Richard Reed Solicitors has strengthened its board with the appointment of two new directors. Nicola Bennell, head of conveyancing, and private client solicitor and head of department Annaliese Barber have both taken up new roles as members of the board.
Ms Bennell has been at the Frederick Street-based firm for seven years, having started her career working at Northern Rock in the fraud department.
Meanwhile, Ms Barber’s work as a private client solicitor includes dealing with a variety of legal matters including wills, trusts, administration of estates and court of protection work. She is also qualified as a Notary Public which allows her to oversee the authentication and certification of signatures, authority and capacity relating to documents used in other countries.
Sarah Reid, managing director at Richard Reed, said: “Nicola and Annaliese have long been integral to our team, and we are delighted to see them join the board, where their expertise will undoubtedly strengthen Richard Reed’s success.”
Irwin Mitchell has appointed Francesca Mayes as the new regional lead partner for the North East.
Serving a fixed three-year term, with the possibility of re-appointment for up to three terms, Ms Mayes will focus on expanding Irwin Mitchell’s presence in the North East, fostering collaboration, and aligning efforts across teams. The role aims to drive growth in the regional market and enhance collaboration across teams to help even more clients.
She will work closely with client-facing teams, business development, and marketing experts to maximise regional market opportunities, client sharing, and impact as a responsible business in local communities.
Louise Lumley, group chief client officer at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Our new regional lead partners are set to be instrumental in our future success. By enhancing team collaboration and connectivity, these roles will unlock new opportunities and bolster our regional market presence. I am enthusiastic about the future these roles will help us build and the positive impact we will continue to make in our communities.”
Azets has appointed Ian Beaumont as regional senior partner for the North East and Yorkshire. He was the recently retired head of KPMG in the North East before joining the Ƶ top 10 accountancy and advisory firm.
Mr Beaumont started his career with Haines Watts before going on to become office senior partner at RSM Robson Rhodes, BDO and KPMG. He has a wealth of experience across privately owned, private equity-backed, family owned and regional listed businesses across the two regions.
He said: “This is an exciting time for the North East, with two Combined Authorities providing stimulus for growth, a strong traditional business community and the growth of new sectors, such as energy transition, digital, space and the creative sector. Who would not want to be part of the North East and play a small part in supporting businesses and the region to maximise the opportunities?
“I am delighted to be joining Azets to support a strong regional leadership team. Azets is fantastically placed to support aspiring regional businesses and their owners with expertise that will support them along the full growth lifecycle. With growth comes additional complexity for our clients and, as a national firm, we are able to call upon national specialists as well as provide international reach.”
Russell Turner, regional managing director for North East & Yorkshire, said: “To attract a heavyweight business advisor of Ian’s calibre is a genuine coup. With more than 35 years’ experience in this region, Ian’s appointment demonstrates our commitment to develop and attract top talent in order to ensure we can provide the high quality advice and support regional businesses and their owners deserve.”
Law firm Muckle LLP has strengthened its employment team with newly qualified solicitor Paula Normington. Ms Normington, who initially joined the firm as a business support assistant in 2008 before joining the employment team as a PA in 2009, has qualified as an employment solicitor through the North-East Solicitor Apprenticeship programme (NESA).
NESA is a six-year scheme that enables an individual to gain work experience, earn a law degree and qualify as a solicitor. Paula was selected for the programme after demonstrating a strong passion to develop in her role and a keen interest in employment law.
She has now qualified as solicitor and will put her skills into practice, delivering pragmatic and commercial employment advice to a range of clients, including handling tribunals.
She said: “Joining Muckle as a business support assistant was the beginning of an incredible journey. I’ve been so lucky with the support I’ve received along the way – from progressing to senior paralegal to qualifying as a solicitor. The apprenticeship route is a lot of work but it offers the benefit of being part of a firm, gaining hands-on experience and achieving a qualification at the end. I’ve gained a wide range of skills and experience over the past six years and have developed a good understanding of how the firm works. I’m so happy to finally qualify and I’m looking forward to continuing to work with an amazing team and clients.”
Chris Maddock, partner and head of the employment team, said: “Over the years, Paula has demonstrated tremendous talent and has become a key asset to our employment team and the firm as whole. Her drive, hard work and wish to progress have been amazing and she is a prime example of how you can make the best of home-grown talent.”
A Newcastle marketing agency has welcomed three new members of staff to support its rapid growth, while also moving to a four-and-a-half day week with plans to make this four days in 2025. Who’s Listening is a full-service marketing agency with specialisms in social media, paid ads, email marketing and websites, working with businesses across the Ƶ.
Rapid growth has seen the team almost double in size, with plans to recruit at least two more team members in the next 12 months.
The new team members are Liam Armstrong, business marketing consultant; Josh Hoggart, social media specialist; and Care-Ella Bellerby, website designer/developer, a recent graduate from Northumbria University.
Managing director Shane Gammage said: “It’s been a really exciting time for us – in just over two and a half years we have achieved an incredible amount and have ambitious plans which these appointments will be supported by. All of our business comes from word of mouth and referral, so we know that our clients are happy with what we do for them and see genuine results, and that’s down to the skill and hard work of our people.”
North East digital agency Mediaworks has expanded its teams across its offices in Gateshead and Leeds offices on the back of new business wins. The new appointments have been made over the last three months in departments including social, SEO, client services, sales, strategic planning, project management and innovation, following the addition of clients including Gateshead Council, Odeon, Vet Partners, Travis Perkins, and Lumo.
The agency has also made a number of promotions across the business.
Brett Jacobson, CEO, said: “Our new recruits are not only a response to the increased demand from our growing client roster but also a reflection of our commitment to creating jobs and supporting the economies in the regions we operate in. Each new team member will play an important role as we continue our mission to deliver innovative digital solutions and measurable results.”
