People: Roche Legal; AspinallVerdi; Ward Hadaway; and more

Alex Cartledge, who is studying to hold the role of a Notary in the United Kingdom, has joined the Roche Legal team, based in York.

Cartledge, who has been a solicitor for 10 years, is in the middle of a two year Diploma in Notarial Practice run by the University College London (UCL). There are just 775 notaries in the country. 

One of the key roles for a notary is to attest or authenticate powers of attorney for use abroad and many foreign legal systems require these to be executed before a notary.

When Alex, who previously worked in Bridlington and Hull, completes her course she will have to apply to the Archbishop’s office to be allowed to practise her new skills at Roche Legal.

The firm’s owner, Rachel Roche, has been the driving force behind Roche Legal’s UK/USA probate service which has attracted funding from the Department of Trade and Industry with the same service being offered to clients living in France, Spain and worldwide.

Cartledge, a senior solicitor at Roche Legal, has extensive experience in Wills, Probate, Missing Persons and Lasting Powers of Attorney.

She said: “I am studying a part time course at UCL to become a notary and this fits in very well with Roche Legal’s international work.

“At Roche Legal, the cross border work and missing persons issues deliver a wider scope of work than I have previously experienced and I am incredibly excited to be part of the team.”

Rachel Roche said: “We are absolutely delighted Alex has joined our expert team and she has shown throughout her career a drive to deliver outstanding client care. This perfectly aligns with the DNA of Roche Legal.”

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Independent nationwide property regeneration consultants, AspinallVerdi, is continuing to expand with two key appointments.

Elliot Squire and Harvey Garrett join the firm as consultants at its head office at The Calls, Leeds, to serve clients in the public and private sectors throughout Yorkshire and further afield.

Squire has a (BSc) Hons degree in planning and development from Nottingham Trent University and following a placement year with Igloo Regeneration in Nottingham spent more than three years at real estate developer Citu in Leeds.

He is currently studying for his Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Assessment of Professional Competence (RICS APC).

Garrett – whose father, sister and brother-in-law are all property surveyors – achieved a (BSc) Hons degree in real estate and property management at Leeds Beckett University and having joined AspinallVerdi, is also studying for his RICS APC.

Managing director, Ben Aspinall, said: “We look forward to nurturing the undoubted talents of Elliot and Harvey, outstanding examples of young and ambitious property professionals.

“Their skills will prove to be invaluable to our team and valued clients as we continue to offer expert regeneration and development advice to the public and private sectors in Yorkshire and nationwide.”

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Law firm Ward Hadaway has made 19 promotions across the business, with a trio of those in its growing Leeds office.

The team is continuing to expand, growing by 16% in the last 12 months.

The company has confirmed its promotion of Kate McLean to managing associate in the corporate finance team.

She has been with the firm for over a decade having joined initially as a paralegal before gaining her training contract and has played a key role in advising clients on a range of complex corporate finance matters supporting partners Adrian Ballam and Jonathan Pollard.

Rebecca Whisker has been made an associate in the commercial team.

She joined as a solicitor five years ago and has been instrumental in advising clients on a variety of commercial contractual law matters together with a focus on intellectual property law advice.

Natalie Payne, having begun her legal career as a trainee at the firm, has also been promoted to an associate.

She sits in the employment team and has developed a reputation for providing pragmatic advice on a wide range of employment law issues.

Payne also supports Flora Mewies in advising clients on the increasingly critical area of immigration law.

Emma Digby, executive partner in the Leeds office, said: “Kate, Rebecca, and Natalie are all exceptional lawyers who have demonstrated a commitment to providing an incredible service to our clients across their specialist areas of law.

“It is particularly rewarding to see our home-grown talent develop and grow as people and as lawyers.

“Our highly skilled and motivated team are the driving force behind our success, and that is why we invest heavily in their training and development.”

McLean said: “I love the job I do, and Ward Hadaway provides the perfect environment for continued learning and development, enabling individuals to thrive.

“Career progression is very transparent, and we are each equipped with the support, guidance and specific training we need to progress.

“The culture at the firm is what really stands out for me – we’re a very professional, talented and hardworking team who share the same values.”

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Clarion has promoted another seven associates to the position of senior associate in addition to recently appointing two partners and four legal directors.

Alexander Lehany, Kerri-Anne Ball, Oliver Barlow, Siobhan Dexter, Kate Fernyhough, Anna Lockyer and Jack Farrer have all become senior associates.

Roger Hutton, joint managing partner, said: “As a firm, we genuinely value our colleagues and are proud to support them as they learn and develop with us.

“This year’s promotions once again celebrate the up-and-coming talent within our team who also embody the Clarion culture – all of those recognised are lawyers who demonstrate excellent technical ability as well as being able to form strong relationships with clients by showing they can ‘walk in their shoes’.

“They have also all made a significant contribution to our continued success whether by mentoring and training junior colleagues, carrying out CSR initiatives or undertaking valuable networking.”

Since joining Clarion in 2015 to complete his training contract, Lehany has become a valued member of the commercial dispute resolution (CDR) team, providing commercially focused advice and winning work through his strong technical skills.

A specialist in private wealth, Ball is a homegrown-Clarion talent who is adept at working on complex, multi-faceted probate matters. With her organisational skills and attention to detail inspiring trust from clients, she has also helped develop paralegals in her team.

Barlow’s technical knowledge within the CDR team has impressed clients and colleagues, resulting in him often leading on complex matters. A great team player, he has built strong relationships within Clarion.

Dexter works within the construction practice where she has taken on the role of trainee supervisor, helping to support and develop less experienced colleagues.

Trusted by her clients, she has lots of experience of working on complex cases for several major clients and is also helping strengthen the team’s expertise in the energy sector.

An expert in real estate secured finance, Fernyhough has been instrumental in assisting Clarion’s real estate finance team to expand the quality work it has been completing for a range of banks, as well as frequently working closely with colleagues in the banking and finance practice.

With a specialism of acting for lenders on large portfolio work, she demonstrates great organisational skills and commerciality.

Over the last four years, Lockyer has made a key contribution to the continued success of Clarion’s costs and litigation funding team.

She has independently worked on some large and complex cost management assignments, demonstrating first-class technical skills and client service.

Finally, Farrer takes on the role of senior associate in the commercial practice having established himself as a dedicated specialist on data protection and privacy issues.

With his background as a commercial lawyer, he is trusted to assist the team by providing advice on wider commercial agreements.