An expanding London law firm with 18 offices nationwide has stepped up its growth with senior promotions at partner level.
Blavo & Co Solicitors has announced the appointment of Syma Rushd, Michelle Guest and Elaine Addy as associate partners.
The promotions come after fast-growing Blavo employed 66 staff over the past year – including nine in the past month – to increase its numbers to 240, an increase of 27%.
Blavo and Co is a full service law firm with a strong emphasis on ethical and socially responsible standards.
John Blavo, who is managing and senior partner, said: “As a company we are committed to the training and development of staff as well as recognising excellence and promoting talent from within.
“These new appointments further strengthen our ability to successfully deliver the highest standards of legal support for our many varied clients.
“Our congratulations go to Syma, Michelle and Elaine. We also give a warm welcome to our new members of staff who have joined us over the past month.
“With rising demand for our wide range of services as our reputation grows, we are looking forward to creating more jobs as we continue to expand over the coming year.”
Michelle has been promoted to associate partner and office manager in Blavo & Co’s Birmingham office. She has been involved in family law since 2000, before qualifying as a chartered legal executive in 2008 and joining Blavo & Co in November 2013.
Syma has become associate partner and deputy office manager in the Birmingham office. She qualified as a solicitor in 2007 and is a specialist in housing and property law.
Elaine has moved up to the position of associate partner in St Albans. Her specialist interests include mental health law and family law. In 2013 she was awarded Rising Star status by Super Lawyers/Thomson Reuters.
The nine staff to join Blavo & Co over the past month include four in Blavo & Co’s Newcastle office, plus appointments in London, Liverpool, Cardiff, Barnet and St Albans.
Law graduates Ashlee Cotes and Fabienne Mensforth have been recruited as administrative assistants at Newcastle.
Katherine Wortley, who is due to qualify as a solicitor over the coming months, has joined the Newcastle branch’s family department as a caseworker.
Louise Wylie has joined the Newcastle office as head of the immigration department.
Andrew Spooner has joined the mental health department in Blavo & Co’s John Street office in London as a caseworker.
Other mental health department appointments include Laura Salway in the Cardiff office and Anslem Billy in St Albans.
Brenda Blavo has joined the housing department in the Barnet office.
John, who founded Blavo & Co in 1997, said: “These appointments demonstrate the growing demand for our expertise, especially in mental health and housing.
“As the largest provider of mental health legal services in the UK we are seeing rising caseloads, while housing disputes continue to increase.”
