People: SAS Daniels; Exchange Chambers; Velocity Composites & more
LAW firm SAS Daniels has appointed Hannah Leese to establish a new practice area specialising in food law.
Leese joins SAS Daniels as an associate in the litigation team based in its Stockport office.
She arrives with considerable experience in food regulatory law including defending criminal prosecutions for alleged food hygiene offences and advising food business operators on internal procedures such food safety management systems and crisis management plans.
Leese joins from national law firm Mills & Reeve, having previously worked for George Davies Solicitors and DWF.
Recognised in both Chambers and Legal 500 for her food law practice, Leese and has more than 10 years’ experience in the specialism.
She said: “The food sector faces its own unique legal challenges, not least as a result of ever increasing regulation.
“As a legal practitioner with specialist knowledge of the food production industry and with the support of the team at SAS Daniels, I look forward to building a practice area that offers our clients practical, workable solutions on the vast range of legal issues that impact this sector.”
Jonathan Whittaker, senior partner, SAS Daniels, said: “Hannah is a very welcome addition to our growing firm.
“SAS Daniels already represents a number of high profile clients in the food sector and as one of only a few lawyers with this specialist knowledge in the North West, we look forward to supporting Hannah’s ambitious plans to develop a dedicated food law practice at SAS Daniels.”
The company also has offices in Macclesfield, Chester and Congleton.
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A LONDON barrister has relocated to Manchester and joined Exchange Chambers.
Commercial specialist Greg Plunkett joins Exchange Chambers from Selborne Chambers.
With extensive experience in complex and high value claims, Plunkett’s practice covers commercial and business dispute resolution including arbitration, breach of trust and fiduciary duty, contract, company, shareholder and partnership disputes, fraud and misrepresentation, professional negligence, and casualty, insurance and nuisance claims.
Joining Exchange Chambers marks a return to the North West for Plunkett who was previously a senior partner and board member at Hill Dickinson. For many years he has been identified in the legal directories as a leading practitioner.
He qualified as a solicitor in 1988. His desire to continue practising law at the highest level led him to transfer to the Bar in 2013.
Plunkett said: “In recent years, Exchange Chambers has established itself as the leading commercial set outside London, with quality practitioners and strength in depth across the board.
“I am also looking forward to returning to the North West, a region with such a strong and dynamic legal services sector.”
Tom Handley, director of chambers at Exchange Chambers said: “Since transferring to the Bar in 2013, Greg has built an extremely impressive commercial practice in London. By joining our commercial team in Manchester, he can continue to build on his success with a range of quality, heavyweight instructions.”
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VELOCITY Composites, a Burnley based supplier of composite material and consumables to the aerospace industry, has appointed Mark Mills as non-executive chairman to the board with immediate effect.
Mills brings more than 25 years of City and commercial experience to the company.
He was founder and chief executive of Cardpoint Plc, where he launched one of the first UK independent cash machine deployers.
From 1999 to 2006 Mills floated the business on AIM and grew it both organically and through acquisition to become one of the largest cash machine deployers in the world with revenues of £98m and profit for the year ending September 2006 of £19.8m.
Velocity Composites is a manufacturer of composite products (carbon fibre) and consumables for the aerospace industry, delivering engineered material kits to build components on site.
The company works with leading aerospace giants, including Safran Aircelle, BAE Systems, Kaman Composites, GKN, GE and Bombardier.
The Airbus A330, A350, A380, Eurofighter Typhoon, F35 Joint Strike Fighter, Bell Boeing V22 Osprey and Bombardier C-Series aircraft all use parts manufactured using Velocity’s kits. The company’s business model reduces the operating costs of preparing carbon fibre ahead of its usage in the construction of an aircraft part.
Velocity Composites also exports to Denmark, Canada, France, Belgium and the USA. The Company employs 76 staff at its main site in Burnley, achieved turnover of £14.5 million to 31st October 2015 and seeks to open further factories in UK, Europe and US to replicate its business model.
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I-COM has appointed Anna Gibbons as head of recruitment client marketing, as the Manchester full service digital marketing agency looks to develop its national portfolio of recruitment clients.
Working alongside the senior management team, Anna will develop and strengthen the offering to the recruitment sector to win high-profile clients and pitch against national brands.
With over a decade’s recruitment experience both in London and Manchester, and most recently as corporate communications director at legal and financial recruitment specialist Sellick Partnership, Gibbons brings a wealth of experience to the business.
She said: “I see real potential in my role at I-COM to join an already successful team and add value to the business as it moves to the next level.
Mike Blackburn, managing director at I-COM, said: “Over the years we have worked with a number of recruiters, and we are excited to be growing our profile within this sector. With the appointment of Anna, coupled with the launch of our new bespoke recruitment platform Recaza, we believe that we are best placed to work in partnership with recruiters to build their online brands.”
