Legal 500.
He will be joining the top ranked clinical negligence team at Leigh Day from November.
Russell Levy, head of clinical negligence at Leigh Day welcomed the appointment, saying: “Stephen is one of the top medical negligence lawyers in the country, and shares our ideals and vision.”
“The continued growth of our medical negligence team is testament to our commitment to ensuring that those injured through negligence, in a healthcare setting, remain able to access justice and obtain full and fair compensation.”
Jones said: “I am very excited to be joining Leigh Day. For a long time they have been regarded as the leading clinical negligence team in the country and I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with them in Manchester.”
