Berkshire: Gardner Leader recruitment drive responds to strong housing market

Published by

TBM Team

Law firm Gardner Leader has made three new appointments to its residential property teams in Maidenhead and Newbury.

Emma Jones, licensed conveyancer, and Ben Baccas, paralegal, will both be based in Newbury, while Wajid Ashraf, also a paralegal, will work from the Maidenhead office joining Fiona Tighe, an associate solicitor who has been with the firm in Newbury since 2006 and will be moving over to head up the property team in Maidenhead.

Jones has 12 years' experience in residential property conveyancing and is a member of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. She previously worked for a large firm of solicitors in Newbury.

Baccas and Ashraf, who recently graduated from BPP Law School in London, will be supporting the property teams in Newbury and Maidenhead respectively as they work towards their goals of becoming qualified solicitors.

Tighe qualified in 1983 and deals with a wide variety of property work from first-time buyers to high-value properties.

This recruitment drive now takes the firm's residential property team to 28, with 16 based in the Newbury office in Market Place and four in Maidenhead on Queens Street. The Maidenhead office was originally Heath Buckeridge Solicitors until the practice was acquired by Gardner Leader last year.

Stuart Durrant, partner and head of the conveyancing team, said: "Land Registry figures last November showed UK property prices up by 0.6% which is 7% more compared to the year before. We're certainly seeing this rise reflected in the local housing market by the number of people seeking our legal expertise.

"Hiring Emma, Ben and Wajid and appointing Fiona to head up the team in Maidenhead was essential to maintaining Gardner Leader's business growth in line with rising demand. We're delighted that three such talented professionals could join the firm and we look forward to a prosperous year ahead."

Gardner Leader also has a commercial property team to support on all legal matters related to business premises.

TBM Team