Bevan Brittan bolsters Leeds office with local government and NHS property hires

Law firm Bevan Brittan has expanded its local government team in Leeds with the hire of David Kitson as a Senior Associate. David joins from the in-house legal team of Scarborough Borough Council, where he worked for nearly thirteen years.

In addition, the firm has welcomed two new Assistant solicitors in Leeds who both join the healthcare property team: Maria Shone who joins from law firm Langleys, and Gary Wales who moves to the firm from Beaumont Legal.

David Kitson was Deputy Monitoring Officer and Senior Information Risk Owner at Scarborough Borough Council. During his time at the Council, he frequently delivered advice that required a high degree of political awareness and sensitivity, and advised upon and resolved many technical and contentious issues.

David has extensive experience providing expert regulatory and governance advice, training and support to local government, as well as to other public bodies including NHS CCGs, National Park Authorities and Registered Social Landlords. He advises on conduct and ethical standards; constitutional issues; complaints and investigations; information law such as GDPR and Freedom of Information requests; and governance and the democratic process. David has significant experience dealing with unreasonable complainants and vexatious correspondence in a variety of contexts.

Commenting on joining Bevan Brittan, David said: “I am delighted to be joining Bevan Brittan. The firm has a strong reputation built on its extensive credentials in advising local authorities and public sector bodies. My in-house experience means that I will be able to give practical advice reflecting both the political context and the day to day issues in the public sector. I am greatly looking forward to working with my new clients.”

Judith Barnes, local government partner at Bevan Brittan in Leeds, said: “We are really pleased that David is joining us. His track record and Council experience will give him a strong rapport with our clients and a real understanding of the challenges they are dealing with. He is a great addition to our growing team.”

Maria Shone and Gary Wales join Bevan Brittan’s healthcare property team advising NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts, commissioners of NHS services, NHS Property Services Limited, Community Health Partnerships Limited and private healthcare providers on all matters relating to their estates – including disposals, investments and new development projects.

James Atkins, healthcare property partner in Leeds, commented: "Adding Maria and Gary to our Leeds healthcare property team is fantastic news. They are both very talented young lawyers and their recruitment will give us even greater capacity to deliver excellent service to clients old and new across the public and private health sector. Our Leeds team continues to advise on day to day NHS estates matters as well as major development and disposal projects.”

The hires come as Bevan Brittan recently announced a strong financial year, with revenues for 2017/18 up 12% to £44 million and profits up 23% to £9.6 million. This was the sixth consecutive year of revenue growth for the firm.