Member Article

This week's North East appointments

A roundup of the latest job moves from across the North East.

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Cristina Falzon, Watson Burton

Commercial law firm Watson Burton has further strengthened its litigation team with the appointment of a new solicitor.

Cristina Falzon has joined the Newcastle-headquartered firm’s commercial litigation team and will be undertaking a range of legal work across areas including property litigation, commercial disputes, data theft and fraud.

A highly experienced solicitor, Cristina has a rich history in commercial litigation, intellectual property, debt recovery and insolvency, landlord and tenant disputes and employment law.

Cristina has also worked as a volunteer for the Citizens Advice Bureau and held an internship with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, where she provided support for the Committee on the Rights of the Child and part of the Human Rights Defenders Mandate.

Cristina’s appointment comes at a time when Watson Burton is strengthening its commercial litigation team.

The firm recently appointed two new solicitors: Rebecca Noble, who joined the team following two years on the firm’s graduate programme; and Jessica Brain, who completed a graduate traineeship with Watson Burton and was appointed as a solicitor at the firm’s Leeds office earlier this year.

Cristina Falzon commented: “I am thrilled to be joining Watson Burton – it is a prestigious and well-established firm, and a very welcoming place with an exceptionally friendly team.

“I thoroughly enjoy working within commercial litigation, it is very varied in its nature and gives me a great sense of achievement when I can solve complex problems for clients.

“I am looking forward to growing with the firm and using my commercial litigation experience to help its clients.”

Claudine Norden, Clive Owen LLP

A business advice and accountancy firm celebrating 20 years in Durham has appointed a new tax manager.

Claudine Norden has brought more than 25 years’ experience advising corporate and private clients to her new senior role at Clive Owen LLP.

A chartered tax adviser and a certified accountant, Claudine has worked for a number of major practices in Sunderland and Newcastle where she advised on personal tax and employer compliance and corporate tax issues.

Now based at Clive Owen’s office at Belmont Business Park, she said: “I obviously knew of Clive Owen and liked the way the practice works, advising clients across their tax and financial planning needs.

“Having gained tax experience across the board, I feel I can put it to good use here to advise clients who may be high net worth individuals, people who need advice on the tax position of setting up a company, private clients who need inheritance tax advice or owner managers planning to sell their business,” she said.

Tax partner at Clive Owen in Durham, Nicola Bellerby, said Claudine’s experience was invaluable.

“Many of our clients have been with us since we started in the city and, 20 years on, are reaching a point in their lives and the lives of their businesses where financial planning is becoming more significant.

“We take a holistic approach and look at a client’s arrangements in a joined-up way, advising them on all aspects of their tax life. Claudine’s mixed tax experience will benefit many clients seeking advice in different areas.”

Mincoffs

Newcastle law firm Mincoffs has announced a raft of new appointments.

Solicitor Victoria Richer has joined the Wills and Probate team, after joining from another regional law firm. Victoria studied law at Newcastle University and went on to complete the Legal Practice Course at Northumbria Law School. She has practised for 10 years in the field of wills and probate and is STEP qualified.

Louise Peacock is also moving up the ranks in the Wills and Probate department having recently qualified as a Legal Executive – moving away from her previous legal secretarial role.

Louise Miller, Head of Wills, Probate and Trusts commented “It is excellent having Victoria join our team and seeing Louise qualify as a Legal Executive. Their skills and expertise are already proving valuable to the department and I’m looking forward to growing further!’

The Corporate team at Mincoffs have also made two new appointments. Newly qualified solicitor Daniel Bell has joined the team, having recently completed his training contract at Mincoffs, whilst Jordan Down has secured a training contract.

Daniel, who spent 12 months of his training contract in the Corporate department, stated “I am delighted to be staying at Mincoffs upon qualifying. Joining one of the best corporate teams in the region is really exciting and I look forward to what the future holds.”

Jordan studied Law at Newcastle University and the Legal Practice Course at Northumbria University, where he attained a Distinction. Upon completion, Jordan worked for another prominent commercial firm in Newcastle before joining Mincoffs.

Paul Hughes, Partner and Head of Corporate added “I am delighted to have Daniel and Jordan join us. They have both really strengthened the team and I wish them all the best in their new roles.”

Kirk Tierney, Shout

A North East tech organisation that launched its own innovation hub earlier this year has increased staff numbers to cater for the new solutions coming from it.

Newcastle-based Shout Digital has installed a newly-created head of user experience in Kirk Tierney, whose role will be to focus on delivering client-ready solutions through the emerging technologies Shout is developing through its hub.

Shout’s innovation hub allows the 30-strong team to take full advantage of the necessary research and development time needed to transform their expertise in voice, augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) into user-friendly solutions for its clients.

The developments have already attracted globally-recognised organisations in finance and sport to Shout’s door. Shout CEO, Gary Boon, says the new hire ensures their client’s user experience continues to be seamless when venturing into new technologies.

Boon commented: “The development of tech is accelerating at pace and businesses need to keep on top of it to stay ahead of the game. We pride ourselves on giving our team the thinking space to properly explore these developments. It’s fantastic to be able to add someone of Kirk’s experience in order to guarantee our clients see the benefits.

“Providing unrivalled user experiences through these technologies is key to success. Developments such as AI can save an organisation millions in operational costs but when it isn’t implemented with user experience in mind, it can easily have an adverse affect.”

Joining Shout in the summer, Tierney is dedicated to ensuring user experience is flawless across all of Shout’s digital offerings.

Having previously worked for leading sports media group, Perform Group, and Fountain Digital Labs as a user experience architect, he has provided solutions to global brands including goal.com and Soccerway.

Tierney added: “I’m really excited to join the Shout team. As technologies develop, user experience is more important than ever.

“Organisations need to ensure new apps, voice activation and bots still work for their customers and continue to provide a high standard of service. Customer have high expectations and if an organisation doesn’t meet those they will move elsewhere.”

Amel Assim, Horizonworks

Newcastle-based marketing agency Horizonworks has appointed a new client marketing executive.

Amel Assim, a graduate from Northumbria University has joined the firm following a number of client wins across the manufacturing, engineering, healthcare and technology sectors.

In her new role, Amel will be responsible for supporting Horizonworks’ clients in the delivery of their PR and marketing strategies.

Prior to joining Horizonworks, Amel has held various marketing roles with organisations such as The British Council, Nexity and Explain, and her skills lie in market research as well as being fluent in both French and Arabic.

Horizonworks was founded by managing director Samantha Davidson in 2010. It specialises in business to business marketing for organisations working in manufacturing and engineering, healthcare and life sciences, technology and innovation, professional services and the public sector.

Working with a wide range of businesses, Horizonworks offers the full spectrum of marketing services, including strategic marketing, public relations, design, brand development and digital marketing.

Commenting on her appointment, Amel said: “I’m delighted to be joining Horizonworks at such an exciting time. The company has grown significantly in 2017, attracting some really high-profile clients and making a number of appointments to strengthen its offering.

“I’m excited about the challenges ahead, working with a great team of business to business marketing specialists and helping Horizonworks achieve its future goals.”

Samantha Davidson, managing director at Horizonworks, added: “Amel is a young, dynamic executive who will provide invaluable marketing capabilities and support the day-to-day delivery of our growing client base.

“I’m delighted to be welcoming her to the team and I’m confident that she will be a great asset to the company.”

Join us next monday for more North East appointments.