People: Walker Morris; Roche Legal; Chamber International; and more

Law firm, Walker Morris, has appointed Rob Payne as a partner in the Banking & Finance Litigation Team, the latest in a string of major lateral hires for the firm in 2021.

Payne joins the team from Gately Legal where he was also a partner specialising in financial services disputes.

He is experienced in advising clients on a wide range of contentious issues such as managed exit advice in distressed lending, operational disputes and enforcement of, and challenges to, secured lending – always with a focus on the commercial objectives of his client base.

Having practiced exclusively in the financial services disputes field for over 20 years, he has worked with most major financial institutions, and regularly leads client relationships.

Payne also has further expertise in wider portfolio risk assessment and dispute prevention advice together with the management of reputational issues.

With experience across the full spectrum of financial services litigation, including high-value disputes, he has been involved in many large fraud matters including obtaining a £14m judgment at trial against a company director in a claim involving allegations of deceit and conspiracy.

Payne said: “I love to get ‘under the skin’ of organisations to understand their strategic priorities, values, customer base and products.

“That way the team can deliver truly tailored advice. The diversity of clients in the financial services sector and the evolving regulatory environment means nothing ever stands still.

“It keeps us agile and focused on the clients’ objectives in managing disputes and operational risk.

“Walker Morris’s excellent reputation and breadth of expertise in financial services disputes give it a real distinctive edge.

“I am extremely excited to be joining one of the UK’s best independent law firms outside of the City and adding to the growth of such a high calibre team.”

Richard Sandford, partner at Walker Morris, added: “Attracting and retaining excellent lawyers is at the heart of our strategy at Walker Morris, and we are so pleased to welcome our new partner, Rob, on board.

“He brings with him over two decades of experience and has a wealth of knowledge in the sector, supporting us in expanding our practice and specialist capabilities.”

“Rob joins us at a time when financial institutions are continuing to work with customers that have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and instances of fraud in financial services transactions have significantly increased.

“Rob possesses the specialised skill set to support clients with these matters while complementing the expertise of our broader banking and finance teams.”

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Clare Presley has been appointed Roche Legal’s first partner and will play a key role in the expansion of the York-based firm of solicitors.

She is a specialised private client solicitor with 13 years’ experience of working in the York area and a fully accredited member of Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE), an independent, national organisation of lawyers who provide specialist legal advice for older and vulnerable clients, their families and carers.

Roche Legal was set up by Rachel Roche in 2014. She said: “Like many businesses, we have made changes to adapt to what has been an uncertain time and have brought together a team of bright, energetic, organised, and flexible individuals, who are willing to work together to take the firm to the next level and as a partner, Clare is central to this.”

Presley, who has achieved the Older Client Care in Practice (OCCP) Award from SFE, said: “Client care is central to everything we do at Roche Legal and we are committed to ensuring the process is as streamlined as possible.

“Before the impact of the pandemic many clients may not have heard of Zoom, or used WhatsApp, and it is clear that technology plays, and will continue to play, an increasing role. Roche Legal remains at the forefront of embracing innovative ideas.

“Because Rachel has been ahead of the curve in the way new technology has been integrated into how we work, we are able to offer clients a range of meeting options and it is about being flexible.

“People are also very proud of being from York and value a local connection.”

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Customs broker Jay Grant has joined Bradford and London-based overseas trade specialist, Chamber International, to strengthen its work helping UK companies export to the EU after Brexit.

Grant, 24, who has supported international trade with East Midlands Chamber of Commerce, Nottingham, and Doncaster Chamber of Commerce, has joined ChamberCustoms, led by Ioanna Orfanidi, which helps UK exporters complete customs declarations, now needed for UK trade with EU countries.

He said: “I’ve heard a lot of great things about Chamber International and am excited to be here and able to add value to such an important service.”

Grant was previously a semi-professional footballer, playing as a winger, or striker, for Grantham Town FC and Harrowby United FC in the United Counties League, before joining the chamber network.

Since Brexit, 202,081 UK businesses must now complete customs declarations and understand tariff classification numbers, customs valuation, and customs procedures if they previously exported only to the EU when UK membership meant the declarations were not needed.

Chamber International director, Tim Bailey, said: “Britain’s departure from the EU has created some short-term challenges, as well as global opportunities, and we are delighted to welcome Jay to our Chamber Customs team so UK businesses can continue to benefit from relatively seamless trading with the EU.”

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A digital projects manager has been appointed at Yorkshire-based chartered accountancy and business advisory firm, Hentons, in response to a 600% increase in the number of clients moving to cloud accountancy services in the last two years.

Robyn Jones is a cloud accountancy specialist with more than seven years’ industry experience. She heads all digital services at Hentons.

Partner, Tim Baum-Dixon, who is head of digital at the firm, said: “Our shift to digital accounting began in 2015, and our business and clients have really embraced the change.

“With dedicated digital teams, we have led the way in terms of innovation and Robyn’s appointment will ensure even more clients benefit from the cost and time savings, as well as the invaluable business insights, that cloud accounting provides.”

Jones said: “Digital accounting increases the profitability of businesses and Hentons has everything in place to ensure it is at the forefront of Making Tax Digital.

“In-order to run an efficient bookkeeping facility within any business, cloud software to store and process data is essential.

“Time previously wasted on manual bookkeeping, excel spreadsheets and piles of paperwork can now be utilised in better ways.

“By automating invoices and receipts through cloud software and the introduction of open banking, clients can save time.

“Software packages such as Xero and Dext help streamline and automate internal bookkeeping functions and ultimately provide invaluable data and insight into the real time finances of a business.

“As with all technological change there will always be early adopters and those that resist change, and my role is to ensure everyone moves to the cloud because they can see the value in it – not just because they have to.”