Law firm WBD strengthens real estate practice with new hires

Transatlantic law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has bolstered its real estate practice in the UK with a team of three joining from Clyde & Co.

Adam Taylor-Smith is a well-known, senior and leading real estate lawyer with 25 years of experience, acting for property investors, developers, retailers, corporate occupiers and high net worth individuals. He has a strong track record of advising on investment and development opportunities, including significant developments across the UK and acts for many high-profile clients who will be moving to WBD with him. Throughout his career, Taylor-Smith held various management positions and was the head of the real estate team at Clyde & Co as well as the managing partner of the firm's Guildford office.

In last year's Chambers directory, Taylor-Smith was ranked as a Band 1 Notable Practitioner with clients describing him as "flexible and responsive" and "gives great confidence to his clients through his advice". The team he ran has been, for 12 years running, the highest-ranked real estate team in the south, according to the legal guide.

Georgina Hook joins WBD as a managing associate with strong, commercial real estate expertise. She acts for a broad range of clients including retailers, hospitality businesses, logistics and warehouse operators, high-net-worth individuals, property companies, as well as institutional investment funds. She has an excellent reputation in the retail, logistics and hospitality sectors and has led on major acquisitions, disposals and lettings in central London and across the South East and the North East of England.

Brittany Beaumont joins WBD as an associate and advises clients on key commercial property matters, including landlord and tenant management work, property due diligence, acquisitions and disposals. She is acting on a £400 million redevelopment project in central London and recently assisted on a multi-million-pound purchase on Oxford Street.

The new recruits will be based across WBD's London and Southampton offices. These new appointments are the latest in a series of senior hires across WBD's real estate practice with new partners Kathryn Wood and Paul Mason, and managing associate Clare Lamond, joining the firm in the past few months.

Claire Brook, partner and head of the real estate business group at WBD, comments: "Our UK real estate practice is one of the largest in the country and we are thrilled to welcome the fantastic team of Adam, Georgina and Brittany to strengthen our fast-growing practice. Their incredibly strong client base and breadth of connections across many sectors and industries will be important in bolstering both our real estate sector and private client offering, particularly in London and across the South East, where we are seeing strong demand for first-rate commercial property expertise."

Taylor-Smith adds: "We are delighted to be joining WBD's well-established real estate practice. The firm has an outstanding reputation in the real estate sector with a fantastic portfolio of clients. In this changing legal marketplace, WBD's strong focus on real estate was a real draw for me and my clients and we look forward to working with Claire and all our colleagues in the UK."

"We see a fantastic opportunity ahead to grow WBD's real estate practice through significant investment and developments in technology."

Ranking in the UK's top 20 law firms, WBD provides legal expertise in 11 key sectors from across seven offices in the UK and 19 offices in the US. The firm's real estate client portfolio in the UK includes Grainger, Patrizia Property Investment Managers, BMO Global Asset Management, Moorfield Group, Commercial Estates Group, Morgan Sindall, Taylor Wimpey, RentPlus and Places for People.