Mills & Reeve poaches Pinsent Masons partner; Expansion for Paradigm Family Law; and more

Senior commercial lawyer Martin Priestley is joining Mills & Reeve from Pinsent Masons, where he was lead partner for both the commercial team in the Leeds office and for the international universities practice.

Priestley is well-known in the business community in Leeds and across the UK in the higher education sector. He regularly advises a range of major corporate, government and university clients both in the UK and internationally. Over his career, he has gained experience advising on transformational commercial transactions often with an international dimension.

A regular commentator and speaker on the impact of Brexit and the internationalisation of higher education, Priestley joins Mills & Reeve in January.

Gary Attle, partner and head of education and governance, said: “Martin is a fantastic fit for Mills & Reeve. His commercial experience in acting for businesses and universities will enhance the service we can provide to all our clients, both new and existing, and will help us achieve our aim of growing our already thriving practice in the North and North West.

“Mills & Reeve has a market leading reputation in the education sector. Our sector knowledge and commercial experience gives us the opportunity to support our clients with significant transactions across the education sector. Our recent work for a number of universities has included raising capital for significant infrastructure projects. Martin’s appointment will enable us to offer our clients an unparalleled service in the region, and beyond.”

Priestley is the latest in a series of appointments for the Manchester and Leeds offices, with real estate partners Mike Edge and Rachel Pitman also joining from Pinsent Masons.

Philip Way, partner and head of the Leeds office, said: “We have been concentrating on building our reputation in Leeds and the North West, and this appointment underscores our investments in the office. I’m delighted to welcome Martin to the firm and I believe he will make a real impact and help us to further bolster the fantastic service we can offer.

“Martin’s dual commercial and education experience is a perfect complement to the expertise we already have in the business and the type of work we are currently doing. I and the rest of the team are looking forward to working with Martin and supporting our clients in the region with an enhanced offering.”

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Paradigm Family Law has welcomed a new family executive to its York office.

Evelyn Peacock joins the firm having previously worked at Ison Harrison solicitors in Leeds. Peacock specialises in all aspects of family and matrimonial work including divorce, financial disputes and children issues.

James Thornton, managing partner, said: “To recruit someone of Evelyn’s quality and experience is a real boost for Paradigm Family Law and will certainly broaden the strength in depth of our family law offering. Evelyn has a first rate reputation and brings years of experience to the firm.”

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Carter Jonas has boosted its infrastructure and energy team in Yorkshire with the appointment of David Vernon, Tom Jackson and Simon Currie.

This follows Russell Mills and Philip Tuley joining earlier in the year. The team is based out of the firm’s new Leeds office at Nine Bond Court in the city centre.

Vernon joins as partner with over 15 years’ experience as a town planner, project manager and sponsor, working for consultancies, development companies and public sector organisations including Network Rail, National Grid, DTZ and Indigo Planning. He was previously at Network Rail and will continue to act as a Sponsor and Consents and Stakeholder Manager for major infrastructure projects.

Jackson joins as an associate infrastructure surveyor from Strutt & Parker. Jackson has worked across various aspects of the property industry including utilities, compulsory purchase (CPO) and compensation and asset management.

Currie also joins the team as an energy specialist and trainee infrastructure surveyor having recently completed a Masters in Real Estate at Sheffield Hallam. Currie previously worked at Coretech where he provided project management services for the installation of renewable assets on commercial property.

Charles Hardcastle, head of infrastructure and energy in Leeds at Carter Jonas, said: “This is an exciting time to be expanding the Infrastructure & Energy team and it is a pleasure to welcome David, Tom and Simon to Carter Jonas following Russell and Philip joining earlier in the year. Collectively they offer a wealth of experience, knowledge and broad expertise in land assembly and compulsory purchase which will be invaluable as we continue to grow.

“Our team is currently involved with the progression of a number of infrastructure and energy projects across the country, working with clients such as Network Rail, HS2, National Grid, Drax Power, Keyland Developments, Harmony Energy Storage and Severn Trent Water. Over the last 12 months we have responded to the evolving needs of our clients by developing new service lines including land assembly, consents and stakeholder management, CPO and compensation advice in support of our traditional development consultancy and valuation offering.”