Our Leeds office continues to expand with the appointments of senior associate Libby Clarkson and solicitor Kate Develly, further bolstering our residential development and regulatory and business defence teams.
Libby Clarkson, who has over 10 years’ experience advising developers, housebuilders and joint venture companies on the acquisition and disposal of land for development, joins the country’s largest residential development team. The team act for a stellar portfolio of clients including national housebuilders, regional developers, public-private joint ventures, large institutional landowners and promoters, handling 15,000 plot sales per year. We are one of the few legal businesses in the country with a separate housebuilder team specialising in services for residential developers.
Kate Develly, a criminal law specialist and an accredited police station representative, qualified in 2024 and joins the regulatory and business defence team. Kate has considerable experience in criminal defence matters, representing clients in a wide range of cases, including health and safety, environmental, trading standards, financial crime and fraud. The Leeds based team has extensive experience handling a wide range of regulatory and business defence matters with a focus upon crisis management support in the event of serious incidents arising from health and safety or environmental failings and defending corporate clients facing major investigations by the Health and Safety Executive, Environment Agency, Food Standards Agency, Serious Fraud Office, Trading Standards, local authorities, the police, and others.
The arrival of Libby and Kate brings the total number of legal appointments made in Leeds to 15 over the last six months. Since 2022, the office has grown by 22% and serves an impressive roster of clients, including Carlsberg, Leeds Playhouse, Lidl, Mamas & Papas, Marshalls, Sue Ryder, and 18 of the UK’s 20 largest housebuilders, as well as major banks and accountancy firms.
Roger McCourt, partner and head of the Leeds office, said: “We are delighted to welcome Libby and Kate to our teams in Leeds. Over the past six months, we have strategically invested in various roles and teams to support our long-term growth strategy. This expansion reflects the increasing demand for our legal services and our commitment to providing exceptional expertise to our clients.”
