Muckle LLP Expands Employment Team
We are pleased to announce we are expanding our Employment Services Group with the addition of three new solicitors.
Em Phillipson joins the group after successfully completing her training contract with the firm. Em previously worked for two years as an employment law advisor for the Community Legal Service. She also gained experience as an HR manager within the education sector.
A law graduate from Northumbria University, Em said: "I feel incredibly privileged to be part of a team of lawyers who are so passionate about delivering an excellent service to clients. The idea of working for a stuffy law firm was my worst nightmare and was the reason I did not join a firm immediately following law school. I am so grateful to have found a team so focussed on giving commercial advice, uncluttered by legal jargon. The employment team at Muckle is made up of straight-talking, down-to-earth people with a genuine passion for what they do and I am very proud to be a part of it."
Cambridge University law graduate, Frances Barker, joins Muckle LLP from Eversheds LLP, Newcastle. Prior to that Frances trained and worked at Addleshaw Goddard LLP in Leeds, where she specialised in employment law, providing legal help and advice to clients including British Airways Plc and Wolseley Plc.
She said: “I’m delighted to join such a forward thinking firm which places such emphasis on excellent client service. One of the areas of work I most enjoy is providing employment advice on corporate transactions. Muckle has an excellent reputation for handling company acquisitions and sales, so I’m hoping to work on plenty of transactions. I also enjoy providing companies with strategic advice regarding the management of employees and avoiding potential employment disputes.”
Siobhan Howard-Palmer also joins the employment law team as a solicitor from international law firm, Kennedys in Sheffield. Siobhan brings a varied mix of dispute resolution experience to Muckle including health and safety legal advice and employment law experience. Siobhan also has a personal passion for pro bono work and in 2008 won the Junior Lawyers' Division Pro Bono Award for her work. She was also partly responsible for setting up the pro bono schemes for junior lawyers whilst she trained at Halliwells and has provided legal help and advice to many organisations including youth centres, women's centres and Citizens’ Advice Bureaux.
Siobhan said: “Moving to the North East from Sheffield has been a huge personal step for me but I really wanted to work for Muckle. The firm is entirely genuine and really cares about its clients, its own people and the local community. It was this ethos and the high quality of Muckle’s work that attracted me. Like Muckle, I strongly believe in giving something back to society and I’ve already put my name forward to be involved with the firm’s Community Team.”
Chris Maddock, head of the employment services group at Muckle LLP, said: “I’m really pleased to welcome three such enthusiastic, skilled people into the firm. We pride ourselves on providing the best possible advice and service to our clients, and we do that by having some of the best people working here. I am sure that Em, Siobhan and Frances will enjoy working with our clients and go on to have long and successful careers at Muckle LLP."
For more information about the support that our employment team offers, call us on 0191 211 7777.