South-west firm Watkins Solicitors has appointed Sophia Ramzan as Partner and Head of Residential Conveyancing. Ramzan has previously held roles as Conveyancing Training Director and Senior Property Lawyer at a large firm in Newport and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (FCILEx) and a Licensed Conveyancer.
On Ramzan’s appointment Beverley Watkins, Managing Partner at Watkins Solicitors says
“We are thrilled to welcome Sophia to the Watkins Solicitors team. Her wealth of experience and commitment to excellence make her an ideal fit for our firm.”
Ramzan expressed her excitement in joining, saying
“I am honoured to join Watkins Solicitors, a firm renowned for its dedication to client care and legal excellence. I look forward to working with the talented team here and contributing to the firm’s continued success.”
Meanwhile, law firm Gardner Leader has appointed Lauren Blackman as Partner to further strengthen its Residential Property team in Maidenhead. Blackman, who previously held roles at Kite Griffin Solicitors in Bracknell, joins her husband, Tim Blackman in the team. Commenting on her appointment, she says
“I’m delighted to have joined the Gardner Leader team at an exciting time. Having spent a decade at my last practice, I’m looking forward to bringing my experience in Residential Property to the team, and providing our clients, new and old, with the best legal advice and support. The first quarter of 2024 has seen the strongest boost in the housing market since the mini-budget in September 2022.” Lauren added: “The stabilisation of mortgage interest rates has given confidence and allowed hesitant first-time buyers to pull the trigger and get on the ladder.”
Derek Rodgers, Managing Partner at Gardner Leader, adds
“We are delighted to welcome Lauren to Gardner Leader. As one of the region’s leading law firms our team has grown three-fold over the last decade, with Lauren the latest addition to our thriving Residential Property team. Our aim is to deliver the best legal advice, support, and peace of mind to all our clients. Lauren joins a Residential Property team that is leading the way in terms of legal know-how, industry experience, and client satisfaction.”
In Suffolk, Ellisons Solicitors have added three new hires to their Bury St. Edmunds Real Estate team. Marc Robson joins as Paralegal, Mark Beaton as Senior Associate, and Jonathan Greenhalgh joins as Partner. The moves have seen the team grow to eight covering residential and commercial property work
Guy Longhurst, Managing Partner of Ellisons Solicitors, says:
“We’re thrilled to welcome Mark, Jonathan, and Marc to our growing Real Estate team in Bury St Edmunds. Their expertise brings a new element to our expanding team in Bury St Edmunds and they are already making an impact. Mark has enjoyed working in Bury for many years, most recently as a partner of Charles Fraser & Co, while Marc and Jonathan are looking forward to getting to know everything it has to offer. The appointments demonstrate our continued commitment to develop and diversify our expertise for our clients, and further strengthen our position as a leading law firm in Bury St Edmunds, West Suffolk and beyond.”
Finally, home moving house of brands Movera has announced the appointment of Rui Sousa to the newly created role of Solutions Architect; a role which will be Sousa evolve and develop Movera’s platforms. Sousa joins from Soho House & Co where he worked as a Senior Enterprise Architect and brings a wealth of technology expertise to his new role.
On Sousa’s appointment, Craig Underwood, Movera’s Chief Operating Officer says
“Rui brings a fantastic track record with him to this new role, working to implement software and an in-depth knowledge of people and how they interact with tech. We look forward to seeing him grow Movera’s tech platform to best support all of our stakeholders. His appointment is part of our ethos of hiring talented people that share our transformative attitude.”
Commenting on his appointment, Rui Sousa added
“I have been really impressed so far by Movera’s investment in existing software to support their case managers and I’m looking forward to growing and evolving this initiative. As a principal guiding approach, tech should support people, it should always be there to help. My role is to implement tech to assist individuals and how they interact with others, colleagues and homeowners.”
