Happenings in Hampshire

Andrew Spooner

Charlotte Oldham

Kevin Richardson

Biscoes promotes 3 lawyers to Directors

Biscoes Solicitors is delighted to announce the promotion of three lawyers to Directors, with effect from 1st April 2023.

These promotions reflect Biscoes ambitious strategy for growth across a number of key practices in Hampshire & the Isle of Wight and the willingness to promote to leadership roles young and ambitious leaders who share the firms continued focus on delivering an exceptional service to its clients, and its vision to provide “Great Service, Every Client, Every Time”.

Andrew Spooner is a highly experienced mental capacity and mental health lawyer. Andrew is an accredited member of both the Law Society’s Mental Health Accreditation Scheme and the Law Society’s Mental Capacity (Welfare) Scheme and is therefore able to represent individuals detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 and be appointed as an Accredited Legal Representative for those who are assessed to lack mental capacity in Court of Protection proceedings.

Charlotte Oldham is well-regarded and had a wealth of knowledge and experience in residential property law across the Isle of Wight, South Coast and further afield. Charlotte leads the residential property team, and colleagues value her positivity and strong team-based ethos. Kevin Richardson is well-know and highly regarded for his contested Wills and probate disputes and is a member of the Association of Contested Trusts and Probate Solicitors (ACTAPS). Colleagues value Kevin’s honesty, commitment to clients and his “can do” attitude.

Alison Lee, Managing Director of Biscoes Solicitors, said: “Kevin, Charlotte and Andrew bring additional strengths to our Board and we are now even better equipped to continue to grow our business, in particular having two new Directors who have lived on the Isle of Wight is proving beneficial as they are able to inform on issues relating particularly to our Island clients.”

Alison added: “We have grown in staff numbers and turnover significantly in the past few years and so having a larger Board with fresh ideas will hopefully see that trajectory continue. All three are fantastic lawyers with great growth mindsets who share the current Board’s desire to continue to make Biscoes a great legal firm, where we take care of our people.” 

Biscoes Solicitors shortlisted for two PETA Apprenticeship Awards

For the second year in a row, Biscoes have been shortlisted for the following Awards:

For the second year in a row, Biscoes have been shortlisted for the following Awards:

Rising Star Award – Chloe Freshney Best Apprentice Employer Award (SME – Under 250 employees)

Biscoes currently have 5 apprentices at a range of different levels within the company with 5 more to sign up to apprenticeship courses in September this year.

Biscoes apprentices recently supported National Apprenticeship Week and joined the Shaping Portsmouth Apprenticeship Bus around Portsmouth.

Alison Lee, Managing Director of Biscoes commented, “We are delighted to be shortlisted for these awards. Apprentices are changing our business every day, and we strive to create an excellent apprentice experience and dedicate a lot of time and effort into developing our apprentices with great results.”

Debbie Brown, HR Manager added, “We are keen to show that apprenticeships can be undertaken at any age, any stage of a career and at different levels within the business. We are really looking forward to the PETA awards ceremony on the evening of 16 June 2023.” 

Trethowans sees a trio of wins at Solent Deals Awards 2023

Trethowans have seen success in a trio of awards at the Solent Deals Awards 2023, which took place at a gala dinner held at the Hilton Ageas in Southampton on 23 March.

The awards, which were hosted by The Business Magazine, saw a highly competitive line-up of finalists whittled down by independent judges to winners in 14 categories.

Lucy Gleisner, Partner and Head of the Corporate team at Trethowans won the Lawyer of the Year award, which is presented to the lawyer who has had the most significant impact on completion of deals within the region.

Lucy commented: “I was on maternity leave for five months of 2022 and feel like I hit the ground running on my return by completing six deals with an enterprise value of over £50m last year. Juggling work in a corporate finance team and being a fulltime parent definitely has its challenges. However, this award can only be achieved by having a supportive team around me, which I certainly have at Trethowans”.

Nick Gent, Head of the Corporate group, said: “I’d like to congratulate Lucy on this award. It’s a brilliant achievement and recognition for the skill, hard work and dedication that she delivers for our clients”.

In further success for Trethowans, the MBO of Southamptonbased marine precision engineering firm CJR Propulsion Limited won the Mid-Range Deal of the Year award (£10m to £50m). Lucy was the lead lawyer for this transaction.

Regarding the win, Lucy commented: “This was an important local deal involving a strong management team. The selling shareholders thought about a trade sale but decided that an MBO was a better way to progress the company. It also meant stability for the employees. MBOs like this work if you have a management team that have the drive and determination take the company to the next level”.

The winner of the Small Deal of the Year (under £10m) category went to Azets for the sale of Inspire Accountants, a deal which was led by Trethowans’ Corporate Partner and Head of Trethowans Bournemouth office Mark Nixon. Regarding the win, Mark commented: “Warren and the team at Inspire have worked tirelessly for their clients since the business was founded and thoroughly deserve their reputation for delivering service excellence to businesses across Bournemouth, Poole and the wider Solent region. The sale to Azets represented a fantastic opportunity for the continued growth of the business and for this to be recognised at the Solent deal awards is a real testament to all that they have achieved.” 

Phillips Law Promotions

Emma Elkington, Jacqueline Kendal and Clare Strachan

On 1st May Emma Elkington (commercial property team), Jacqueline Kendal (employment team) and Clare Strachan (commercial property team) were all promoted to Partner.

Speaking on the promotions, Phillips Law partner Max Hope said: “Our three new Partners reflect the deep pool of talent within the firm. Congratulations to Emma, Jacqueline, and Clare; I want to thank them for their dedication and commitment to our firm and our core value of delivering the exceptional for our clients.”

The firm’s new hires include Jacqueline Drury who joined the firm as a Partner in the Corporate and Commercial team in May 2023 and Anthony Woolley joined the firm in March 2023 as a Legal Director in the Commercial Property team.

Jacqueline Drury started her legal career at Freshfields and more recently broadened her experience as General Counsel and executive at an independent international spirits business.

Jacqueline knows what businesses want from legal advice and she likes to use her legal toolkit as an enabler and to help mitigate excessive risk.

Prior to joining Phillips Law, Anthony Woolley worked at several top-tier law firms in the United Kingdom, the Middle East and Far East including Freshfields, Winkworth Sherwood and Hogan Lovells. He has recently relocated to Hampshire and brings a wealth of experience from across the globe.

On the new hires, Jack Gardener, joint managing partner at Phillips Law and head of the Corporate team said: “Jacqueline and Anthony represent exciting new talent at Phillips Law. We are delighted to have such experienced and talented lawyers joining the team who will be an asset to our business and our clients. The calibre of the people we are able to recruit really shows the growth and progress we have made as a firm over recent years.” 

New Appointment for Hampshire Legal Firm

Leo Noonan & Mark Chapman of Clarke Solicitors

Clarke and Son Solicitors welcomes new Family Law Solicitor, Leo Noonan.

We have really been focusing on the growth and development of the firm due to the increased demand across many of our departments including Family Law. We excited to welcome Leo Noonan, a new Family Law solicitor, to the team.

Leo Noonan is a great addition to the team, obtaining his LLB Law Degree at the University of Portsmouth, graduating in 2018. After which he completed the Legal Practice Course and received a LLM Masters in Law at The University of Law Guildford in 2019. Since then, Leo’s specialist area of work has been family law, starting as a paralegal, all the way through to qualifying as a Solicitor in April 2023.

Leo Noonan said: “I am delighted to be joining the family team at Clarke and Son. Mark Chapman and Jennifer Lee are a credit to the legal profession. Their expertise and guidance is exceptional and I could not have asked for a better firm to start my journey as a newly qualified Solicitor. I am extremely grateful for the training I have received at my previous firms, however I am now excited to develop my knowledge even further here at Clarke and Son”.

Mark Chapman, Associate & Head of Family Department, said:

“We’re delighted to have Leo join the team. Although newly qualified, Leo has a great deal of experience already on Children Act matters and is looking forward to developing his own Matrimonial Causes Act caseload. Leo joining Clark and Son continues to demonstrate the firm’s successful strategy for growth and strengthens the Family Team”.