Moving On | Law Gazette

Simon Goacher is now Head of Local Government at Weightmans. Simon Goacher was previously Head of Legal and Democratic Services at Cheshire West and Cheshire Council.

National law firm Weightmans LLP has secured a leading public sector lawyer to head up the Local Government team, focusing on all local authority aspects except insurance litigation.

Formally Head of Legal and Democratic Services at Cheshire West and Cheshire Council, Simon Goacher has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in local government law spanning almost two decades so far.

Simon joins Weightmans as the firm’s reputation in the local government continues to soar, expanding its client base across the country and working for more local authorities than ever before.

Simon brings with him a wealth of experience across the board, and will continue the giant strides the department has taken under the steer of Graeme in recent years – currently acting for over 150 local authorities and appointed to 11 local authority consortiums nationwide.

Pelin Baysal is now partner at Mehmet Gün & Partners.

Pelin Baysal practices in the corporate and commercial department and concentrates on mergers and acquisitions, commercial litigation and insurance and reinsurance law. She has significant experience advising local and international clients on mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, inward investment and setting up and restructuring operations in Turkey.

Pelin also advises numerous reinsurers and insurers with respect to various types of liabilities under Turkish Law and advises on litigation, arbitration aspects, as well as coverage issues with respect to different types of policies. She also works as a litigator in matters relating to insurance, unfair competition and general commercial disputes.

John McInnes is now Senior Associate at Webb Henderson. John McInnes was previously Senior Associate at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP .

International legal and regulatory specialists, Webb Henderson are pleased to announce the opening of their new expanded London office and to welcome a leading industry lawyer, John McInnes to the firm. The expanded London office, headed up by Partner Gordon Moir (previously General Counsel of BT Retail and head of BT’s global regulatory and anti-trust teams) already boasts numerous blue chip corporate clients in the TMT space, as well as governments and regulators.

John McInnes, a leading industry expert in competition law and communications regulation, joins the firm as Senior Associate, from Herbert Smith Freehills LLP having also previously worked as a legal advisor at Ofcom. John has advised clients on investigations by the OFT, Ofcom and the European Commission, as well as acting on a number of high profile cases before the Competition Appeal Tribunal, and up to the Supreme Court.

Jonathan Kay is now Partner at Darbys Solicitors LLP.

Former Equity Partner and Head of Real Estate and Finance at George Davies, Jonathan Kay, has joined the Manchester office of Darbys Solicitors as a Partner. Simon McCrum, Managing Partner says “This is a significant development for our Manchester operation. Commercial Property is already a flagship team for us but to add a heavyweight lawyer like Jonathan to our Manchester team is very exciting”. Jonathan himself says “It’s a fantastic time to be joining Darbys. Simon’s ambitious strategy and vision for the Manchester office combined with its culture and reputation for delivering the highest levels of client service made it a very easy decision to join. I’m looking forward to building on the firm’s existing strengths in commercial property and expanding our offering in the North West”.

Cindy Pickering is now Associate Solicitor at Harrison Drury. Cindy Pickering was previously at Forbes Solicitors.

North West law firm Harrison Drury has appointed Cindy Pickering to head up its wills and probate team.

Cindy, a member of the Society for Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), joins Harrison Drury as an associate solicitor after nine years at Forbes Solicitors.

Cindy will manage Harrison Drury’s wills and probate teams at its Preston and Garstang offices, as well as assisting clients on matters such as powers of attorney, court of protection, trusts and tax planning.

Emily Williams is now Associate at Irwin Mitchell. Emily Williams was previously at DLA Piper.

She works alongside developers, land owners, banks, local authorities and government agencies, providing legal planning advice on a broad range of projects. These include the drafting and negotiating of planning and related infrastructure agreements and the preparation for major planning inquiries.

Emily said: “Irwin Mitchell has a reputation for being innovative in the legal market and this, combined with its ongoing investment in real estate, makes the firm an exciting proposition. I’m excited about supporting the expansion of the team in Manchester, as well as Irwin Mitchell’s national planning team.

Claire Bushen is now Partner at Kennedys. Claire Bushen was previously Partner at DAC Beachcroft.

Professional indemnity expert Claire brings a wide range of experience in defending claims against accountants and auditors, insurance brokers, estate agents and solicitors. She also deals with a significant number of D&O claims and claims against "new professions", particularly in IT. Claire trained at DAC’s Leeds office from 1999 to 2001. She rejoined the firm in Manchester in 2006.

Michael Allenby-Smith is now Director at Pitmans LLP. Michael Allenby-Smith was previously Solicitor.

Michael joined Pitmans in 2005 and qualified into the Dispute Resolution team in 2007. He specialises in commercial disputes, shareholder disputes, claims for breach of contract and misrepresentation, injunctions and against professional advisors. Michael also works closely with our commercial property department on landlord and tenant, general property and construction disputes.

Angela Shields is now Partner at Pitmans LLP. Angela Shields was previously Solicitor.

Angela Shields qualified in 2000 and joined Pitmans in 2002. Angela specialises in employment disputes including unfair dismissal, whistleblowing, discrimination and obtaining or defending applications for injunctions in relation to restrictive covenants, confidential information or intellectual property. She deals with all aspects of employment law that manages and enhances the employment relationship from recruitment through business reorganisations, family friendly issues, collective consultation, discipline and grievance to outsourcing, compromise agreements and severance packages. Angela's client base and specialist sector knowledge is in the following areas: Brand & Design, Entertainment, Environmental & Waste Management, Retail, Innovation & Technology. She has discussed various employment issues on BBC News, BBC Breakfast, Sky News, Radio 4's today programme and Radio 5 live.

Nick Tarlton is now Partner at Darbys Solicitors LLP. Nick Tarlton was previously Associate.

Nick acts on the full range of commercial property matters including property sales, purchases and lettings, (including where extensive and complex property portfolios are involved). He forms part of the Darbys' agricultural and commercial property teams. Nick is particularly experienced in working on major secured lending transactions - for banks and borrowers alike.

Nick is one of four Associates to have been made a Partner. Nick is based in Darbys' Oxford office.

Sian Champkin is now Partner at Darbys Solicitors LLP. Sian Champkin was previously Associate .

Sian's core area of practice is mergers and acquisitions. She also has considerable experience in restructuring, reorganisations and succession planning for businesses. Her experience extends to work within the automotive, medical, retail and charitable sectors.

Sian is one of four Associates to have been made a Partner. Sian is based in Darbys' Oxford office.

Richard Clayton QC is now Member at Kings Chambers.

Kings Chambers’ growth in the West Midlands continues today with the new membership of well-known public law, local government and human rights barrister Richard Clayton QC. Richard will practice from Kings’ Birmingham chambers, which opened in 2012 and has attracted a number of leading practitioners to the set. Praised for his preparation and his ability to manage difficult situations by the legal guidebook Chambers & Partners, Richard has acted on a variety of significant cases, including those relating to the controversial issues surrounding North Staffordshire Primary Care Trust.