One of the Midlands’ largest private client legal teams is expanding further with three senior appointments.
Higgs & Sons’ private client team, which looks after the personal legal requirements of individuals across the UK, has appointed Ian Bond as a partner and Mark Blackham as a senior legal advisor, with Alison Chaloner also joining the team as a solicitor.
The appointments bring the number of fee earners within the department to 25 and the team as a whole now totals over 40 people.
The private client team is led by Nick Moxon, who as well as his role as department head, will shortly take up his new role as senior partner at the 200-strong firm. Nick said: “We have worked hard this year to grow the team and ensure we have the very best legal specialists to look after our clients. The appointments come on the back of one of our best ever years in 2012 and we’re on track for even better results in 2013.”
Ian Bond joins the team from Michelmores Solicitors. Prior to this he spent four years as head of legal services at The Co-operative Trust Corporation, where he set up the fiduciary services ready for the advent of Alternative Business Structures into the legal market. At Higgs he will specialise in private client work, with an emphasis on trust formation and administration, estate planning and the administration of estates. He has a wide range of experience with high value multi-jurisdictional estates, especially intestacy matters.
Alison Chaloner comes to Higgs from London firm Bircham Dyson Bell LLP, based in Westminster. She began her career in PR and marketing working for luxury beauty brands including Chanel and L’Oreal before deciding on a career change to law. Speaking of this, she said: “I decided at the age of 26 to have a complete career change and I haven’t looked back. After working in London, I wanted to move to the Midlands to be closer to family and have known of Higgs for many years, even doing work experience with the firm. When the opportunity arose to join the team, I jumped at it.”
Mark Blackham joins the department from SGH Martineau in Birmingham. He is a specialist trust administrator and with over 25 years’ experience, will strengthen the team’s work in this area.
Nick Moxon believes the team is now one of the strongest in the region: “The experience within the team is diverse and I believe, unprecedented within the Midlands. We have followed a strategy of appointing experts within their individual specialisms and aim to grow the team even further in the future to match the needs of our clients.”