Celebrating 16 Promotions Across our Teams

We are delighted to celebrate 16 promotions across a variety of teams and locations.

Effective May 2024, we have promoted seven people to partner, five people to legal director, three people to associate, and one person into the membership.

Promoted to partner are commercial property experts Aller Dawlat and John Buckley, based in Nottingham; land lawyer Holly Lockley and infrastructure solicitor Ben Darlow in Leicester; social housing specialist Stewart Freeman in Stratford-upon-Avon; and Birmingham-based private client solicitor Victoria Taylor and Claire Burrows, from our specialist managed legal services team.

• Aller is a key member of the real estate and energy teams, specialising in high-volume energy transactions, investment and development projects.
• John has a broad range of general commercial property experience, including landlord and tenant and residential and commercial real estate development, with a focus on energy development.
• Holly specialises in the acquisition and disposal of development land, helping clients maximise potential while navigating potential challenges.
• Ben focuses on acting for landowners in high-value and complex sales. He also specialises in insolvency-based and charity-related property matters.
• Stewart deals with a high volume of sale transactions exclusively for housing association clients and has worked in the social housing sector for more than 13 years.
• Victoria specialises in helping individuals plan for the future through wills, lasting powers of attorney and estate planning.
• Claire is a litigator who leads the interventions, investigations and inquiries offering within our managed legal services business unit.

Intellectual property lawyer Kerry Russell, based in Sheffield, has also been promoted into the membership of legal and professional services group Ampa, which we are part of.

New legal directors are immigration law expert Calum Hanrahan in Lincoln; commercial property and development lawyer Matthew Jones and dispute resolution specialist Nicola Lediard in Birmingham; and Natalie Spink, based in Bristol, and Kieran Pearson, in Nottingham, from our managed legal services business unit.

• Calum advises business in a variety of different sectors including technology, manufacturing and food production, and guides individuals and families through visa applications.
• Matthew handles a mixed commercial practice and represents institutional and nationally recognised landowners, as well as commercial and high street name occupiers.
• Nicola has experience in complex commercial disputes, particularly involving urgent injunctive relief, energy, and agricultural matters.
• Natalie supports internal partners and external clients on all matters, including regulatory and litigious matters.
• Kieran plays a key role in the claims and regulatory investigations team, focusing on financial and case investigations, and acts for regulators in statutory interventions.

Promoted to associate level is Harpreet Sandhu in the debt and asset recovery team; construction specialist Dominic Suffolk; and corporate lawyer Joshua Dyal, all based in Birmingham.

• Harpreet has extensive experience in cradle-to-grave contentious and non-contentious litigation, specialising in debt recovery, asset finance, enforcement, contractual disputes, and financial regulatory advice.
• Dominic specialises in non-contentious construction and has expertise drafting and negotiating building contracts, consultants’ appointments, and collateral warranties.
• Joshua advises corporate and individual shareholders in relation to mergers and acquisitions, company restructurings and various company matters for private and public companies.

Victoria Tester, managing director said: “Our people are the driving force behind our success, and our clients directly benefit from the investments we make in their growth and development.”

“Recognising and rewarding high performance is a core part of our culture, reinforcing our commitment to supporting our team at every stage of their careers. We remain dedicated to nurturing talent and empowering our people to deliver outstanding service to clients.”

“It is fantastic to see so many well-earned promotions across various teams and levels – congratulations to all on this achievement.”