Lodders strengthens agricultural team with trio of hires

Published by

Peter Davison

Lodders’ Agricultural and Landed Estates team: (left to right) John Fisher, Nicola Beach, James Spreckley, Kimberley Brookes, James Anderson, and Katie Davies

Law firm Lodders has bolstered its top-ranking Agricultural and Landed Estates team with three new appointments to its Cheltenham office.

Senior solicitor James Anderson joins Lodders from a private legal practice in Wales, where he worked for the last 17 years, specialising in rural and agricultural matters.

He brings a broad range of expertise in all aspects of rural legal work, particularly in relation to renewables and common land.

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James also has a particular interest in partnership matters and is an affiliate member of The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, meaning he is also well placed to advise on succession planning for farming clients.

James says: “Having grown up and worked in rural Warwickshire, Lodders has always been known to me for its agricultural expertise. It is great to be working as part of such a specialised team of agricultural lawyers and exciting to be part of a forward-thinking firm helping our clients diversify and develop some of the natural capital opportunities in the sector, such as biodiversity net gain. These are set to become increasingly important sources of income for farming businesses as the traditional subsidies are withdrawn.

“I have always worked in the farming sector, having been an agricultural engineer working in the county before becoming a solicitor. This experience helps me to understand many of the commercial challenges faced by farming businesses day-to-day and to offer down to earth advice.”

Also joining Lodders’ Agricultural and Landed Estates team is Kimberley Brookes, a solicitor with several years of experience in the agricultural team of a large West Midlands law firm.

Kimberley specialises in transactional agricultural property matters, including dealing with land sales and purchases, preparing farm business tenancies, and first registration and adverse possession applications.

Kimberley comments: “I am delighted to be joining the well-established and experienced Agricultural and Landed Estates team at Lodders. My work is very varied – each day is different from the last, and I particularly enjoy meeting clients in person and getting out on the farm when I can.”

The team has also been bolstered by the arrival of Katie Davies as a trainee solicitor, having completed her Legal Practice Course (LPC) with BPP University after studying law at the University of Warwick.

A farmer’s daughter herself, Katie says: “I was really keen to work within the agricultural sector and so I am excited to be combining my legal education with my strong interest in farming by starting my career in the Lodders Agricultural team.

"I grew up and still live on a working arable and livestock farm in Warwickshire, so I understand the diverse challenges faced by farmers and landowners. I am delighted to have the opportunity to work closely with the rural community with whom Lodders has built strong connections, and learn from a talented, specialist team of agricultural legal experts.”

Headed up by James Spreckley, Lodders’ Agricultural and Landed Estates team is one of the largest agricultural teams in the region and is top ranked by the legal reviewers, Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners.

Commenting on the new hires, James says: “The new appointments to the team reflect the sustained increase in demand we are seeing for support from those in the rural sector - be that with transactional matters or diversification or succession planning.

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"Recently, we have also noted a marked uptake in clients looking to get involved with strategic development and renewables schemes and considering biodiversity net gain projects.

“The three new team members bring some great additional strengths in terms of legal skill but also relationships within the rural network. They will all be a real asset to both Lodders and to our clients, as we continue to support the rural sector through what is a significant period of change.”

Lodders is a premier law firm in Stratford upon Avon, Cheltenham, Henley in Arden, and Birmingham. Founded more than 235 years ago, the firm offers expert legal advice across a range of legal services including private client, commercial law, real estate, and family law.

Peter Davison

Peter Davison is deputy editor of The Business Magazine. He has spent his life in journalism – doing work experience in newsrooms in and around Bristol while still at school, and landing his first job on a local newspaper aged 19. By 28 he was the youngest newspaper editor in the country. An early advocate of online news, he spent the first years of the 2000s telling his bosses that the internet posed both the biggest opportunity and greatest threat to the newspaper industry and the art of journalism. He was right on both counts. Since 2006 he has enjoyed a career as a freelance journalist. He lives in rural Wiltshire with one wife, two children, and three cats.