The Leeds office of law firm Devonshires has added another solicitor to its growing team in the city.
Real estate specialist Amy Lees (pictured) is joining from Knights, formerly Shulmans. She is the third solicitor to join the firm’s Leeds office this year following the arrival of Zoe McLean-Wells from Walker Morris and Geri Batchelor from DWF.
Lees will work closely with the firm’s real estate partner, Elad Yasdi, who recently moved from the firm’s London office to expand the real estate team in Leeds.
Lees acts for landowners and regional and national housebuilders and is experienced in land acquisitions and disposals, as well as in the negotiation of conditional contracts, option agreements, coverage provisions, infrastructure and access arrangements, and setting up development sites for plot sales.
She also has specialist experience in the negotiation of affordable housing sale contracts and in setting up estate management arrangements involving one or more developers.
Yasdi, who leads the real estate team at Devonshires in Leeds, said: “Amy is a welcome addition to our growing team in Leeds. We’re very excited by the growth prospects we see in the north and I expect to see further hires over the next 12 months as we look to increase our offering to our large northern client base.”
Lees said: “Devonshires has a great reputation nationally and I am excited to be part of such a large firm with an ever-growing presence in Leeds and the north. I look forward to working on some exciting projects with leading experts in my field.”
The firm’s Leeds office, which moved into new premises at No 1 Whitehall Riverside last February, is making a name for itself in the region. In December, the office was recognised at the Yorkshire Legal Awards, winning the Banking and Finance Law Award.
The office, which is led by partners Chris Drabble and Gary Grigor, who joined the firm from Addleshaw Goddard in 2017, now houses 17 staff and offers a broad range of practice areas including banking, securitisation, regulatory, governance, housing management and litigation, employment, pensions, construction and engineering, and real estate and projects.
The firm is an active supporter of Leeds’ St George’s Crypt, participating in several events in the region since opening in the city to raise funds and promote the work of the homeless charity.