Leading regional law firm, Howes Percival, has expanded its Cambridge office with the appointment of two specialist property lawyers.
Elizabeth Thomas has joined the firm as an associate and Scott Smith has been appointed as a solicitor in Howes Percival’s commercial property team.
Elizabeth Thomas advises on a broad range of commercial property transactions with a specific focus on property investment work and landlord and tenant matters. She is experienced in advising corporate tenants and landlords, charities (including higher education bodies) and clients in the public sector. Elizabeth was previously at Mills & Reeve.
Scott Smith has experience in a wide variety of property matters including acting on sales and purchases of freehold and leasehold property, the grant of commercial leases, dealing with lease management documentation, as well as option and land promotion agreements. He joins Howes Percival from Leathes Prior.
Howes Percival is the fastest growing, major law firm in Cambridge. In less than three years the office has gone from a standing start to a team of more than 30. Other key hires this year have included partner Matthew Potter who joined from Birketts to build an employment law practice, and Michael Green from Weightmans’ London office, tasked with building a commercial litigation team. Amy Wallhead (private client) and Venetia Phipps (corporate and commercial), both joined from Hewitsons.
Commenting on the appointments, Jonathan Greenhalgh, commercial property partner and head of the Cambridge office said, “Since entering the Cambridge legal market, we’ve quickly established ourselves as a major player, and have been busy developing a full service legal offering for the city. Our property team is already one of the strongest in the region, but demand for our services continues to grow, therefore it is fantastic to welcome Elizabeth and Scott to Howes Percival.”
Howes Percival entered the Cambridge legal market in early 2015 with a new commercial property team, headed up by Jonathan Greenhalgh, previously a partner in the city with Birketts. Jonathan has led the expansion of the team since, including the move to new, larger offices in Terrington House, on Hills Road in 2016. The move followed the acquisition of part of Taylor Vinters’ real estate team and a period of sustained growth resulting from a high level of new instructions.
