We are proud to confirm that we have recently appointment our first ever Managing Director, Fiona Ward.
Fiona joined THW in 2020, before later becoming a director in 2022. With a background in Management Consultancy she was the natural choice for Managing Director and is looking forward to taking the firm forward in the coming years.
We have also promoted two new directors – Suzie Fisher and Verity Gawthorp, to join Fiona and existing directors, Stephen Greenwood and John Cooke.
Suzie joined what was then Hayton Winkley as an office junior before qualifying as a Chartered Legal Executive in 1993 and knows the business inside out. In recent years Suzie has also taken on the role of Business Development and Marketing and is keen to develop our people and client experience.
A more recent addition is Verity, who heads up the Rural Law Practice. She will be responsible for the continued growth of the Agricultural department which is a core part of the business.
On making the announcements, Fiona Ward said: “I am delighted to be heading up such a wonderful team and to continue our work with great clients.”
John Cooke added: “These are exciting times for everyone at THW and I am pleased to have Suzie and Verity on the board to add their enthusiasm and different experiences to the mix. It also made perfect sense to bring Fiona on as MD and I am looking forward to working with them all in the coming months and years.”
Recent changes within the company have also seen Amanda Chandler promoted to Financial Controller, Nicola Steadman to Head of Private Client, and Steph Fleming to Operations Manager.
We have been helping local families and businesses for generations. These new appointments are a result of an acknowledgement that a new management structure was needed to help meet the needs of a business that has been growing steadily in recent years.
In May 2023 we became part of the MAPD group of law firms and the team at MAPD have helped our existing directors shape these changes. MAPD directors Brian Cullen and Joanna Kingston-Davies have also joined the board at THW.
Fiona added: “Having the support of the People Team at MAPD has been invaluable in the last few months. I know that going forward we will all benefit from the resources they have available in areas such as their academy training, which will allow everyone at THW – lawyers and support staff – to develop. This in turn will make our working practices better and ultimately enable us to maintain the high quality of work that we have always delivered to our clients.”