Law firm Ashfords has made five senior hires in its Bristol office in a move that strengthens its commercial, real estate and private wealth divisions.
The appointments bring the total number of lawyers and trainees based in Bristol to well over 100 lawyers and adds further weight to the firm’s business risk & regulatory, environmental, corporate, property disputes and trusts & estates legal capabilities. 
The new arrivals also add to the firm’s sector experience in energy, healthcare, homes & regeneration and technology.
The new hires include:
Environmental lawyer Paul Collins, who joins the firm’s business risk & regulation team as a senior associate, bringing extensive experience from his time working for Defra, the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Environment Agency as well as in private practice.
Corporate lawyer Laura Guest, a ‘rising star’ according to the respected law sector directory Legal 500, has joined Ashfords’ expanding corporate team as a senior associate. She has considerable experience advising on corporate transactions and other related company law matters. Her arrival is the fourth new corporate team hire since the start of the year.
Trusts & estates lawyers Ruth Mason and Rachel Bufton have become members of the firm’s private wealth team, bringing extensive experience advising on private client matters including estate planning, complex Will drafting, the creation and management of trusts, and estate related tax planning. Ruth joins as a senior associate and Rachel as an associate.
Property disputes lawyer Victoria Howlett joins Ashfords’ property disputes team as a professional support lawyer, bringing more than 10 years’ experience in ensuring legal teams are up to date with the latest legal developments so that they can deliver a consistently outstanding service for clients.
Ashfords corporate partner and Bristol office head Jocelyn Ormond said: “We continue to invest in our Bristol office as part of the firm’s overall UK growth strategy, drawing on the legal expertise here in the city to build a strong and collaborative team entirely focused on delivering outstanding legal services.
“It’s fantastic to see the office go from strength to strength with new senior lawyer hires bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to further develop the support that we can give our clients.”
Other recent Bristol partner appointments have included Mike Westbrook (private wealth), Melissa George (restructuring & insolvency), and Tom Llewellyn (dispute resolution).
In addition, the firm, which employs more than 500 people and also has offices in London, Exeter and Plymouth, recently welcomed financial services regulatory senior lawyer Oliver Woodhouse.
