Effective 2020, the firm has made several new appointments and promotions within the membership, including managing director of the Life & Business business unit Victoria Tester, who stepped away from practicing law in 2012 when she moved into the executive office for the firm.

Senior legal professionals Jayne Gardner, Neil Gosling and Louise Ingram, move into a new level of membership after being promoted from preferred to ordinary members and represent the firm’s debt recovery, residential and commercial development teams. Town planner Brian Mullin and head of managed legal services Emma Porter have also been promoted to ordinary member.

Those promoted to preferred member or joining the multidisciplinary firm’s membership for the first time include family law specialist Helen Bowns, property disputes specialist James Fownes, social housing expert Rachel Gwynne and private client lawyer Hannah Tait.

New partners joining the firm include Tom Ansell taking the role of team leader for residential conveyancing; Daniel Jennings, a commercial litigation specialist who will be leading the litigation team in Leicester and Amal Kaur a dual-qualified English and Scots law real estate lawyer.

Expert in town planning, Gary Stephens becomes the firm’s newest salaried partner following an internal promotion.

Shakespeare Martineau has undergone a number of significant changes to its senior leadership team after announcing a restructure, including establishing a new growth board, at the start of this financial year.

CEO Sarah Walker-Smith said: “I’d like to, first of all, congratulate those who have been promoted and thank the entire membership for their passion and commitment to our growth ambitions and their dedication to excellent client service.  

“At Shakespeare Martineau, the most important thing for us is to ensure the right person is in the right role. We aspire to be a leading example in the sector by adopting a more inclusive mindset, opening the opportunity for inclusion in the membership to all of our people – recognising hard-work, commitment, individuality and experience.

“2020 has proven challenging for the entire business community, but our people have certainly risen to this. The honest, open minded and proactive approach by everyone in the firm has placed us in a strong position as we emerge into the ‘new abnormal’. By working efficiently and collaboratively we’ve ensured a consistent service to our clients through some of their most challenging times and maintained a positive culture.”