Ashfords signals London ambitions with trio of partner appointments

read time: 2 min

15.05.26

Louise Workman

London: Law firm Ashfords has added three new partners to its growing London office as it steps up plans to grow its presence in the city.

Joining the firm’s New Fetter Lane office are:

Emma Harris (trusts and estates) from Payne Hicks Beach. Emma advises across the full spectrum of tax, trust, estate and succession planning issues, often on an international basis and for high-net-worth clients. She qualified at Stantons in 2010 and became a partner in 2022.
David Cave (projects and infrastructure) from Michelmores. David specialises in infrastructure projects and project financing with particular experience in PPP projects and public sector outsourcing projects across the education, healthcare, defence, waste, transport and accommodation sectors. He qualified at Ashurst and spent 20 years there before moving to Michelmores.
James Lawrence (real estate) from Gateley. James specialises in property development and primarily acts for high-net-worth individuals and SMEs. He qualified at Wills Walker in 2004.

The firm now has a team of 11 partners in London. Other partner hires into the firm’s London office over the past year have included: Ben Xu from Laytons ETL, Thomas Middlehurst from Blake Morgan and Deborah Rowntree from Bevan Brittan.

The appointments form part of the firm’s five-year strategy launched last year to deliver sustainable growth through accelerated investment in its real estate, commercial and private wealth teams across its four UK offices, with a particular focus on London.

Louise Workman, CEO of Ashfords explains: “A core feature of our strategy is identifying where we can strengthen our support for clients across the UK and internationally, with London providing a natural base for that growth.

“We’re seeing strong interest from senior city lawyers who are attracted by the opportunity to combine high-quality, complex work in a supportive and collegiate culture. I expect to announce further appointments over coming months.

“On behalf of everyone at Ashfords, I extend a warm welcome to our new partners and look forward to working with them.”

Today, the firm has also announced the arrival of a seven-strong projects team from Michelmores, with David Cave being joined by fellow partner Ben Hogan and a team of five.