South West firm Clarke Wilmott & Clarke has further strengthened its property capability with the hire of a legal director from house builder Redrow Group and a property partner from the defunct Bristol office of Eversheds.
`Karen Wallis is expected to join Clarke Wilmott from Redrow's South West division this summer. William Juckes has already moved to Clarke Wilmott. They bring the number of property and planning partners at the firm to 16.`Juckes has brought a client base that includes Burger King, Oddbins and Bristol & West. He has also acted for Sock Shop, Peter Dominic, the Augustus Barnett off-licence chain, Victoria Wine and Gibbs Newsagents.`Juckes is a director of the Broadmead Board, which is overseeing the regeneration and expansion of the Broadmead shopping centre in Bristol.`Eversheds offered its Bristol partners the opportunity to move to Cardiff when it pulled out of the city, but Juckes said he was keen stay. "Having chosen to relocate to Bristol from London, I have witnessed the tremendous dynamism of the city at first hand over the past few years.`"Clarke Wilmott is a law firm committed to its property practice and to Bristol."`Wallis is also a major coup for Clarke Wilmott. She is a specialist in house building, development and planning work, a core area for the firm. Its clients in the sector include Westbury Homes and David Wilson Homes. Clarke Wilmott has also taken on the function of sole legal adviser to national house builder Prowting, which has in effect shut its in-house legal function.`Redrow is not a client of Clarke Wilmott and currently carries out all legal work in-house. However, it is understood that Clarke Wilmott has already hired a number of lawyers from the house builder's in-house team.`The latest hires follow the firm's innovative appointment of specialist planning barrister Sebastian Head who joined in May from Exeter firm Foot Anstey Sargent.`The expansion is part of a growth strategy launched two years ago by Roger Seaton, head of property, and Nick Engert, planning head and Clarke Wilmott chairman. It has included the development of volume conveyancing services targeted at lenders.
