People: Partner promotion at professional services firm; New tax partner at DLA Piper; Law firm boosts corporate division; and more

Professional services firm Begbies Traynor has promoted Andrew Mackenzie to partner.

Based in the firm’s Hull office, he works across the Yorkshire region.

Having joined Begbies Traynor 12 years ago, Mackenzie has led the development of the firm’s East Yorkshire presence following the opening of the Hull office in 2008 and has played a key role in the strategy and development of the firm’s services to lenders across the Yorkshire region.

He has a broad range of experience in corporate rescue and recovery, business investigations, review work and funding solutions.

Julian Pitts, regional managing partner for Begbies Traynor in Yorkshire, said: “With his strong track record in providing refinancing and insolvency advice, Andrew is a well-known figure in the East Yorkshire business community.  This promotion is well deserved recognition of the vital role he has played in growing our presence in the Humber region.”

Mackenzie added: “Having moved to larger offices in the redeveloped marina area just over four years ago, our team has continued to expand.

“Given the ongoing uncertainty around Brexit, interest rates and the changing shape of the high street, businesses are likely to face some tough times ahead and it’s more important than ever that they are able to access expert advice they can trust.”

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DLA Piper has strengthened its corporate tax practice with the appointment of David Smith, who joins the firm as partner and will be based in the Leeds office.

Smith joins the firm after more than 13 years at Eversheds, where he held primary responsibility for the Northern corporate tax practice, providing transactional support, strategic advisory and tax structuring services. He focuses on taxation issues relating to international and domestic corporate transactions and the commercial activities of corporate entities. He has an excellent reputation within the industry, having been recognised by both Chambers and the Legal 500.

Richard Woolich, DLA Piper’s UK head of tax, said: “We would like to welcome David to the firm and we look forward to working with him. Our flourishing Leeds practice and tax work streams across the UK generally will benefit significantly from David’s experience.

“David’s appointment further strengthens our standing in the sector and will enable us to continue supporting our clients with their corporate tax requirements. David’s reputation and his industry knowledge will be a great asset to the firm as we continue to build on the success of our growing Tax group.”

Smith added: “I am delighted to have joined the partnership at DLA Piper and I am excited about working with the Tax team and the opportunities that the firm can offer both in the UK and globally.”

David’s appointment continues the busy period for DLA Piper’s international tax group. In addition to new senior hires in the London, Rome and Amsterdam teams, the last 12 months has seen the firm launch new tax practices in the Middle East and South Africa.

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LCF Law has promoted Cathy Cook to partner within its corporate division.

Cook joined the firm’s Leeds city centre office in spring 2016 as an associate, bringing more than 20 years of experience to the role, after previously heading up commercial law at another regional firm, working in-house at Leeds based Callcredit, and spending five years at an international law firm.

She said: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time so far at LCF Law, working within a close-knit and highly experienced team and dealing with clients across all industries and sectors.  To be promoted to partner is very rewarding and I’m really looking forward to supporting the future development of the department.”

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Langleys Solicitors has unveiled a new business development team to drive growth and break into the UK’s top 100 law firms.

The quartet will enhance Langleys’ CRM, digital marketing, events and PR capabilities and will report into recently-appointed business development director Dave Clarkson.

Rachel Franks has joined the team as events co-ordinator. After graduating from Manchester Metropolitan University with a first-class honours degree in events management, she held event management roles with Hotel du Vin York and the University of York.

Kate Went joins as digital marketing executive to manage Langleys’ website and enhance social media platforms.

Chris Pegg has been recruited to develop Langleys’ CRM systems, with a brief to enhance client experience and build new business opportunities.

The team is completed by PR co-ordinator Sarah Derby Need, who joined in 2017 and manages internal communications and PR across the business.

Clarkson said the creation of the new team underpinned Langleys’ ambition to accelerate organic revenue growth and break into the Top 100 legal businesses in the UK.

He said: “These appointments mark the start of an exciting new chapter for Langleys.

“We now have a full team in place with hand-picked individuals who possess the skills to drive Langleys forward.

“We will shortly be unveiling our new brand positioning, which will provide a fantastic platform to promote the quality service, knowledge and experience that our expert teams provide to our clients.”