People: Sydney Mitchell; Clarke Willmott; Inco Contracts

Midlands law firm Sydney Mitchell has announced several senior promotions, including new partners in its private client and family teams.

Lorna Payne, a private client specialist, and Gemma Whitchurch, an expert in family law, have been promoted to partners, bringing the firm’s partnership to 16 members.

Gemma Whitchurch, recognised by the Legal 500 2024/25 guide, has specialised in family law since qualifying in 2008, focusing on financial remedy, child arrangements, relocation cases and domestic abuse, particularly in high net-worth and low asset cases.

Lorna Payne, a specialist in trust law, tax, and estate planning, joined Sydney Mitchell in 2021 and was promoted to senior associate in 2023.

She advises on matters like trust advice, inheritance tax, and succession planning for high-net-worth estates.

Payne is also a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and serves on the STEP Birmingham Committee.

Charlotte Jones, promoted to senior associate in the Private Client team, first joined the firm in 2018 as a Wills assistant.

She now advises on probate, estate administration, and Court of Protection matters.

Kiran Athwal, appointed head of the firm’s personal injury and clinical negligence practice in October, is also promoted to senior associate.

Known for handling complex cases, Athwal specialises in personal injury law, including chronic pain, brain injuries, and life-changing injuries.

Karen Moores, Sydney Mitchell’s senior partner said: “Lorna, Gemma, Charlotte, and Kiran have each made significant contributions to the firm’s sustained growth in recent years, and their promotions reflect their role in maintaining our high client service standards and our supportive, inclusive culture.”

Clarke Willmott LLP has announced that partner David Stedman will be taking on a lead role in commercial litigation at its Birmingham office.

Stedman joined the firm in 2014 and is a seasoned litigator with a wealth of experience in dealing with complex commercial disputes.

In his new role, he is part of the firm’s initiative to expand the commercial litigation offering in Birmingham, growing both the team and the client base within the next 12 months.

He said: “I’m excited to drive our commercial litigation team in Birmingham forward. Although previously based in the Bristol office, I worked across all of the firm’s regions, so I’m familiar with the team and the client work. I trained and lived in Birmingham before joining Clarke Willmott, so I am excited to spend more time back in this great city.

“Clarke Willmott has an incredibly strong commercial litigation division, and I look forward to further strengthening our position in the sector and specifically in Birmingham.”

Stedman specialises in a wide range of disputes including professional negligence, breach of contract, partnership disagreements, misrepresentation, breach of confidence, defamation claims and contentious public procurement.

He has significant experience in corporate disputes and is known for his niche expertise in classic car disputes.

The Legal 500 has acknowledged him as a “Next Generation Partner” in the field of commercial litigation.

Rayner Grice, head of Clarke Willmott’s Birmingham office said: “We are delighted to have David join our office and build our commercial litigation offering here. We provide a comprehensive range of legal services to our clients, and under David’s leadership, the commercial litigation team will undoubtedly flourish.”

Inco Contracts, based in Cannock, has appointed Billy Sneddon as its new contracts manager for the education sector.

Sneddon brings over 10 years of experience in the education sector and a vast network of contacts and supply chain specialists.

David Cotterill, managing director of Inco Contracts said: “Education has always been an area we wanted to explore as we have all the core refurbishment skills required to deliver high-quality projects quickly and at the right cost – as we all know the taxpayer has to see value for money.”

Sneddon said: “This is a really exciting opportunity to shape our education offer so that we bring something a little bit different to an established marketplace. The beauty of Inco Contracts is that we are agile. We can pick up smaller jobs quickly yet are big enough to handle £multi-million projects across the UK.”

“My approach is to build partnerships with schools, colleges, and education providers so we are their ‘go-to firm’ in an emergency or for planned works. Our target is £3m in revenues over the next twelve months and increasing my team so that we have two or three dedicated people working with me on projects.”