People: Thursfields Solicitors; Shakespeare Martineau; Harper James

Thursfields Solicitors confirms the appointment of Nadia Davis as Director and Head of Family Law in Birmingham. Nadia is a highly experienced family law practitioner with over 30 years of experience. She will be focussed on developing Thursfields’ service offering to the professional services sector in Birmingham.

Nadia Davis explained “I am delighted to be joining Thursfields.  I was impressed by the firm’s ambition and culture of inclusion.  The Family Law team at Thursfields has a strong reputation in the region and is ranked Tier 1 in the Legal 500. Having recently expanded to new larger premises in central Birmingham, my goal will be to support the growth of Thursfields’ service offering in the city. As a local, I am also excited to reconnect with clients and contacts in the region.”

Nadia, who joins Thursfields from HCR, is widely respected for handling complex and high-value divorces involving business assets, inherited wealth, trust arrangements, and farming disputes. She has previously worked with numerous high-profile clients and is noted in legal industry directories Chambers and Partners and Legal 500, for being “extremely knowledgeable and reassuringly personable,” as well as “very experienced, intelligent, diligent and committed to doing everything for the client.”

Shane Miller, Director, and Head of Family Department said “We are delighted Nadia has joined our team, bringing her wealth of experience as a well-respected family lawyer. In the past 5 years, we have built an impressive Family Law client offering at Thursfields.  Working alongside fellow Directors, Phil Rea and Lorna Tipple, Nadia will be a great addition to supporting the team’s regional growth.”

Shakespeare Martineau has welcomed partner Bukola Obadun-Craigs to its Birmingham real estate disputes team.

She brings with her a wealth of knowledge advising on all aspects of contentious residential landlord and tenant disputes for freeholders, developers, leaseholders and registered providers of social housing. Her particular interests include leasehold enfranchisement, lease extensions, right to manage, service charges disputes, and lease interpretation.

Having worked with the social housing sector for more than 20 years, Obadun-Craigs has particular expertise in providing registered providers with support regarding injunctions, possessions, serious nuisance and anti-social behaviour, subletting, succession, and defending allegations of landlord repairs and obligations.

Obadun-Craigs, who will be based in Birmingham but working with clients nationally, said: “I’ve followed Shakespeare Martineau’s growth journey since qualification. The firm has evolved and adapted accordingly, challenging outdated norms, which makes it stand out in a sea of stagnation.

“There has always been a magnetic pull towards Shakespeare Martineau as I believe it truly understands the intricate web of social housing from all aspects. It is a key player in advising the sector about catalysing dynamic change, offering thought-provoking solutions and unwaveringly supporting the sector, while challenging its place for residents and key stakeholders.”

Her appointment is the latest in a string of new partner hires as part of Shakespeare Martineau’s growth strategy, broadening its footprint both north and south.

Barry Jervis, partner and head of dispute resolution at Shakespeare Martineau, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Bukola to the firm. Her market-leading technical knowledge and broad sector-specific experience will be a real asset to our real estate and social housing clients as we continue to support them thrive in an ever-evolving and rapidly-changing landscape.”

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Harper James has bolstered its intellectual property and trade mark practice with the appointment of three new hires from top-50 law firm Blake Morgan.

The appointments form part of the firm’s ambitious plan to double its number of lawyers by hiring 60 new solicitors by 2025.

Ben Evans, Jill Bainbridge and Claire Bowers all specialise in an array of areas within Intellectual Property and Trade Mark law, and have advised businesses of all sizes, from start-ups through to multinationals.

Partner and head of trade marks, Ben Evans, is a dual-qualified solicitor and Chartered Trade Mark Attorney with over 15 years’ experience in the industry. Specialising in brand strategy, trade mark clearance searching and world-wide trade mark protection, he deals with trade mark applications before the UK and World Intellectual Property Offices as well as internationally through a network of agents. Much of his practice includes coordinating complex filing projects and dealing with contentious proceedings.

Intellectual property disputes partner, Jill Bainbridge, has over 20 years’ worth of experience in IP protection, strategy, and IP dispute resolution both nationwide and internationally in relation to the full spectrum of rights, including trade marks, patents, copyright and more. Jill also has particular expertise in reputation management.

Claire Bowers, CITMA-qualified trade mark paralegal, has nearly 15 years’ experience in handling the day-to-day management of UK, EU, and International trade mark registrations.

Founder and CEO, Toby Harper, said: “The calibre of talent we continue to attract at Harper James is amazing and we’re thrilled to welcome Ben, Jill and Claire on board. Their combined breadth of experience and unique skillsets mean that we’re able to broaden our intellectual property and trade mark offerings even further to our existing clients and expanding client base.”

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