Howes Percival has expanded its Employment Law team in the MK/Northampton region, following an increase in new instructions over the last six months.
James Pitts joins the team as a newly qualified Associate, having completed his training contract with Howes Percival, while Lydia Mills has been recruited from Spratt Endicott as an Associate.
Both Lydia and James will work across Howes Percival’s Milton Keynes and Northampton offices, as well as supporting the wider Employment team.
The team has seen a steady increase in employment work over the last couple of years due to the rapid expansion of the firm’s Corporate Commercial and Banking (CCB) team in the region, which has led to an increase in support on merger and acquisition work and additional employment enquiries from CCB clients.
The increase in instructions is also as a result of the economic instability, which generates client enquiries in relation to restructuring, changing terms and conditions, trade union negotiations and redundancy.
Across the MK/Northampton region, the team have particularly strong sector experience in automotive, healthcare, food & beverage and transport & logistics, and have seen an increase of new client wins across these sectors.
Simon DeMaid, Employment Law Partner at Howes Percival commented,
“We are delighted for James. Training and retaining ‘home grown’ talent in this way has always been hugely important to us as a firm. Equally, we continue to attract the best talent at every level, and Lydia is a fantastic addition to the team.
“We have seen an increased number of new matters for quite some time now and it isn’t showing any sign of slowing down. The work has come from a combination of our existing employment clients, new client wins and an increased number of instructions from existing Howes Percival clients that we haven’t advised previously.
“We have been investing in and growing the MK and Northampton offices more widely, across all Practice Groups, over the last 12 months and the Employment team benefits from this strategic growth, particularly with the expansion of the CCB team.
“We are also seeing an increase in complex disability discrimination and mental health cases as the ongoing aftereffects of lockdown and the pandemic continue to be felt by our clients. We expect this to continue throughout 2023. Similarly, there has been a marked increase in the number of Employment Tribunal claims. We have an exceptionally talented team with a wealth of experience of dealing with claims and securing results for our clients, time and time again.
“The local economy remains buoyant and has proved resilient in recent years. We have strong links with businesses and business leaders across the MK and Northampton region and this enables us to better understand what is going on with local business within our own markets and react early to any changes.”
For more information on Howes Percival’s Employment Law services, please click here.
