The latest Bondholder appointments and promotions

Dains, Shakespeare Martineau and Timms Solicitors are among the latest Marketing Derby Bondholders to announce new appointments in recent weeks.

Dains has appointed Gemma Edwards as chief operating officer, strengthening its senior leadership team as the group expands across the UK and Ireland through organic growth and acquisition.

Gemma will lead the development of the Dains Group’s operating model and operational performance, working with its service lines and central teams to create greater, consistency, connectivity and capacity across the business.

Her remit will bring together people, processes, technology and data to support sustainable growth and deliver an excellent experience for Dains’ people and clients.

Her career spans finance operations, client delivery, operational leadership and business transformation.

She joins Dains after 11 years at Cooper Parry, where she was most recently a partner and head of digital business management.

Richard McNeilly, chief executive at Dains, said: “Gemma brings an impressive combination of professional services, operational and transformation experience, alongside a clear understanding of what it takes to build a business that can grow without compromising on quality or the experience we provide to our clients and people.

“As Dains continues to grow, we need to make sure the way we operate develops with us.

“That means creating greater consistency and connectivity across the group, making the best use of technology and data, and giving our teams the capacity to spend more time supporting our clients.

“Gemma’s experience of doing exactly that within a fast-growing professional services environment makes her a fantastic addition to our leadership team.”

Law firm Shakespeare Martineau has appointed seven newly qualified solicitors across its Midlands offices following the completion of their training contracts.

Afrin Nanavatti has qualified into the employment team, while Rebecca Sault has joined the commercial real estate team.

Four of the new solicitors have joined teams in Birmingham. Maria Sharpe and Jonah Cooke have qualified into employment, while Govind Johal and Justin Clegg have joined the restructuring and insolvency team.

Svitlana Harkusha has qualified into the commercial litigation team.

The appointments follow the completion of the trainees’ training contracts with the full-service law firm.

Victoria Tester, managing director at Shakespeare Martineau, said: “We are proud to see our trainees qualify as solicitors and continue their careers with us.

“Qualification is an important milestone in any legal career, and each of them has demonstrated considerable commitment, ambition and professionalism throughout their training.

“It is fantastic to see seven talented individuals beginning the next chapter of their careers across our Midlands offices.”

Finally, law firm Timms Solicitors has promoted family law paralegal Isabelle Marchewka.

Isabelle takes up a two-year training contract as a trainee solicitor after working for the firm for the last three years.

She is a law graduate from Leeds Beckett University and has already completed her Legal Practicing Certificate while supporting the department’s busy family law team.

Adrian Rose, partner and training principal at Timms, said: “In Isabelle’s three years at Timms, she has shown her commitment to the firm and its clients.

“She deserves the opportunity to progress in her career now as a trainee solicitor.

“Myself, and my colleagues in other teams across the business, look forward to working with Isabella and we wish her all the best.”