Wilkes Partnership announces new associates

THE Wilkes Partnership has announced the appointment of two new associates to its growing team.  Pam Sidhu, previously at Pinsent Masons in Birmingham, joins the employment team, and Gavin Evans joins the commercial litigation team from Shakespeares in Nottingham.

Ms Sidhu brings over 12 years’ experience in employment law, advising a variety of businesses from large multinationals to SMEs on both contentious and non-contentious issues, and is an experienced employment tribunal advocate.  Evans has spent 10 years in commercial litigation, again working on dispute resolution for businesses of all sizes.

The duo join the firm during a period of transformation following its merger with Shirley-based Williamson & Soden to form a practice with a combined turnover of £10m, with 19 partners and 145 employees overall.

Nigel Wood, senior partner at The Wilkes Partnership, said: “Following the merger, The Wilkes Partnership now has an even more significant presence in the region, so the appointments of Pam and Gavin come at a time when we are growing.  We are delighted to welcome them both to the firm – they both bring with them complementary experience as well as new expertise to support our employment and commercial litigation teams.”

mfg Solicitors strengthens employment team

MIDLAND law firm mfg Solicitors has strengthened its employment team with the appointment of sector specialist Lisa Kemp, right, who joins as an assistant solicitor from Worcester legal practice Stallard, March & Edwards where she spent more than four years.

Based at the firm’s offices in Worcester city centre, she will play a key role in developing mfg’s employment law services to businesses and individuals across the region.

Sally Morris, partner and head of employment at mfg Solicitors, left,  said: “Lisa is a tremendous addition to our team and has the skills, qualities and energy we need for the future.

“She is an extremely capable employment specialist with a bright future and has the calibre required to fit seamlessly into what is an already experienced team.

“I am delighted to have her on-board and she joins the firm at a time of exciting growth.”

Ms Kemp, 29, a specialist in a variety of human resource and employee-related areas, will work with mfg’s employment clients across its offices in Worcestershire and Shropshire. She will also support Ms Morris on specific cases.

With six professionals, mfg’s employment team is one of the largest of its kind in Worcestershire. It’s only two years since the firm relocated its employment department to the city from Halesowen to help improve and offer new services to clients.

The team specialises in all employer and employee-related legal matters.

New appointments follow merger

HARRISON Clark Rickerbys has announced a series of appointments following the merger of the two practices.

Kevin Joynes has been promoted to partner and Constantine Berry to senior associate in the Worcester Commercial Property office, and Steven Conway to associate in the Worcester Employment Law office.  In the Cheltenham office Mark Carter, Kristine Scott and Matthew Wolton have all been promoted to partners, Lucinda Baker, Tim Crane, Emilie Darwin, Steven Murray and Andrew Turner are promoted to senior associates, and Rachel Roberts to associate.  

The combined firm is now known as Harrison Clark Rickerbys, with 350 staff based across offices in Worcester, Cheltenham, Hereford, Ross-on-Wye and the Thames Valley, in addition to serviced offices in Birmingham and London.

The two firms are already integrating with a renewed focus on the healthcare and education sectors.

Rod Thomas, managing partner of Harrison Clark Rickerbys, said; “These recent promotions, together with the launch of our new website and branding, further strengthen the position of Harrison Clark Rickerbys as the leading law firm between Birmingham and Bristol.  

“We plan to continue to grow the practice throughout 2013 and our goal in the short term is to reach the target of becoming a Top 100 law firm in the UK; something that is within close reach. We also intend to build upon and grow all our specialist areas, making this a prestigious firm which will continue to retain and attract the best and brightest staff at all levels.”

Pictured from left are: Kevin Joynes, Constantine Berry, Jonathan Brew and Steven Conway.