People: Commercial property team expands; Third childrens panel member appointed to family law team; and more

John Woodhead and Oliver Brooke have joined the Schofield Sweeney Commercial Property team as solicitors in the firm’s Bradford Office.

Woodhead joins the firm bringing a wealth of experience in a full range of commercial property matters gained from working predominantly as an in-house solicitor with HBOS/Lloyds Banking Group, where he spent 20 years, and, most recently, with Bradford Council.

Brooke, having concluded a two-year training contract with the firm, qualified into the team in September. Throughout his training, he was involved in a full spectrum of commercial property matters and offers advice and assistance to clients in a range of areas.

The ever-expanding Commercial Property team has seen significant growth over the last 24 months and is now a 21 lawyer strong team with 9 Partners across the firm’s three offices. The team is best known for its high quality commercial and pragmatic advise.

Darren Birkinshaw, Partner, said: “We are very pleased to be welcoming John and Oliver to the commercial property team.  Their recruitment follows a period of strong continuous growth with a multitude of new client wins.  John brings a wealth of experience and Oliver has really developed during his period of training with us.  John and Oliver join the four solicitors added to the team in 2017 and early 2018.

Woodhead added: “Having spent the vast majority of my career to date as an “in house” lawyer I am looking forward to applying the experience I have gained over the last 25 years to private practice and dealing with the challenges that acting for a diverse range of clients with a variety of business interests will present at Schofield Sweeney.”

Brooke said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed the entirety of my training at Schofield Sweeney and particularly my time spent in Bradford with the Commercial Property team. I’m now looking forward to building on the experience and skills I gained throughout my training on qualification. I’m excited to be taking the next step in my career within our well-established and fast-expanding Commercial Property Team.”

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Sheffield’s Taylor&Emmet LLP has appointed a third Children Panel member to its family law team.

Experienced childcare solicitor, Sarah Ewbank, has joined the firm to strengthen its capacity to represent children, parents and guardians in local authority care proceedings.

Only Children Panel members can act for children in public or private legal cases and are appointed by guardians. They hold the Law Society’s Children Law Accreditation, which is the recognised quality standard, demonstrating commitment to a strict code of practice.

Sarah Ewbank will be working alongside Taylor&Emmet’s existing Children Panel solicitors, Pat Wotherspoon and James Gascoigne. She was based previously at Norrie, Waite and Slater in Sheffield, where she spent 20 years specialising in childcare work, after coming to the city to complete a degree in psychology as a mature student.

Wotherspoon said: “Sarah is a highly experienced, highly ethical childcare solicitor who brings to our team a great deal of empathy and insight into this complex area of the law. Taylor&Emmet is committed to developing care work, as part of our wider family practice and the addition of further Children Panel members gives us the capacity to dramatically increase our caseload.”

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Grant Thornton, has announced a host of new trainee appointments across its Leeds and Sheffield offices.

The pool of 26 recruits, including graduates and school leavers, further emphasises Grant Thornton’s continuing commitment to developing and nurturing the region’s best young talent.

The recruitment drive comes as new research from Grant Thornton has revealed that almost half (49%) of students in Yorkshire choose to go to university where they grew up, reflecting the vibrancy and quality of life of the region as well as the strength of its university offering.

Yorkshire’s student retention trend – one of the highest figures in the UK – is also reflected in Grant Thornton’s trainee recruitment policy, with the majority of the latest intake having attended school, college or university in Yorkshire or North of England.

School leavers have joined from Yorkshire schools and colleges including Brigshaw High School and Language College, Pontefract New College, St Wilfrid’s Sixth Form College, and Queen Ethelburga’s College.

This year’s Leeds and Sheffield office cohort join Grant Thornton’s audit, tax and advisory teams.

Mark Overfield, head of assurance, Grant Thornton Yorkshire, said: “We’d like to welcome our latest team members to Grant Thornton. Our positive culture and ongoing success is testament to the talent that we introduce to the organisation and we are delighted these individuals have chosen to begin their exciting career journeys with Grant Thornton.

“As an organisation, Grant Thornton believes that everyone deserves the chance to fulfil their potential, so our trainee and school leaver programmes focus on recruiting the right people for the role, regardless of education or experience. We are passionate about recruiting and retaining skills and talent within the region and finding the right people who fit with our culture and values.”

Glen Pearce, who has joined Grant Thornton’s audit team in Yorkshire having graduated from the University of Sheffield, said: “I am really excited about joining Grant Thornton. The firm’s Vibrant Economy campaign and positive culture were things that really attracted me to the organisation and it’s great to see Grant Thornton offering a number of paths into a career into accountancy and investing in young talent.”