Mills & Reeve strengthens mediation team

THE Birmingham office of Mills & Reeve has strengthened its mediation team with the qualification of solicitor Sue Brookes.

Ms Brookes, who becomes the second mediator at the office, has worked at Mills & Reeve for six years. She advises on all issues that arise from relationship breakdowns, focusing on financial settlements and child arrangements. She specialises in the treatment of complex finances including businesses, trusts and pensions, as well as drafting pre and post-nuptial agreements.

Her qualification takes the total number of mediators within the firm nationally to nine.  

Marc Saunderson, partner and head of the family law team in Birmingham, said: “Sue’s qualification and expert knowledge in this area of law adds another string to Mills & Reeve’s bow and further strengthens the quality of service our family law team offers.

“Mediation and other forms of out-of-court dispute resolution are large growth areas in law. The family law courts are now directing that mediation should take place before proceedings are issued; yet there is currently a limited number of qualified mediators in Birmingham with many only specialising in children or money issues as opposed to both.”

Gateley boosts pension team

 
GATELEY has strengthened its Pensions team in Birmingham with the recruitment of new partner Kate Lloyd.

Ms Lloyd, left, joins the firm following 11 years with Squire Sanders and has experience advising both corporate sponsors and trustee boards on a wide range of pensions law issues.
 
Michael Collins, head of Gateley’s 14-strong Pensions unit said: “Since we established our Pensions team five years ago we have gone from strength to strength and Kate’s appointment is an exciting next step in our growth plans.  We’ve secured several new key clients recently and we look forward to introducing Kate to both them and our more established clients so they can benefit from her expertise as soon as possible.”
 
The Pensions team will be further strengthened in September when one of its former trainees, Rebecca Ryding, returns to the team following her qualification as a solicitor.
 
The news comes on the back of positive 2013/14 financial figures which saw the firm increase its fee income by 7.5% to £71m.

Improving property sector prompts new appointment by Shoosmiths

SHOOSMITHS has grown its real estate team in Birmingham with the appointment of senior associate, Brian Hession.

Hession is a commercial property specialist, with a wealth of expertise particularly in commercial and mixed use property development, investment, funding and leasing. He joins from Davies & Partners, a niche commercial property firm based in Gloucester where he was head of commercial property.  

It marks a return to Birmingham for Hession, who had previously worked at Eversheds in the city for 11 years in the firm’s Birmingham and Paris offices. He also has expertise in international real estate matters and is a fluent French speaker.

Shoosmiths’ Jason Jackson, head of the Birmingham office, said: ‘We are very pleased to be welcoming Brian in to the real estate team. Brian has excellent credentials and has advised on high level dealings, which have impressed us.

“The market is very busy and it has been another successful year for the real estate team so it is important for us to find exceptional talent to grow and shape our business. I wish Brian every success here at Shoosmiths.”