Devonshires announces a record 11 promotions and a new Senior Partner

We're delighted to announce a record number of promotions this year, promoting 11 Solicitors to Partner in our annual round of promotions, taking our total number of Partners to 61.

In an exciting period of growth for the firm, we can also announce that Mark London will be taking over as Senior Partner.

Four Solicitors, Tom Humphrey, Jamie Leonard, Adam Mathewson and Sasha Pirbhai, have been promoted in our Construction team. 

The Housing Management and Property Litigation team sees three promoted, Rebecca Brady, Zoe McLean-Wells and Victoria Smith.

Prasan Modasia, from our Banking, Governance, Corporate and Employment team, Rachel Eldridge from Securitisation, Lucy Vannet from Real Estate and Projects and Matthew Garbutt from Litigation and Dispute Resolution are also welcomed to the Partnership.

This year’s round of promotions reflects a period of sustained growth at Devonshires, with Kelly Lloyd, Shadale Miller and Baljit Basra all joining the firm in the last year. We have also recently taken on 7 new Trainee Solicitors, taking our total number of Trainees to 25.

Our Head of Construction, Engineering and Procurement, Mark London, is to succeed Philip Barden as Senior Partner. Mark will take up the position as of 1 April 2024. Having been with Devonshires since 2002, Mark became Head of the Construction, Engineering and Procurement team in 2004. He has a wide client base and regularly acts for public bodies, housing developers, Local Authorities and contractors throughout the United Kingdom.

Philip Barden joined Devonshires nearly 30 years ago becoming a Partner in 1995. He was first elected as Senior Partner in 2016. Over the last eight years he has guided the firm through significant growth; revenue has risen by over 50% and headcount by over 65%, with offices added in Leeds and Birmingham. Philip also led the firm through the challenges of the pandemic and has overseen significant changes; enhancing the firm’s identity and assuring its strong, collegiate, culture.

After handing over to Mark, Philip will remain as Head of our Litigation team, continuing to offer senior counsel to clients.

Commenting on his new role, Mark said: “It is an honour to take the reins from Philip, and recognise all that he has achieved for the firm over the last eight years. I look forward to further growing and driving the firm forward over the coming years.”

Philip said: “It has been a privilege to lead the firm for eight years, and to have taken the firm from strength to strength. I am looking forward to a return to full time client work and know that Mark will be a great Senior Partner.”

Of the newly promoted Partners Mark said: “Congratulations to all 11 of our newly promoted Partners, and a warm welcome to the Partnership. A lot of hard work has gone into getting to this stage of their careers and all contribute hugely to their teams. They have shown themselves to be excellent Solicitors with a depth and breadth of knowledge which means they are able to deliver excellent results for their clients.

“These promotions take our female Partner count to 50.82% underscoring our ongoing commitment to equality and diversity across the firm.”

To find out more about our new Partners, please visit: Meet our new Partners