Press Release

National law firm Shoosmiths has appointed a trio of leading Commercial lawyers into its Leeds office, signalling the establishment of a pre-eminent Commercial Group in the region and furthering the firm’s presence in the city.

The firm has appointed Alex Kirkhope, JP Buckley and James Wood-Robertson as commercial partners from DLA Piper where they each held the position of Legal Director. Sitting within the national commercial group, they will work alongside Shoosmiths’ market-leading team of over 70 Commercial lawyers and focus on the areas of TMT, Privacy & Data and Infrastructure & Capital Projects respectively.

The launch of the Leeds Commercial team is part of the national Group’s drive to be recognised as the best in the UK. Already top ranked in its key markets, the addition of a team in Leeds will help the Group to offer its award winning portfolio of innovative resource solutions to in-house counsel across the region.

David Jackson, national head of Shoosmiths’ Commercial Group said: ‘We are extremely pleased to welcome Alex, JP and James to our team. Their combined experience and individual expertise will significantly enhance our market leading commercial offering, benefiting the Leeds region and further cementing our team’s national footprint. Exciting growth plans for Leeds include further recruitment of top quality lawyers to support these latest appointments, evidencing our commitment and investment in making Shoosmiths’ Leeds the first choice law firm in the region.’

Qualifying at DLA in 2004, Kirkhope is a first class technology lawyer, having extensive experience advising public and private sector organisations in respect of their technology outsourcing arrangements. He has advised central government on some of the largest procurements of IT services in the UK as well as acting for private sector clients in the financial services, aviation, gaming and healthcare sectors on strategic sourcing projects and related aspects of their technology systems and infrastructure.

Buckley, a seasoned Privacy & Data lawyer who also trained at DLA, specialises in advising clients in respect of all aspects of privacy and data protection as well as public procurement law. His client list is extensive and includes construction corporations, global airlines and international fashion retailers. He will help lead and co-ordinate Shoosmiths’ already significant workload in relation to the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation which is due to take effect in May 2018.

Trained at Walker Morris, Wood-Robertson is a dedicated Infrastructure & Projects lawyer who has advised on major projects in the UK and internationally across a variety of sectors, including energy from waste, renewable energy, transport, education, health, leisure, and serviced accommodation. He is a recognised specialist in the waste sector having advised on over a dozen waste PPP projects, and has advised on a significant number of renewable energy projects, power purchase and heat supply arrangements.

Opened in December 2016, Shoosmiths’ Leeds office will be relocating later this year to Bruntwood’s Platform redevelopment. The future-proof workspace will boast state of the art digital connectivity, communal lounges, meeting and event spaces, a roof top garden and superb transport links direct to London and across the North.