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29 January 2026
Categories: Movers & Shakers , Profession
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Freeths—Ruth Clare

National real estate team bolstered by partner hire in Manchester

Freeths has strengthened its national real estate team with the appointment of partner Ruth Clare in Manchester. She joins the firm from Shoosmiths, bringing more than 20 years’ experience advising retail occupier and corporate clients.

Clare trained at Mayer Brown in London before spending a decade at Eversheds following her move to Manchester. She specialises in the expansion, disposal and management of property portfolios, and is known for building close, long-term client relationships and working as an extension of her clients’ businesses.

With a strong market reputation and deep sector knowledge, Clare brings a number of household-name clients to Freeths. She will work with colleagues in Manchester and across the firm’s national platform to enhance its offering to corporate occupiers entering and operating in the UK market.

Darren Williamson, partner and national head of real estate, said Clare is ‘a highly respected lawyer with an exceptional track record’, adding that her ‘experience, commercial insight and collaborative approach’ make her ‘an outstanding addition’. Clare said joining Freeths felt ‘like the next natural step’, citing the firm’s ‘strong national platform’ and ‘culture of fostering collaboration’.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

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EIP—Rob Barker

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IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

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Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
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
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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