People: Gordons dials up senior BT hire; Law firm welcomes two recruits; and more

Law firm Gordons has made a senior appointment from telecommunications giant BT.

Andrew Logan has been appointed as head of regulatory following four years at BT where he most recently held the position of head of legal, environment.

He has more than 13 years’ experience as a regulatory solicitor gained working both in house and for national law firm Weightmans.

Before joining BT, Logan acted for several police forces, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Environment Agency and a number of local authorities in regulatory investigations and prosecutions.

At Gordons, he will lead a team advising clients on a wide range of regulatory issues. These include environmental, health and safety, data protection, product compliance, criminal investigations, business investigations and court proceedings.

He said: “Gordons is a firm with a clear growth plan, an understanding of what its clients want and an impressive, expanding client portfolio.

“I have joined a firm with a great reputation for its dynamism and the way its people deliver straight forward, practical advice. I’m looking forward to getting to know our existing clients and assessing how I can best help them face any regulatory challenges.”

Gordons partner, Victoria Davey, said: “Andrew brings an unsurpassed level of regulatory knowledge and experience to the firm. As importantly, he is someone who quickly identifies and understands the issues and opportunities, and how to best protect a client’s interests.

“Andrew is ambitious and wants to grow our regulatory team’s reputation throughout the region and beyond. We are looking forward to supporting him as he develops this increasingly sought after aspect of our offer.”

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Two new senior solicitors have joined ESP Law, marking further growth for the company’s Leeds-based legal team.

Arwen Makin and Helen Rowley bring a combined 35 years’ experience and expertise to the company, which is headquartered in Surrey and provides specialist employment law and HR advice.

Cambridge University graduate Makin trained and qualified with Mills & Reeve and has extensive experience in employment law. She has expertise across a wide variety of industry sectors, including advising trade unions and their members both in-house and on behalf of a national law firm.

Rowley qualified with DAC Beachcroft in 2001, where she became a prominent employment team member, specialising in diversity and whistleblowing issues in a variety of organisations.
She was promoted to Associate in 2007 and handled high-value, complex litigation cases through the Employment Tribunal. She founded her own HR consultancy in 2010, which saw her advising on disciplinary, grievance and other workplace investigations.

ESP Group’s founder Pete Byrne said: “We extend a warm welcome to Arwen and Helen, who have been recruited to service our ever-expanding nationwide customer base.

“The appointment of two more leading employment lawyers forms part of our overall continued expansion and will prepare us for more exciting times ahead – as well as ensuring customers continue to receive a market-leading, innovative service.”

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Insurance risk and commercial law firm BLM, which has an office in Leeds, has elected Matthew Harrington to be its new senior partner with effect from March 1 and for a period of three years.

Harrington joined BLM in 2007 and succeeds Mike Brown, who steps down and moves into a new role as head of risk and compliance following the completion of six years as senior partner.

Harrington said: “My vision is to continue our ambition of being a market leading firm operating in risk and insurance in the UK and Ireland with an international reach, together with a strong non-insurance capability to offer to a wider client base. We have so much opportunity and I’m keen to work with colleagues to take advantage of our growing capabilities.”