Blake Lapthorn invests in success through latest round of
promotions
Blake Lapthorn has continued its
investment in success by announcing seven promotions to senior
solicitor and equivalent positions across the firm.
Following its successful results in this
year's Legal 500 and Chambers UK surveys, with a record number of
teams being ranked 1st and 2nd, included for
the first time and also moving up a tier, Blake Lapthorn is pleased
to announce that the following people have been promoted:
Sarah Gates (associate) – Commercial Litigation, Oxford
Sarah qualified into commercial litigation in
September 2002, joining Blake Lapthorn's Litigation and Dispute
Resolution department in January 2006 to specialise in equipment
finance and leasing litigation. Sarah, a member of the firm's
No.1 ranked Commercial Litigation team in the Thames
Valley by the Legal 500 and (in the South) Chambers surveys, uses
her in-depth knowledge of both the finance industry and court
procedure to act for banks and finance houses in solely complex
and/or high value litigation, advising on all matters arising
before, during and post litigation.
Eleanor Armstrong (associate) – Travel, Southampton
Having spent three years as an assistant with
the international legal team in Alcatel CIT in France, Eleanor, who
has for the first time this year been indentified as a 'Leader in
her field' in the Chambers UK survey, joined Blake Lapthorn as a
trainee and qualified in September 2006. Eleanor has a degree
in Translating and Interpreting (German/Spanish), and is also
fluent in French. Assisting ably in growing the firm's
Travel Insurance team, which has moved up a
ranking to No. 2 in this year's Chambers UK survey, she presently
handles all aspects of travel litigation.
Caroline van Zyl (associate) - Succession and Tax,
Oxford
Caroline joined Blake Lapthorn in 2005, having
read Law at the University of Oxford and been called to the Bar.
She joined Blake Lapthorn's Succession and Tax team in 2007 and
undertook the transfer course, as a non-practising barrister to
admission as a solicitor in 2008. Caroline, who continues to
help grow the firm's Private Law team in Oxford, advises on matters
relating to estate/inheritance tax planning - from advice on
lifetime planning and the drafting or amending of Wills, through to
administration of estates and deeds of variation. She also
advises on Lasting Powers of Attorney and related capacity issues
and is a student member of the Society of Trusts and Estates
Practitioners.
Irpreet Kohli (associate) - Family, London
Irpreet qualified as a solicitor in 2004 and
specialises in all aspects of family law, with a highly regarded
expertise in dealing with cases with an Asian
aspect. As a member of the firm's No. 2 ranked Family team
in the 2011 Legal 500 survey, she has written many articles for the
publication Asian Woman, online websites and the
Family Law Journal on issues such as forced marriages,
dowry and jewellery issues and cases involving overseas and Islamic
divorces ('Talaqs'). She is the resident legal expert for the
Asian Wedding Directory and is a regular contributor on
the BBC Asian Network Breakfast show, with a forthcoming
radio documentary on 'Dowries within Asian divorces' soon to be
broadcast. Irpreet also lectures for Central Law Training to
other Family Lawyers all over England on the Asian aspects of
divorce, ancillary relief and children.
Guy Micklewright (barrister) - Professional Regulatory,
London
Guy is a barrister in Blake Lapthorn's
Professional Regulatory team, which has once
again been highly ranked in this year's Legal 500 and Chambers UK
surveys and has also recently been appointed to act for the General
Dental Council in Fitness to Practise cases. He has over six
years' specialist advocacy expertise, with particular experience in
fitness to practise cases, having previously been a senior lawyer
in the in-house team at the General Dental Council. Guy
presents cases before the various conduct committees of the General
Osteopathic Council, General Optical Council, General Social Care
Council, Health Professions Council, Association of Accounting
Technicians and General Teaching Council. Guy also handles
the largest and most complex cases brought by the General Medical
Council. He is a member of the Association of Regulatory and
Disciplinary Lawyers and a member of the South-Eastern Circuit Bar
Mess.
Louise Chapman (senior executive) - Succession and Tax,
Portsmouth
Louise Chapman, a member of the No.1 ranked
Succession and Tax team in Hampshire by the 2011
Legal 500 survey, joined Blake Lapthorn in 2001 and is a Fellow of
the Institute of Legal Executives after completing her ILEX
training with the firm. She has a wide range of experience
dealing with drafting Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney and
administering estates, however the majority of Louise's work is
with the Court of Protection. Louise is a
member of Solicitors for the Elderly and a student member of the
Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners.
Sue Knipe (senior executive) - Portsmouth and Oxford
Sue joined the firm's Finance team in 1996 and
has grown professionally through a variety of roles into her
current position as a Management accountant. She is team
leader, for the main processing part of the Finance team, leads on
SAR compliance, runs accounts workshops and is involved in all the
accountancy aspects of the firm's intervention work. Helping
to continue strengthen the firm's financial management, Sue has
over 30 years' experience in legal accounts and has managed several
large teams during this time. She is a member of the
Institute of Legal Accounts Managers and is qualified in SAR
compliance.
Stephen Murfitt, Blake Lapthorn's new chairman
with effect from 1 November 2011, said: "I am delighted to be able
to announce these promotions, which reflect the continued high
quality of staff that we have at Blake Lapthorn. It is truly
pleasing to see our people continuing to grow professionally."
These promotions are effective from 1 November
2011.
