Appointments: Gordons; Powell Williams; Grant Thornton

LEGAL firm Gordons has hired Tim Gooder from his previous position at DWF in Leeds.

He joins the employment law team for which he will undertake tribunal litigation work for contract disputes, dismissals, whistleblowing and discrimination cases as well as his own tribunal advocacy.

Mr Gooder said: “”I jumped at the chance to join Gordons’ employment team. They have an outstanding reputation and their expertise in sectors such as transport and retail aligns with my own experience.

“It’s a friendly, hardworking team with a dedicated client focus that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I’m really pleased to now be part of it and I’m looking forward to working with my new colleagues to further expand Gordons’ employment offer.”

Head of employment of Gordons, Paul Stokey, said: “We have recruited Tim because our increased instruction volumes from both new and existing clients are showing no signs of slowing.

“He is an experienced employment lawyer with significant expertise across a range of areas, including many which feature heavily in our own caseload. We have no doubt he will be a significant asset to both the firm and our clients.”

Gordons has offices in Leeds and Bradford, employs 235 people and has a turnover of £22.9m.

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BUILDING surveying and project management practice Powell Williams LLP has continued to grow its Leeds office with the appointment of senior building surveyor Adam Farrer.

The firm has seen a raft of new instructions for the firm after launching the Leeds office in March, headed up by partner Paul Scourfield from Colliers International.

Mr Farrer returns to his Yorkshire roots from Powell Williams’ London office, to assist with the existing workload and to help grow the business further.

A surveyor for five years, he has been with Powell Williams for nearly three years.

Mr Scourfield said: “We were confident there was a market for our services in this region, particularly as there has been a significant improvement in the commercial property environment.

“This summer has seen a real surge of activity, during what is a traditionally quiet time of the year. New enquiries are up by half on what we anticipated, as clients old and new seek to make the most of the upturn.

“We opened in March with a plan to recruit in 12 months but the amount of new work has seen this brought forward.

“Looking ahead, I believe we’ll be recruiting again within the year as we look to service clients’ interests across Yorkshire and the north and east.”

Powell Williams has offices in London, Leeds, Birmingham and Chester. Clients include the BP Pension Fund, Cube Real Estate, AEW Europe and Aviva.

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THE Sheffield team of Grant Thornton has been given a boost with the appointment of business development manager Will Hellewell.

Previously Mr Hellewell was a business development executive at Virgin Media Business in Sheffield, before moving into sales training and recruitment firm Pareto Law.

In March 2014, Will joined WSI Yorkshire (now part of the Attercopia Group) to head the sales and marketing team across Yorkshire and, later, the UK.

Andrew Devonald, business development senior manager for Yorkshire, comments: “Will already has a valuable grounding in business development, working with globally recognised businesses in the region and beyond.

“His appointment is a welcome addition to the Yorkshire team, helping us to ensure that businesses here are aware of Grant Thornton’s first class offering.”