Shoosmiths expands Thames Valley office with senior hires

Law firm Shoosmiths has recruited housebuilder expert Ben Pariser as a partner in its Thames Valley office in Reading. Also joining the team is Simon Dawes as legal director and is set to provide specialist residential development experience after advising on projects delivering up to 3,000 homes.

This latest round of recruitment sees Shoosmiths’ southern real estate group expand to over 40 lawyers, including 10 partners, located across offices in Milton Keynes, Reading and Southampton.

Nathan Rees, partner and head of Shoosmiths’ Thames Valley real estate team, said: “Ben and Simon’s arrival will boost the residential development capability on offer at Shoosmiths. It also represents a strategic milestone for our southern real estate team, which now features legal experts covering the entire living sector and who are working on some of the UK’s most ambitious regeneration and development projects."

Ben Pariser arrives at Shoosmiths from DAC Beachcroft where he was a partner and head of its residential development team in Bristol. Ben brings over 15-years’ experience working with national housebuilders, other developers, landowners and local authorities, with particular expertise in advising on site acquisitions, development agreements, joint ventures and strategic land options.

Ben said: “Shoosmiths already works with some of the UK’s biggest housebuilders, investors and land promoters. The opportunity to join the firm was an incredibly exciting one."

Simon Dawes joins Shoosmiths from Pinsent Masons where he supported a broad range of residential development matters, including a landmark project for Heylo Housing that saw the delivery of over 3,000 shared ownership properties using both traditional affordable housing via S106 agreements and Homes England SOAHP grant funding.