North East law firm Hay & Kilner has made a double appointment to its thriving dispute resolution team as it continues to grow its presence in the corporate and commercial sector.
Guy Barr and Adam Chaffer have joined the Newcastle-headquartered firm in senior associate and associate roles respectively.
Guy brings more than two decades’ experience with leading North East law firms to his new position, and specialises in business disputes, contentious trusts and probate, and property litigation.
He has worked across a wide range of industry sectors, and has particular experience in insurance and claims against professionals.
Adam has worked in the legal sector for nine years, qualifying as a solicitor in 2018, and specialises in corporate and commercial litigation, including shareholder and partnership disputes.
He holds higher rights of audience (civil) enabling him to undertake advocacy in the High Court and the appellate courts and has experience of both trials and interim applications before the court.
Alongside his practice, Adam is the author of The Law Society Litigation Handbook and writes for both the Company Lawyer Journal and the Construction Law Journal.
Guy Barr says: “Being able to effectively negotiate around and resolve disputes, whether through mediation, arbitration or litigation, is an essential tool in the armoury of any business.
“Given the increasing financial pressures and uncertainties, companies and individuals are increasingly examining the different options they have for finding commercially sensible and cost-effective solutions to the disputes they’re facing before embarking on full-blown litigation.
“I’ve always considered Hay & Kilner a firm of commercial weight and good repute with an excellent team of practitioners, so the opportunity to join the team was one I was very keen to take up.
“The firm’s move to its new headquarters in the Newcastle Helix hybrid city quarter is a real statement of intent and the ambitious growth strategy that this change will support makes it a very exciting time to be joining Hay & Kilner.”
Hay & Kilner, which celebrated its 75th anniversary last year, is one of North East England’s leading independent law firms and provides comprehensive legal advice across every aspect of the law to businesses and individuals from both within and outside the region.
Lucy Gray, partner and head of the dispute resolution team at Hay & Kilner, adds: “We’ve been steadily growing our presence across all areas of dispute resolution and are continuing to reinforce our team with the type of high-quality practitioners required to help our clients achieve their personal and commercial goals.
“After two other new additions to the team last year, bringing in Guy and Adam is the latest stage of this process and we’re extremely pleased that they’ve chosen to join us.”