Blake Morgan announces eight new partner promotions

Leading law firm Blake Morgan has announced the promotions of eight exceptional lawyers to Partner. James Davies, Nicola Diggle, Anita Kasseean, Euan Mitchell, Alex Shirtcliff, Dawn Smith, Gemma Spiceley and Mat Wilson will take up the new positions immediately.

These promotions reflect each lawyer’s expertise and record of first-class service to clients, as well as Blake Morgan’s continued commitment to developing a new generation of talent at the firm.

Both Mat Wilson and Gemma Spiceley are part of the Corporate team on the South Coast. Gemma, who joined Blake Morgan in 2011, focuses her practice mainly on company acquisitions and disposals, with particular experience in the retail, healthcare and childcare sectors. She was named as a ‘rising star’ by Legal 500 in 2020 and 2021.

Since joining Blake Morgan in 2008 as a trainee solicitor, Mat has built upon his strong technology and healthcare experience – supporting clients with their growth strategies, advising on acquisitions, joint ventures and private equity investments. He has been praised by clients for his ‘pragmatic advice’ and understanding of their businesses and objectives.

James Davies joined Blake Morgan in 2017 and leads the family team based in our Oxford office, specialising in divorce and related financial matters. He is accredited by Resolution, the leading family law organisation, both as a specialist in cohabitation and in complex high-value divorce cases. His clients have said that he combines ‘encyclopaedic knowledge of the law with real tenacity’ and they appreciate his astute ability to ‘see through the fog’.

Anita Kasseean leads the Environment and Planning team, and is based at the London office. She joined the firm last year and is working to build upon Blake Morgan’s competitive advantage in having a full service environmental practice, compulsory purchase practice, and the ability to advise on all aspects of infrastructure projects of national significance. Her promotion supports the firm’s focus on growing its sustainability and infrastructure practices going forward.

Dawn Smith and Euan Mitchell both work in Blake Morgan’s property team, and are based in Cardiff and London respectively. Dawn joined the firm in 2016, and has expertise in portfolio management for clients – specialising in acting for landowners and developers for large scale development projects.

Euan joined Piper Smith Watton, (which later became part of Blake Morgan), in 2004. He advises clients on their non-contentious real estate matters, specialising in the acquisition and disposal of property for development, with associated work with regards to funding. His clients include property companies, overseas investors and private individuals.

Nicola Diggle and Alex Shirtcliff work in our Commercial Litigation team. Nicola is based in Oxford, specialising in high value and complex contractual and corporate claims.  She joined the firm in 2006 and is a Solicitor Advocate with Higher Rights of Audience, appearing in the High Court for clients, as well as being an ADR Group Accredited Mediator. She was named as a ‘rising star’ by Legal 500 in both 2020 and 2021.

Alex is based in London, and having rejoined Blake Morgan in 2020 resumed his work as an accomplished litigator, focusing on cross-border civil fraud, asset recovery and judgment enforcement, as well as commercial disputes for the technology, media and energy sectors. He has a particular focus on crypto asset litigation within the UK and internationally.

Mike Wilson, Managing Partner, said:

He added: “I would like to wholeheartedly congratulate all of them on their new appointments to partner. This is an important and exciting step in their careers within Blake Morgan, and I look forward to working more closely with them all in the future.”