Kingsley Napley—multiple hires

Kingsley Napley LLP has announced the appointment of Christina Kelly and Michael Mulligan as partners, as well as welcoming Leor Franks as its new business development and marketing director.

Christina Kelly (pictured) has joined the firm’s corporate and commercial team as partner after 14 years with Taylor Wessing. Specialising in real estate finance, Christina acts for both lenders and borrowers on investment and development facilities, covering a wide range of asset classes including student accommodation, hotels and mixed-use office and commercial properties.

James Fulforth, head of corporate and commercial, said: ‘We are very pleased to welcome Christina to the partnership and our expanding Corporate & Commercial team. Christina’s extensive experience in real estate finance enhances and complements our Corporate and Real Estate offering to clients.’

Michael Mulligan has come on board as a partner in the dispute resolution team. He previously spent over three years at Shakespeare Martineau. Michael focuses his practice on contentious insolvency and commercial litigation, handling all aspects of corporate recovery, bankruptcy, fraud and enforcement on behalf of insolvency practitioners, financial institutions, corporates, high net worth individuals and offshore advisers.

Richard Foss, head of dispute resolution, commented: ‘We are excited that Michael has joined our Dispute Resolution team and the firm’s partnership.  He has a great reputation in the market and is an excellent fit for our growing insolvency and litigation practice.  Michael’s arrival further strengthens the contentious insolvency work which we already do within the team, particularly in relation to fraud and asset recovery.’

In addition to Christina and Michael’s appointments, Leor Franks has joined Kingsley Napley and its management board as director of business development and marketing. Specialising in marketing, communications and business development for professional service firms, Leor is chair of industry body Managing Partners Forum Strategy & Marketing Group, and a board member of Queen Mary University of London Business School. As part of Kingsley Napley, he will focus on achieving the firm’s key growth ambitions, including strengthening the corporate and commercial practice and boosting its non-contentious client offering.

Linda Woolley, managing partner, said: ‘We are excited to welcome Leor to our firm and to the Management Board at a time which, in many ways, is a new era for the firm. Leor has a proven track record in shaping and delivering creative, client focused and commercially-driven marketing in professional services. He brings extensive experience in professional services marketing, business development and communications and will effectively complement and grow our existing team. I speak for the whole partnership in saying that we look forward to working with Leor.’