People: Prosperity Law; Bevan Brittan; South Yorkshire Local Visitor Economy Partnership; and more
Prosperity Law has welcomed Rebecca Townsend as its newest partner and head of employment law in Leeds.
Joining Prosperity from her own firm which she founded in 2008, Townsend brings 25 years of experience in Employment Law and will now lead the firm’s department in Leeds, supporting employers and employees alike.
As well as expertise in supporting large, private sector businesses across the full spectrum of legal employment issues, she has experience in advising large, public-sector bodies, such as the Police Federation of England and Wales.
Her career, which includes a role as lecturer at Leeds Trinity University College, has earned her recognition as a capable legal advisor in high-profile, and high-stakes cases.
She said: “When working with clients, my goal is to proactively advise them so as to avoid dispute, as much as supporting them and seeking to remove the stress any dispute brings.
“With this proactive approach, clients can focus on the bigger picture and concentrate on their business, safe in the knowledge that we are here to support them every step of the way.
“We will also assist to ensure clients are on top of legislative changes that affect their internal procedures and processes.
“I am very much looking forward to supporting Prosperity’s roster of clients, but also working with the wider team to become the best legal partner for individuals and businesses of all sizes.”
Ed Smethurst, managing partner, added: “With a significant degree of upheaval expected for businesses as the Employment Rights Bill comes into force – it’s very timely to welcome Rebecca’s considerable expertise to Prosperity Law.
“Her experience in the proactive elements of employment law, as well as representing both sides in a dispute makes her a first class, trusted advisor for all elements affecting both employers and employees.”
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Commercial law firm Bevan Brittan has welcomed two new health and care partners to its growing Leeds office.
Regulatory specialist Tracey Longfield and employment and immigration law expert Lee Carroll are the latest senior appointments for Bevan Brittan’s Toronto Square-based team.
The office exceeded 100 employees at the end of 2023 and has continued to expand since.
Longfield and Carroll will work as part of a national health and care practice which has enjoyed significant growth in recent years.
They are the fifth and sixth lateral hires to the health and care team in Leeds alone in the last eight months.
Property specialist Julie Morrison joined the team in June and dental law and corporate expert Faisal Dhalla arrived in March, as the business continues to scale up its offering.
Alongside the four new partners, legal director and property expert Clare Davitt and health and regulatory care solicitor Emily Bridge have also joined the Leeds office and are working UK-wide in the health and care practice.
Lyndon Campbell, partner and head of Bevan Brittan’s Leeds office, said: “Tracey and Lee are two more excellent hires for our expanding team in Leeds. They’ll add significant experience to our offering in Yorkshire and nationally.
“Their health and care knowledge and strong track records add further breadth to our expertise in this sector, as our team continues to expand to meet increased instructions from clients needing sound, expert advice.
“Our Leeds team continues to go from strength to strength as we approach the 10th anniversary of our office opening in the city. We now have over 140 employees and an enviable client base from a standing start in 2015.”
Longfield will lead Bevan Brittan’s Health & Care: Regulatory team in Yorkshire. She joins from DAC Beachcroft, bringing more than 20 years’ experience of advising health and care providers within the public and private sector on a broad range of health and safety, and regulatory issues.
A Solicitor Advocate with rights of audience in all higher courts, she has extensive experience of advising clients subject to civil and criminal enforcement action by the Care Quality Commission and Health and Safety Executive.
She also regularly appears as an advocate in complex and high profile inquest proceedings in the coroner’s court and advises clients involved in corporate manslaughter investigations.
She provides training to Board members and health and safety managers on regulatory changes and compliance.
Carroll joins Bevan Brittan from Capsticks with 12 years’ experience of advising clients across a range of sectors, including the NHS and wider health and care sector, on the whole spectrum of employment and immigration matters.
With a focus on health and care employment work, he has also led considerable practices in emergency services, the regulatory sector, and other areas including housing.
He has a significant amount of experience in immigration work too, and will complement Bevan Brittan’s expanding offering in this area.
Earlier this year, Bevan Brittan confirmed nine colleagues from its Leeds team had been promoted, including four new senior associates and five new associates.
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Sarah McLeod, CEO of Wentworth Woodhouse, is the new chair of South Yorkshire Local Visitor Economy Partnership Advisory Group.
The South Yorkshire Local Visitor Economy Partnership is a collaboration between the South Yorkshire Combined Mayoral Authority (SYMCA), Sheffield City Council, City of Doncaster Council, Rotherham Council, and Barnsley Council.
Its purpose is to work collectively on shared priorities and targets to foster the growth of the local visitor economy.
As Chair, McLeod will establish and lead an Advisory Group made up of key stakeholders from Visitor Economy businesses across the region.
She joined Wentworth Woodhouse in May 2017 as CEO to steer the regeneration of the site.
Seven years later the project has a turnover of £3.5m a year and has raised funding for and delivered £30m of capital works. Earlier this year McLeod was awarded an OBE for her services to the heritage sector.
Commenting on her new appointment, she said: “I look forward to the next steps which will involve recruiting members to the advisory group in the coming months.
“I’m also looking forward to working closely with the destination partners and VisitEngland to take the partnership forward as well as celebrating and making the most of what this region has to offer both visitors and local people.”
Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire, said: “I’m South Yorkshire’s biggest champion. We’re the birthplace of football and the home of snooker, we powered the Industrial Revolution and have England’s oldest national park.
“We celebrate art, music, and literature like nowhere else. And now, through the Local Visitor Economy Partnership we have the opportunity to share our beauty, our history, our culture and our talent with the rest of the world.
“I know Sarah McLeod OBE will be a fantastic champion for South Yorkshire and will join me in shouting about how amazing South Yorkshire truly is.”
VisitEngland director, Andrew Stokes, added: “I am very pleased to welcome Sarah as the new chair of the South Yorkshire Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP).
“This announcement shines a timely spotlight on the industry’s economic importance and the fantastic work underway with stakeholders across the region to grow the visitor economy.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the South Yorkshire LVEP, building on the region’s success and ensuring it remains a top destination for both domestic and international visitors now and in the years ahead.”
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Andy Dabbs and Nick Riley
As part of a planned succession strategy and ongoing evolution, Whittam Cox Architects, which has bases in Leeds, Chesterfield and London, has confirmed a new management structure for its senior leadership team.
With Ashley Turner stepping down from his role as CEO, the new structure is designed to unify and build upon the experience of the company’s directors into a single Executive team.
Effective from 1st December 2024, the new structure will see the executive directors continue to lead the practice in terms of service and project delivery, while also taking on additional responsibilities for specific areas of strategic and operational leadership.
Andy Dabbs and Nick Riley will take on newly formed roles as managing executive directors.
These positions will draw on the personal and complementary strengths of each individual’s experience and impact to date.
In addition to Dabbs and Riley, the executive director team will consist of existing shareholders; Dave Savage, Jon Godwin, Dan Cocker, Steve Spedding, David Skelton, Mark Williams, Ian Lowson and Paul Rogers.
Dabbs said: “This is an important milestone for us in our sixth decade. We’ve achieved so much progress and diversification in the last ten years, and we are both excited and optimistic about the future.
“This evolution of our practice leadership structure recognises and promotes the directors into one team.
“We believe this will positively support leading the business effectively and successfully into the future.
“We feel both confident and excited about this news and the transition which we are looking to fully realise over the next year and beyond”.
Riley said: “Our compass in navigating this change has been centred on providing the best outcome for the practice holistically and for our clients.
“This structure will provide more opportunity for inclusive progression of colleagues and will help us to continue building on the strength of our service offering to clients.
“As a practice we want to leave a positive impact and legacy in everything we do and for us this is about being Progressive by Design.”
Turner added: “This marks a new era for Whittam Cox Architects and is part of a succession plan and practice evolution essential for the long-term success of the practice that we set in place just over 10 years ago.
“I have every confidence that this remarkable business will continue to be successful and grow with this leadership model.”
