Two new partners and series of senior promotions at Willans

9 February 2021

Gloucestershire-based law firm Willans LLP has announced the appointment of two new partners and a series of senior promotions.

Residential property partner, Simon Hodges, re-joins Willans after 5 years at Hughes Paddison, where he was a director in the firm’s conveyancing department. Adam Hale becomes a partner after three years as senior associate in the firm’s agriculture & estates team. Wills, trusts & probate specialists Miranda Hawkes and Tom O’Riordan become associates, along with residential property lawyer Mary Young.

A well-known face in Cheltenham conveyancing, Simon Hodges has over 15 years’ experience in residential property law. He has particular expertise in dealing with the purchase of retirement properties and has acted for clients purchasing from large national retirement home builders for many years.

Agricultural law specialist Adam Hale’s promotion to partner brings the firm’s partner count to 14. Adam advises rural businesses, farmers and private landowners on a wide range of issues relating to rural land management and the disposal of development land and has extensive experience in dealing with complex land transactions. Ranked in The Legal 500 UK, a Fellow of the Agricultural Law Association and full member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners, Adam is able to provide truly holistic advice to his clients.

Over in the firm’s highly regarded residential property team, chartered legal executive Mary Young has been promoted to associate. Mary has practised property law in Cheltenham for more than 15 years, and prior to joining Willans in 2019, Mary headed up the residential property team at another well-known local firm.

In the firm’s Chambers-rated wills, trusts & probate division, chartered legal executive Miranda Hawkes and solicitor Tom O’Riordan have both been promoted to associate level.

Miranda returned to Willans in 2020 after working as a senior private client lawyer in a Malvern-based firm. She is a full member of STEP and has more than 12 years’ experience in private client law. She helps clients who are elderly and vulnerable, particularly those who are unable to make important decisions for themselves. She’s also a keen equine enthusiast and provides inheritance tax and estate planning advice to clients with agricultural and equestrian assets.

Tom re-joined Willans in August 2020, having worked in the firm’s wills, trusts & probate team for many years prior to a year and a half at another leading regional private client firm. While he has wide experience, he mainly helps clients with the creation of trusts and the administration of trusts and estates (to assist with tax planning, asset protection or to provide for disabled or vulnerable beneficiaries).

Bridget Redmond, managing partner, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Simon back to Willans and am really proud of Adam, Mary, Miranda and Tom; I look forward to seeing them thrive as partner and associates, respectively.

“Each has shown clear commitment to providing clients with first-class legal advice in a responsive, approachable way. That is very much the Willans ethos and it is why we have earned the trust of generations of clients.”

Willans offers legal advice to businesses, individuals, charities and not-for-profit organisations, based locally, nationally and internationally. The Gloucestershire-based firm, which was established in 1947, employs around 80 people in the county.

 

Willans LLP

A leading South West law firm, we provide businesses, charities and not-for-profit organisations and people with expert, practical and personal service. We act for local, national and overseas clients from our Cheltenham offices.

Willans offers comprehensive legal services in residential property/conveyancing; divorce & family law; wills, probate & trusts; agriculture & estates; dispute resolution/litigation; employment; business immigration; commercial property; corporate & commercial; intellectual property; GDPR & data protection; inheritance & probate disputes; property litigation and mediation.

We are client focused. Established in Cheltenham in the 1940s, we are proud to be Lexcel-accredited, a national standard that is only awarded to law firms which meet the highest management and customer care standards. Many areas of law which we advise on and a good number of our lawyers are recommended purely on merit year-on-year by national independent legal guides (Chambers/Legal 500) who speak to clients about their experiences.

With around 80 people, we are large enough to provide first-class specialist services yet small enough to give genuinely personal service. Our skills, experience and competitive rates combine to ensure clients get good value for money. In terms of technical expertise and the size and value of the transactions we handle, our track record shows our performance more than matches that of many of our larger competitors.

www.willans.co.uk

 

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