Shooesmiths appoints three new lawyers to Leeds office

Shoosmiths, who set up shop in the city last December, has appointed Alex Kirkhope, JP Buckley and James Wood-Robertson as commercial partners from DLA Piper where they each held the position of Legal Director.

Sitting within the national commercial group, they will work alongside Shoosmiths’ commercial lawyer team and focus on the areas of TMT, Privacy and Data and Infrastructure and Capital Projects respectively.

David Jackson, national head of Shoosmiths’ Commercial Group, said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Alex, JP and James to our team.

“Their combined experience and individual expertise will significantly enhance our market leading commercial offering, benefiting the Leeds region and further cementing our team’s national footprint.

“Exciting growth plans for Leeds include further recruitment of top quality lawyers to support these latest appointments.”

Qualifying at DLA in 2004, Mr Kirkhope is a technology lawyer, having extensive experience advising public and private sector organisations in respect of their technology outsourcing arrangements. He has advised central government on some of the largest procurements of IT services in the UK as well as acting for private sector clients in the financial services, aviation and gaming.

Mr Buckley, a seasoned Privacy & Data lawyer who also trained at DLA, specialises in advising clients in respect of all aspects of privacy and data protection as well as public procurement law. His client list is extensive and includes construction corporations, global airlines and international fashion retailers.

Trained at Walker Morris, Mr Wood-Robertson is a dedicated Infrastructure & Projects lawyer who has advised on major projects in the UK and internationally across a variety of sectors, including renewable energy, transport and serviced accommodation.

He is a recognised specialist in the waste sector having advised on over a dozen waste PPP project.

Opened in December 2016, Shoosmiths’ Leeds office will be relocating later this year to Bruntwood’s Platform redevelopment above Leeds railway station.