South Coast law firm Lester Aldridge is pleased to welcome two new partners to their Southampton office, Gilly Locke (pictured right) and Bethan Dodd (pictured left).

Gilly joins the firm’s Restructuring & Insolvency team and will specialise in all types of insolvency litigation, particularly insolvency and fraud asset recovery in both corporate and personal matters.

Gilly has specialised in contentious insolvency since she qualified in 1992, working for a range of clients including insolvency practitioners, accountants, directors and individuals. Her experience includes complex bankruptcies, disqualification proceedings, advising on the use of prohibited names, misfeasance claims, shareholder disputes, asset recovery, investigations and enforcement.

Commenting on her arrival, Gilly said: “I am very excited to be joining the Lester Aldridge Restructuring and Insolvency team, to add a contentious side to the expanding team. I am looking forward to working with the current partners, Nick, Melia and Rebecca, to extend our client base through London and the South coast”.

Also joining the firm’s Southampton office is experienced real estate lawyer Bethan Dodd. Bethan advises clients on transactional commercial property matters and has particular expertise in the healthcare sector, including care homes, primary care surgery development, funding and occupation requirements.

Bethan said: “I am very excited to have joined the Real Estate Development team at Lester Aldridge.  At a time when we are seeing growing investment in real estate, and in particular in the healthcare sector, I am delighted to have joined a firm with such deep expertise in this area. I am looking forward to working with the team to further develop our practice.”

Managing Partner Matthew Barrow, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Gilly and Bethan to the partnership. Both insolvency and real estate are key specialisms for our firm and their arrival further strengthens these teams, continuing our growth in these sectors.”