McAlister Family Law, the North West-based, award-winning specialist family law practice, has appointed two new solicitors: Heather Lucy and George Wilson.

The firm, which is part of Beyond Group, has climbed the rankings in both Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners year on year and has offices in the city centre and throughout Cheshire. The two new appointees reflect the continued demand for its expertise.

Heather, who graduated with First Class Honours in Law from the University of Leeds and gained her LPC from BPP Manchester, completed her training contract at Vardags whilst simultaneously studying for her LPC qualification, for which she achieved a Distinction. She has worked on a wide variety of family law cases, including parental alienation, international divorce and child contact as well as a single case involving assets in excess of £8 million. She has already forged a reputation for academic rigour, excellent communication skills and an empathetic approach.

Said Heather: “McAlister Family Law is a firm absolutely committed not only to divorce and related finance work, but also to the welfare of children through its unique specialist children teams. To have the opportunity of being able to work on both is incredible. The firm’s reputation as family law experts is outstanding, and I am delighted to be able to join them as they continue building something unique in the industry.”

George graduated from Northumbria University with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) MLaw exempting, where he also worked as a legal adviser within the Student Law Office. He joined Vardags in 2017 as a paralegal, before being awarded a training contract only six months’ later. He chose early in his career to focus on Family Law, and has worked in various areas of that specialism, including private law children, and divorce and finances. Outside of work George has fundraised for many years for the Help for Heroes charity and has a genuine interest in working with military and police personnel, the latter because of close family ties to the Metropolitan Police.

“I find family law incredibly rewarding because there is something special about picking someone up from a bad situation and helping them towards a good one,” he said. McAlister Family Law has made had a huge impact on the region and beyond, and this is a very exciting move for me, as the firm continues its rapid growth and increasing dominance of the family law market.”
Amanda McAlister, managing partner of McAlister Family Law, added: “I’m delighted to welcome Heather and George on board. Both are very talented young lawyers and bring skills and experience that complement the already comprehensive offering here at McAlister Family Law. Like everyone within our firm, they are dedicated to delivering the very highest level of service to our clients.

“Our excellent new recruits will, I am sure, make a significant contribution to the team as we continue to grow as a firm and cement our reputation as one the UK’s leading family law firms.”

Beyond Group Head Matt Fleetwood said: “George and Heather are a perfect fit for the Group’s culture and values. McAlister Family Law has been extraordinarily successful since we established the firm three years ago, and it’s great to see it expand further with these new recruits.”

Davis Blank Furniss – the Manchester and Glossop based law firm – has promoted Rebecca Taylor to associate solicitor in its Dispute Resolution team. The firm has also appointed Kirsty Fillery as its newest residential property solicitor.

Rebecca graduated from the University of Manchester in 2014 and completed her LPC at the College of Law. She joined Davis Blank Furniss as a trainee solicitor in September 2016 and was admitted as a solicitor in September 2018. Rebecca works on a variety of commercial and property disputes and in particular, commercial contract disputes, shareholder disputes, beneficial ownership of property disputes, rights of way disputes and landlord/tenant disputes.

Kirsty joins Davis Blank Furniss from Gorvins. She will now be focussing on all types of residential property law including sales, purchases, re-mortgages, transfers of equity, leasehold, as well as freehold and new build matters.

Kate Oldfield – managing partner – said: “From the beginning of her career, Rebecca has shown a real flare for law and an enthusiasm for her work. She is now an essential part of our dispute resolution department and her promotion is hugely deserved.”

Commenting on Kirsty’s appointment, Kate added: “Our residential property team has enjoyed a strong year so Kirsty’s arrival comes at an exciting time for the department. She brings with her some great experience and I’m sure she will add value to the firm and our clients.”

The news comes shortly after the firm, that employers over 200 people, announced the promotions of Sam Jackson to Associate level and Caroline Brennan to Partner earlier in the year.

Kuits’ property team has seen the promotions of Charlotte Barker, Nadia McMahon-Wilson and Kate Kurtz to Associate level, while Emma Nimmo and Claire Heron have been promoted to Senior Associate.

The firm’s corporate department, ranked Band 1 in the Chambers and Partners legal directory for advising SME and owner-managed businesses, has promoted Solicitor Kate Gledhill to Associate level.

Elsewhere, intellectual property Associates Humna Nadim and Yasmin Kalantari have both been promoted to Senior Associate, along with Rebecca Ingram in the licensing department and Phillip Warburton in the litigation team.

Managing Partner Steve Eccleston said: “We are delighted to have made such a large number of promotions during what has been a difficult time for many businesses and the wider economy.

“These promotions demonstrate our commitment to developing our team members and providing opportunities for progression.

“Each team member that has been promoted has remained committed to providing service excellence to our clients throughout the pandemic, as well as providing clients with commercially sound advice. We, as a firm, could not be more proud of them all.”