header-logo header-logo

22 April 2026
Categories: Movers & Shakers , Profession
printer mail-detail

Birketts—four appointments

Firm expands partnership with four lateral hires across key practice areas

Birketts has appointed four new partners as it continues to grow its national offering, with hires spanning family, banking and finance, and construction. The additions, alongside five recent internal promotions, bring the firm’s total partner count to 156.

Sebastian Burrows and Mary Gaskins join the firm’s family team, based in Cambridge and Bristol respectively, strengthening what Birketts describes as an award-winning practice. Paula Macnamara joins the banking and finance team in London from Simmons & Simmons, specialising in real estate finance, while David Richards bolsters the construction team in Norwich with a focus on construction litigation.

Senior partner Chris Schwer said: ‘Its is a pleasure to welcome our new Partners to Birketts this month… their arrival will enable us to continue to deliver top tier legal support to both new and existing clients.’

He added: ‘I’m looking forward to working with them as we look ahead to the next stages of the firm’s growth.’

Image caption: (top from L-R): Sebastian Burrows, Mary Gaskins; (bottom from L-R): Paula Macnamara, David Richards

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Haynes Boone—Jeremy Cross

Haynes Boone—Jeremy Cross

Firm strengthens global fund finance practice with London partner hire.

DWF—Stephen Webb

DWF—Stephen Webb

Partner and head of national planning team appointed

mfg Solicitors—Nick Little

mfg Solicitors—Nick Little

Corporate team expands in Birmingham with partner hire

NEWS
Contract damages are usually assessed at the date of breach—but not always. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Gascoigne, knowledge lawyer at LexisNexis, examines the growing body of cases where courts have allowed later events to reshape compensation
The Supreme Court has restored ‘doctrinal coherence’ to unfair prejudice litigation, writes Natalie Quinlivan, partner at Fieldfisher LLP, in this week' NLJ
The High Court’s refusal to recognise a prolific sperm donor as a child’s legal parent has highlighted the risks of informal conception arrangements, according to Liam Hurren, associate at Kingsley Napley, in NLJ this week
The Court of Appeal’s decision in Mazur may have settled questions around litigation supervision, but the profession should not simply ‘move on’, argues Jennifer Coupland, CEO of CILEX, in this week's NLJ
A simple phrase like ‘subject to references’ may not protect employers as much as they think. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, analyses recent employment cases showing how conditional job offers can still create binding contracts
back-to-top-scroll