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04 February 2026
Categories: Movers & Shakers , Profession
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Blake Morgan—Scott Hilton, Joan Yu & Melia Hirst

Firm strengthens corporate, real estate and insolvency teams with partner trio

National law firm Blake Morgan has begun the year with the appointment of three new partners across its corporate, real estate and insolvency teams. Scott Hilton and Joan Yu (pictured) join the firm’s London office, while Melia Hirst returns to Blake Morgan’s Southampton office, taking the total number of new London partners hired in the past year to seven.

Hilton bolsters the real estate team, bringing more than 15 years’ experience advising developers, landowners, investors and occupiers, with a focus on the Central London prime office and retail markets. Yu joins the corporate team with over 20 years’ experience spanning mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, venture capital and equity capital markets, with a particular emphasis on natural resources and early stage technology businesses, often on cross-border matters.

In Southampton, Hirst joins the insolvency team, bringing nearly 20 years’ experience in insolvency and a strong reputation for non-contentious corporate insolvency work. She previously worked at Blake Morgan between 2007 and 2015 and has been recognised in Chambers and Partners for 12 consecutive years, as well as in Legal 500.

Helen Bunker, chair at Blake Morgan, said the firm was setting the tone for the year ‘with three fantastic new partners’ and highlighted the focus on ‘balancing growth across our corporate, real estate, and insolvency teams’, adding that the appointments would ‘deepen the excellent service’ clients expect from the firm.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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