Devonshires opens Birmingham office

Law firm Devonshires is set to open an office in Birmingham, its fourth location in the UK. 

Housing corporate and governance partner Gemma Bell will be based at the Temple Street location, alongside senior solicitor Rose Klemperer and solicitors Ellen Damlica and Sharon Thandi. The team, which joins from Penningtons Manches Cooper, specialises in corporate, regulatory and governance issues. 

Bell provides governance and strategic advice for social enterprises, housing associations, local authorities and charities and regularly delivers governance training to third sector organisations. 

She was a contributor to the National Housing Federation’s latest version of Model Rules, the sector’s most widely used constitutional document, while Klemperer is co-founder and co-chair of Women in Social Housing Midlands (WISH Midlands), a membership-based organisation for women working in social housing.

Andrew Cowan, partner and head of social housing at Devonshires commented: 'The whole firm is thrilled to welcome Gemma and her team to Devonshires. Gemma’s reputation speaks for itself, and her work perfectly complements that of our firm as social housing leaders. It will also enable us to better serve our clients outside London.

'On behalf of the whole team at Devonshires, I offer Gemma, Rose, Ellen and Sharon a warm welcome. I am sure they will make a significant contribution to the firm both locally and nationally.'

Bell says: 'Devonshires is the market-leading firm for social housing, so I am honoured to be able to spearhead their opening in Birmingham. There’s a real synergy with the work of my team and that of Devonshires. All four of us are really excited by what we can achieve working alongside Devonshires’ excellent team and with the power of such a strong national brand behind us.'

Devonshires has offices in the City of London, Colchester and Leeds.