header-logo header-logo

22 September 2025
Categories: Movers & Shakers , Profession
printer mail-detail

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

National professional services firm Knights has launched a dedicated family law team in its Leeds office with the appointment of senior associate Ella Dodgson and associate Rebecca Laffan. Their arrival marks the first time Knights has had a family law presence in Leeds, complementing its existing teams across the UK.

Ella joins from Ward Hadaway and specialises in complex financial settlements on divorce, including high-value and intricate asset division. She also advises on pre- and post-nuptial agreements. Rebecca, previously at Harrowells Limited, brings expertise in securing tailored financial outcomes and handling private law children cases involving safeguarding concerns.

Both regularly act for entrepreneurs, business owners and individuals with inherited wealth. Having worked together at Harrowells in 2022, their move to Knights reunites them and builds on an already strong professional rapport. Ella said Knights’ ‘progressive and entrepreneurial approach’ and its ‘One Team ethos’ were key factors in their decision to join.

Lisa Shacklock, group client services director at Knights, said Ella and Rebecca ‘bring real strength and depth’ to the firm’s family offering and their appointment ‘signals our commitment to building a strong family presence in Leeds’.

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