Bournemouth: Lester Aldridge expands London property team

South Coast law firm Lester Aldridge has expanded its London office with the arrival of a residential property team from Lewis Townsend LLP.

The new team comprises three partners, John Townsend, Doug Irvine and Andrew Slatter.

It is a homecoming for Townsend who trained with Lester Aldridge in 1999, before leaving in 2011 to work alongside Irvine and Slatter at a top 30 city firm. Townsend and Irvine subsequently set up Lewis Townsend, offering bespoke residential property services, and were later joined by Slatter. All three partners have developed successful practices over many years, dealing with residential conveyancing, new development, general landlord and tenant, and management work. Slatter has additionally specialised since 1993 in leasehold enfranchisement work, acting against many of the central London estates.

Joining the three  will be their support team comprising of paralegal Alicia Rice and legal assistants Katie Vann and Aileen Avenet. In addition, trainee solicitor Tarron Dobson will be joining Lester Aldridge, having gained experience in the residential property and commercial teams at Lewis Townsend.

Matthew Barrow, managing partner at Bournemouth-headquartered Lester Aldridge, said: “I am delighted to welcome this new team to Lester Aldridge. We are all very excited about this new chapter for our London office, and look forward to continuing the provision of a wide and specialist range of services for our clients.”