UK Top 50 law firm, Birketts, is pleased to announce the arrival of five agriculture specialists to its rapidly growing office in Bristol.
Led by Partner, Edward Venmore and Legal Director, Danielle Spalding, the team includes Senior Associate, Kate Lucas, and Associates, Arron Joliffe and Laura Prouse.
Edward specialises in rural land, farming businesses and estate matters. Drawing on deep sector experience, he advises clients on a wide range of litigation, including rural land disputes, agricultural tenancies and occupation, farming partnership disputes, challenging government decisions, and professional negligence claims. He also has a particular interest in natural capital and diversification.
Danielle acts for a broad spectrum of clients, including farmers, landowners, landed estates, financial institutions, developers and others operating in the rural land market. She has extensive experience navigating agricultural land and business disputes including partnership disputes, landlord and tenant matters, farming succession and estoppel claims. She also advises extensively on environmental schemes and regulatory frameworks.
The team’s arrival builds on the firm’s already market-leading agricultural presence, which brings together some of the best qualified specialist agricultural lawyers in the UK. They join Senior Associate, Oliver Evans, in supporting clients in the West of England and Wales from the firm’s Bristol office.
On the expansion of the firm’s agriculture team in the West, Chris Coupland, Partner and Head of Agriculture, said: “I am excited to welcome Edward, Danielle, Kate, Arron and Laura to our award-winning agriculture team. Their arrival brings both additional reach into the West, as well as an increase in the breadth of expertise within the Bristol team. With Edward, Danielle and the team on board we can offer next level legal advice on all aspects of agricultural business – whether litigation or transactional – and I am looking forward to working closely with them as we continue to support clients in the region.”
On his appointment, Edward Venmore, Partner, said: “Birketts has made a clear commitment to bringing its agricultural offering to the West, and I’m delighted to be leading that investment. The firm already has one of the UK’s most respected national rural practices, and establishing a specialist team in this region is a natural next step. With talented lawyers like Danielle, Oliver, Kate, Arron and Laura, we are building a team capable of delivering exceptional support to the landowners, estates and rural businesses we serve.”
Danielle Spalding, Legal Director, added: “I’m thrilled to be joining Birketts at such an exciting time for the firm’s growing agricultural practice in the West. The region’s landowning clients and rural businesses are facing increasingly complex challenges, and Birketts’ investment in the team demonstrates real commitment to supporting them. I’m looking forward to contributing to that growth and helping strengthen our specialist offering across the region.”
Key Contacts
