People: Law firm’s corporate and commercial team welcomes new partner; Promotion at Averta; and more

Law firm Aaron & Partners has bolstered its corporate and commercial team.

Peter Manford has joined the firm as a corporate and commercial partner and will be based at its Shrewsbury office, primarily servicing clients across Shropshire and the Midlands.

His previous roles include more than a decade with Eversheds Sutherland, where he became a specialist in the logistics and transport sectors and became commercial partner leading a team of 10 lawyers involved in commercial contract work.

Manford also has many years experience working with businesses in the IT and telecoms sectors and has acted for numerous universities, schools and colleges in relation to a wide range of issues.  In addition, he has extensive franchising expertise having been the first lawyer in the UK to become a Qualified Franchise Professional (QFP).

After his time at Eversheds, he held the position of head of commercial at Birmingham firm Shakespeare Martineau, leading a team of 14 lawyers.

Manford also has direct industry experience. For a number of years he was commercial director at Sauflon Pharmaceuticals – then the fifth largest contact lens manufacturer globally, where he helped oversee the sale of that company to CooperVision in a deal worth more than one billion dollars.

He said: “Aaron & Partners is a firm I knew a lot about and when I spoke to some of the other Partners here, I knew it was somewhere I wanted to be.

“My career has given me some wonderful opportunities to experience many different aspects of law.  However, having obtained an MBA from INSEAD in addition to my legal qualification, I know well that the commercial objectives are what matter most.  The law is the means to an end and not the end itself, so I like to think I that a strong understanding of those objectives frames any advice that I give.

“As lawyers, we are facilitators of an important process and by being commercially focused, we can help ensure the very best outcomes for our business owner clients and their managers.”

Stuart Haynes, senior partner at Aaron & Partners’ Shrewsbury office, added: “We’ve found a highly experienced lawyer in Peter and it’s fantastic to welcome him to our team.

“We’ve been growing our specialisms very successfully in recent years and our Corporate and Commercial team has a solid reputation for delivering for clients.

“Peter enhances the level of service and expertise we can offer, and he’s already involved in a wide range of work supporting our clients.”

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Solihull-based Averta Employment Lawyers has promoted Izzy Canning to associate.

Canning joined the firm in 2016 and qualified in 2020.

Averta is a boutique employment law firm which was founded by ex DLA Piper partners Alan Jones and David Sykes.

Jones said: “Izzy is an extremely capable employment lawyer and a key part of our team.  She is now ready to take the next step in her career and take on more responsibility as an associate.”

Canning added: “Working alongside experienced lawyers such as David and Alan has given me enormous knowledge, not only of the legal issues involved, but also how to deal with people facing career change, redundancy or discrimination. its rewarding to be able to add to the life skills I acquired in previous work situations.”

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Birmingham PR agency EAST VILLAGE has recruited Matt Dodwell as its new account manager.

Relocating back to Birmingham for the position, he will be using his extensive PR experience for household consumer brands to further develop relationships and results for EAST VILLAGE.’s existing and prospective clients.

Previously leading comms at a Hilton hotel in the Midlands, Matt’s career journey saw him promoted and moved to London, where he worked in comms for the Hilton brand across Europe, Middle East and Africa.

He said: “I couldn’t be happier since moving back to Birmingham. The city is abuzz with new projects, and after following EAST VILLAGE.’s successes for a number of years, it’s great to be part of the team. It’s an exciting time in PR: since the pandemic, we’ve seen huge changes in consumer behaviour, and physical marketing is making a big comeback. I look forward to re-connecting with the Birmingham scene.”