Member Article

Wright Hassall expands its top-ranked agricultural team

Midlands law firm Wright Hassall has expanded its top-ranked agricultural team on the back of a period of strong growth.

The firm, which is ranked in the top tier for agriculture and estates by both Chambers UK and the Legal 500, has strengthened its team by welcoming new partner Sarah Denney-Richards, senior associate Mercedes King-Jones, both of whom worked together at mfg Solicitors, along with agricultural property dispute specialist Sarah Beer.

The team has also been further strengthened by the addition of Jennie Wheildon who has joined from the firm’s commercial property team.

The appointments mean Wright Hassall now boasts a six-strong team of specialist agricultural lawyers, three of whom are ranked in the legal directories, making it the largest in the region.

Paul Rice, head of the agriculture sector group, said: “We’re delighted to welcome such a range of talented individuals to the team. Our plans to support the future growth of this sector group are now well underway.”

Denney-Richards joins Wright Hassall from Knights Professional Services and is recognised in both the Legal 500 and Chambers as an agricultural and estates specialist.

Beer, who is part of a Warwickshire farming family, acts and advises on a range of disputes and issues affecting the rural community, including HS2, and has returned to the region following a spell in Qatar. She was previously with Penningtons Manches in Oxford.

King-Jones has extensive experience advising farmers on family and matrimonial matters, along with complex financial settlements, while Wheildon is an agricultural property specialist.

Wright Hassall advises agricultural clients across Coventry, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, the wider West Midlands region and UK and has seen a spike in new business in 2016.

Head of farms and estates, Alex Robinson, who joined the firm last year, added: “Our team has worked extremely hard to increase our share of the market and continues to deal with a multitude of issues faced by farmers and rural businesses – from sale of strategic land to diversification and succession planning.

“We now have an agricultural offering second to none in the region and we’re all looking forward to the challenge of expanding both the range of work we do and where we do it.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .