Gordon Brown Law Firm (GBLF) has made three high level promotions marking the next phase of the firm’s development.
Solicitors James Godden, Gwen Jones and Paul Crawley have been appointed as associates and will play key roles in the future of the company. Together Gwen and Paul, who currently work in the corporate and commercial team at GBLF, will take over the day to day running of the department going forward.
The internal promotions are testament to managing partner Kathryn Taylor’s vision of developing GBLF’s future leaders, as the new associates will work closely with Kathryn and the firm’s partners on its continued growth strategy across each department.
James, who is approaching his 10th anniversary at the firm having joined in 2007, forms part of GBLF’s disputes and employment team. As a result of his promotion, the 31-year-old from Whitley Bay, is looking forward to working towards enhancing the business’s presence in the North East and beyond.
James said: “Having joined the firm as a trainee, I’ve enjoyed climbing the career ladder and it’s a great feeling to see my longstanding commitment to the business recognised with this promotion to associate. It’s an exciting time to be part of the team helping to steer the firm in new directions.”
Gwen, who lives in Burnopfield, joined the firm in 2014 and is part of the corporate and commercial team. Gwen also heads up Core, GBLF’s bespoke offering to legal services for the region’s SMEs, which has assisted over 50 businesses since its launch in June 2015.
Gwen said: “Being involved with the launch of Core last year was a big opportunity for me and the team to support the SME market in the North East. I have been delighted with the response to the offering, so to see its success and to achieve promotion to associate is fantastic. I’m looking forward to continuing to develop my team and building on the success of Core’s first year.”
Also celebrating promotion to associate is Paul Crawley from Low Fell. The 36-year-old also joined the firm in 2014 and is keen to continue to expand GBLF’s corporate and commercial offering.
Paul said: “It’s a great feeling to be part of a firm which encourages internal development and I really appreciate the trust that the partners have shown in giving me a greater voice in the business with my promotion to associate. It’s an honour to have the chance to work closely with our managing partner and fellow partners and I have a strong team behind me, which will enable me to continue with my day-to-day role whilst doing this.”
Gordon Brown, who started the firm 35 years ago, said: “Since joining the firm two years ago, I have been tasked with developing Gwen and Paul to the point where they could take on the management and expansion of the corporate and commercial team from myself. When I proposed them for associateship earlier this year, I was confident that both are at a point in their personal development where the future of the team is safe in their hands.”
Managing partner at GBLF, Kathryn Taylor, said: “Recognising our employee’s hard work is very important to us and we are pleased to have appointed James, Gwen and Paul as associates. They have all built up an excellent practice and following whilst making an impact in their own areas.
“As a business we are always keen to develop people from within who have shown that they are ready to progress to the next level and all three of our new associates have done just that. I’m very much looking forward to working with them more closely on the future plans for the company.”
For more information on Gordon Brown Law Firm visit www.gblf.co.uk or call 0191 338 1778.