South East: Stevens & Bolton strengthens litigation practice

Stevens & Bolton LLP has today announced the appointment of five new hires to its successful litigation practice: senior associate, Jack Bailey (from Penningtons Manches Cooper) and associates Kate O’Callaghan (from Herbert Smith Freehills), Elizabeth Butler (from Field Seymour Parkes), Alasdair McDowell (from Mundays) and Hayley Robinson (from Moore Barlow). Both Bailey and Robinson are specialists in contentious trusts and estates disputes, while O’Callaghan, Butler and McDowell have a breadth of expertise advising clients across a range of commercial disputes and sectors.

Commenting on the new hires, head of dispute resolution Sarah Murray said: “I am delighted to welcome all the new joiners to our team. The expansion of the team will help allow us to supplement our existing capabilities and service our growing client base. Both the commercial litigation and contentious trusts practices have gone from strength to strength in the past 12 months and we are delighted to be adding to our well-established teams to provide even more support to clients who need assistance with resolving disputes both domestically and internationally”.  

Stevens & Bolton’s dispute resolution team (which includes contentious trusts) now has 25 lawyers and is one of the largest, and most well-recognised, contentious legal practices in the South East. The team works closely with the firm’s wider specialist practices, including property and construction litigation, intellectual property and insolvency, advising on the resolution of disputes for a wide range of clients ranging from owner managed businesses and entrepreneurs to UK and foreign multi-nationals.

Much of the team’s work is international and cross-border in nature, in particular with extensive experience in international arbitration. The team also has considerable expertise in a range of market sectors, with particular strength in the life sciences, insurance, retail/franchising, fraud and cybersecurity sectors.

The announcement follows the firm being featured earlier this month in The Times Best Law Firms 2021 listing, in particular being commended for its commercial dispute resolution team. The firm was also named “Law Firm of the Year: the Independents” at this year’s The Lawyer Awards.