South Coast: Blake Morgan strengthens team after run of successes

Following a recent run of client wins, law firm Blake Morgan has significantly strengthened its offering on the South Coast with several key appointments to its teams in Portsmouth and Southampton.

Ron Burgess, who joins from Olswang where he advised corporates, trustees and insolvency practitioners on the full range of pension-related matters, has been appointed as partner in the pension team.

Andrea Mathias, a specialist in working with corporate occupiers, joins the Southampton-based real estate team from Clarke Wilmott as an associate.

This team has also been strengthened by the appointment of three newly-recruited solicitors: Samuel Mann, Molly Siggs and Elizabeth Cooke-Smith.

Heather Welham has joined the commercial litigation team, as a senior solicitor. She was previously at Shoosmiths, and has particular expertise in litigation matters in the retail sector and in alternative dispute resolution, which sees problems resolved out of court.

In the Portsmouth office, the private law team has seen the arrival of Darren Price, a succession and tax specialist from Glanvilles as an associate.  He has a wide range of experience in wills and trusts, powers of attorney, court of protection matters, and inheritance tax planning. He will be working with Joshua Boughton, a new recruit who also specialises in succession and tax and who joins Blake Morgan as a solicitor.

A further addition to this team, as a senior solicitor, is Estelle Baldry, a residential conveyancing specialist who was previously a solicitor at Thomas Eggar.

The appointments have been made as Blake Morgan celebrates a successful year for its South Coast specialists with a diverse client base which includes The Southern Co-operative, Wightlink, Raymond Brown, Radian Group, Premier Marinas and Beale plc.

The firm’s South Coast offices has also enjoyed a very strong presence in this year’s The Legal 500 directory, which praises its “depth of legal skill and experience”, and describes Blake Morgan as “one of the leading full-service law firms”.

Mike Wilson, managing partner at Blake Morgan, said: “This has been a superb year for Blake Morgan’s South Coast offices, reflected in the recent run of client wins.”