Steve McGuigan, commercial property partner at Bristol-headquartered national law firm VWV, has been appointed as its new managing partner.
Steve, who joined VWV as a trainee solicitor nearly 22 years ago, takes over from Simon Heald, who also trained at the firm and has been managing partner for the past 15 years. 
Under Simon’s stewardship the firm has changed dramatically and grown exponentially, acquiring a number of other practices and adding three more offices.
A year after he became managing partner, Veale Wasbrough – as it was then called – joined forces with the London firm Vizards Tweedie to form VWV.
It opened an office in Birmingham in 2013 and in 2016 took on a team of 30 commercial lawyers Watford firm Matthew Arnold & Baldwin in a move that gave it a base in the Hertfordshire town.
Today it has more than 90 partners and employs 500-plus staff across its four offices.
Pictured: New VWV managing partner Steve McGuigan, right, with Simon Heald, who he replaced in the role this week
Its group of subsidiary companies include London-based strategy consultancy Cairneagle, which it acquired last year, human resources consultancy Narrow Quay HR and VWV Plus, which has developed online tools to promote and support the compliance and assurance requirements of education providers and other regulated businesses.
Steve, who took over as managing partner this week, said: “I feel very honoured to start the role of managing partner at VWV.
“When I started at VWV I found a supportive, collaborative and ambitious group of people, committed to helping our clients achieve their goals, and to ensuring that people who joined the firm fulfilled their potential.
“Those fundamentals are still the same today. We can celebrate many successes, but we remain ambitious to do more.”
He said the vision for the business was to be industry leader in its key sectors and services and to fully embrace emerging technologies and AI to offer the best possible client experience.
He added: “Simon has successfully guided us through a period of huge change and growth, steering us safely through many challenges in the process.
“We have added new offices in Birmingham, London and Watford, grown the group turnover to £50m, and invested in three subsidiary companies, Cairneagle, VWV Plus and Narrow Quay Consulting.
“I am very grateful to Simon for all the help and guidance he has given me over many years now, but especially in the last year as he has supported me with the transition into this new role.
“We have a fantastic team and I am looking forward to working with them to continue to grow and succeed.”
Simon said he had enjoyed the responsibility and challenges of leading the business since 2008.
He added: “It’s now time to hand over to Steve, who I’ve worked alongside for more than 20 years. The VWV group is in good hands in the years ahead.”
VWV Chairman Richard Phillips said: “Huge thanks to Simon from the partners and staff here at VWV and all our good wishes to Steve as he leads VWV into a new chapter.
“We have exciting plans for growth and service delivery in the coming years, and with Steve’s talent and dedication, we’re well-positioned to achieve our goals in the VWV style – collaboratively and through effective teamwork.”
