New civil litigations partner for Weightmans

WEIGHTMANS has strengthened its Birmingham office with the appointment of a civil litigation specialist.

Ailsa Roberts joins the firm as partner and will head up its firm’s pre-litigation and outsourced services team, known as ‘Converge’. She was previously at Browne Jacobson and prior to this was in charge of Beachcroft’s Newport-based volume claims operation.

Ms Roberts has 20 years experience in personal injury litigation, latterly in operational team management. Her focus will be on ensuring the Weightmans Converge teams continue to deliver excellent results across the board.

She will focus on using the firm’s latest technology; including ‘LeanSixSigma’, to ensure our operations are delivering optimum results for clients and develop capacity for further growth.

She said: “Very few firms have realised the extent of change that will be created by this year’s civil litigation reforms. It is clear that Weightmans completely understands the level of impact, and that together we will be able to continue to offer a highly attractive service to the defendant community in the future.”

Rob Williams, partner and director of Solving Disputes at Weightmans added: “Ailsa is the final appointment in our restructure of our business and we are delighted that a professional of her calibre has chosen to join us at this exciting juncture.

“Her experience, together with our drive and service ethos should further develop our compelling client proposition.”

DWF strengthens recoveries team

DWF has strengthened its recoveries team with the appointment of director, Neil Jinks. He joins from the Marston Group, the UK’s largest judicial services group, where he was Head of High Court Client Services, and will be based at DWF’s Birmingham office.

A specialist in recoveries, Jinks brings more than 25 years’ experience of working in the credit industry to the role, having managed and developed debt recovery operations and worked in the enforcement sector. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Credit Management and of the Association of Credit Professionals. He is also ICM’s Regional Representative for the Midlands, as well as a member of ICM’s National Advisory Council.

David Scottow, head of recoveries at DWF, said: “This partner level appointment will bolster our 45-strong recoveries team. Neil’s market experience and wide-reaching base of connections means he uniquely positioned to serve and advise clients in the Midlands and beyond. He brings exceptional insights from his time at Marston Group, including significant experience of pre-debt registration, warrant enforcement and bankruptcy proceedings. As such he will prove invaluable to the team and our clients.”

New recruit makes sweet music for DBS Law

DBS Law has recruited Calum Nisbet as associate director responsible for developing relations with existing and new businesses.
 
Nisbet, left, has worked closely with DBS Law for over two years in his capacity as Corporate Relations Manager at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, where he successfully built the organisation’s portfolio of corporate partners, helping increase investment and delivering strong levels of client care.

Rob Bhol, Chief Executive of DBS Law, said: “The legal industry has gone through many changes recently and our environment has become significantly more commercial. Building relationships with existing and potential clients is now more important than ever for our business.
 
“We’ve recognised the need to enhance our skill set with business specialists to complement our lawyers to face the new market conditions in order to create long term growth for the company. Calum is the right man to help us drive our ambitious plans.”