People: Grant Thornton; Bevan Brittan; Birmingham Law Society

Accounting and business advisory firm Grant Thornton has promoted Andrew Turner to partner, operating in the public interest audit team located in the West Midlands.

Since joining the firm in 2010, Turner has been important in establishing and maintaining Grant Thornton’s reputation for audit quality and building value through his involvement in several of the firm’s largest and most complex audit clients.

Recently, he has also taken on responsibility for audit quality and developing talent in his local office in Birmingham as Audit Quality Lead.

While his base may be in Grant Thornton’s Birmingham office, his work as a partner in the public interest team will stretch across Grant Thornton’s offices throughout the country.

Turner said: “Grant Thornton has been a great place to develop my professional skills over the past 14 years and it’s a real privilege to take this next step in my career. In recent years, I have specialised in large private and public company audits and thrive on the high-paced and technically challenging nature of this work.”

 “The audit team here in Birmingham is exceptionally high-performing and diverse and we’ve built a reputation for quality and high levels of service. I’m hugely excited to be stepping up to Partner and to have the opportunity to lead alongside our other partners on growing the team and the audit business here in Birmingham.”

Matt Buckingham, practice leader of Grant Thornton in the Midlands, said: “Andrew has been instrumental in driving audit quality forward, contributing to our strong results in recent AQR reports. He uses his experience to ensure our audits focus on the right areas – bringing the right challenge and scepticism but delivering in a way that resonates with clients.

“His promotion further reflects the strength and ambition within our Birmingham office, home to some 500 talented professionals servicing our broad client base across a range of services. It gives me great pleasure to see Andrew embark on the next stage of his career as Partner.”

Energy & Resource Management Partners Harriet Murray Jones, Nathan Bradberry, Rupert Lugg and Nadeem Arshad welcome Tim Kittow and Gemma Glasspole

Bevan Brittan has recruited four legal specialists to its growing energy and resource management group, including its latest new Partner in Birmingham, after seeing a marked rise in new instructions.

New Partner Gemma Glasspole has joined the firm’s Midlands team from Pinsent Masons, alongside new Legal Director Tim Kittow, who arrives from a role as Senior Legal Counsel at Trinzic, a renewables investment and asset management business, and will be based in London. The energy team has also seen two Solicitors join nationally.

Gemma is a public-private partnership and commercial lawyer with 18 years’ experience of advising across a range of energy and resource management sectors including waste management, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and carbon capture and storage.

She advises both public and private sector clients on project structuring, procurement and contract management and becomes the latest high-profile appointment to Bevan Brittan’s Birmingham office at 45 Church Street, which has welcomed six other new senior hires in the past few months.

Her arrival was welcomed by Nadeem Arshad, Partner and Head of the Energy & Resource Management Group, who said the team’s growth was vital as private and public sector clients focus on their long-term energy and resource management planning in line with their Net Zero and recycling targets.

Nadeem said: “The arrivals of Gemma and our other recruits will add significant breadth and depth to a team which is already established as a leader in clean energy, waste and resource management.

“Energy and resource efficiency is at the heart of every organisation’s future planning and we play a vital role by adding our expertise and experience to our clients’ teams. This ensures their immediate and long-term needs are met and means they can successfully negotiate both the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

“These latest fantastic recruits will not be the last, as demand for our expertise and market knowledge is growing all the time.”

Tim joins as a Legal Director with construction and EPC expertise, having advised across a range of infrastructure sectors over the last 14 years.  He is a renewables specialist with particular expertise in Solar (ground mounted, floating and rooftop) and District Energy projects.

Gemma and Tim add their extensive expertise to a Group which has also just recruited two Solicitors, Priscilla Allen and Alex Kannegiesser-Bailey.  Priscilla has moved to Bevan Brittan after almost five years at Burges Salmon in Bristol.  Alex has joined in the London office, having been an advisory lawyer to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero.

Samantha Ingram, Chair of the Birmingham law Society property and development committee, Richard Port MBE, President of Birmingham Law Society.

A partner at a Midlands law firm has been appointed to Chair of the Birmingham Law Society Property and Development Committee.

Samantha Ingram, of Davisons Law, took on this role at the start of September, recognising her expertise and standing in the property law sector.

The Property and Development Committee, one of 12 professional committees at Birmingham Law Society, brings together representatives from across commercial and residential property, construction and planning law.

Meeting twice a month, the committee discusses best practices, recent case law updates, and risk management strategies.

In her role as chair, Ingram will arrange and host meetings, collate discussions, and report back to relevant parties and bodies.

The committee also responds to government consultation papers on topics such as the privatisation of the Land Registry and proposed changes in leasehold and conveyancing practices.

Ingram said: “It’s a privilege to take on an important role which I see as gathering, as well as sharing, information from/with my fellow professionals in the industry and hopefully using the same to shape the property legal sector.”

With over two decades of experience at Davisons Law,  Ingram has been a part of the firm’s growth and success.

She joined the firm in 2001, qualified as a Solicitor in 2006, and became a Partner in 2009.

Ingram specialises in all aspects of residential conveyancing, with particular expertise in new build and shared ownership purchases.

She also acts for property developers managing investment portfolios. Her approach combines professionalism with approachability, aiming to make the often daunting process of moving house as stress-free and simple as possible for clients.

In addition to her client work, she oversees Davisons Law’s Lexcel and Conveyancing Quality Scheme Accreditations.

Her appointment as Chair of the Property and Development Committee builds on her existing involvement with the Birmingham Law Society.

Richard Port, MBE, President of Birmingham Law Society said: “‘I am so honoured to welcome Samantha Ingram of Davisons Law as our new chair for the property law committee. Samantha takes over from Denise Watkins from Gordon Jones & Co who has served as chair for many years and sat on council. We all give thanks to Denise for her commitment to the Society.”

“We look forward to the amazing work Samantha and the property law committee will do to benefit our members. Our committees are a vital component of Birmingham Law Society and they play such a major role in shaping and improving our legal sector.”

Gary Davison from Davisons said: “I am delighted that Samantha has been elected to the post of Chair. She has served Birmingham property lawyers most enthusiastically and effectively to date and I am sure she will continue to provide excellent leadership and guidance in her new role.”