Home Appointments & Contracts Another nine promotions further strengthen Clarion’s team

Another nine promotions further strengthen Clarion’s team

Picture shows (L to R): Laura Gillin; Giulia Sinibaldi; Zoe Roberts; Lois Davey; Nicholas Choiniere; Jo Crowley; Natalie Brierley; Ella Wilkinson; and Robert Patterson

Clarion has this year seen a record number of colleagues promoted with seven associates taking on the position of senior associate and two paralegals becoming associates (non-lawyers) in addition to eight promotions to legal director previously announced.

Giulia Sinibaldi, Laura Gillin, Lois Davey, Natalie Brierley, Nicholas Choiniere, Robert Patterson and Zoe Roberts have all become senior associates.

“All of the people recognised in this latest round of promotions share some key qualities – not only are they technically adept and client-focused lawyers, they also go that extra mile, whether by mentoring and training colleagues, supporting the firm’s CSR initiatives or developing their particular practice area,” explains Roger Hutton, joint managing partner at Clarion. “They have all made a huge contribution to the firm and we look forward to continuing to help them achieve their ambitions.”

Working in the commercial dispute resolution team, Giulia Sinibaldi has demonstrated an ability to advise on complex, high value and sometimes multi-jurisdictional matters, taking the time to understand client objectives and to then develop a litigation strategy to achieve them.


Laura Gillin (non-lawyer) specialises in Court of Protection costs and has experience with recovering costs in deputyships concerning financial and property affairs , deputyship applications and statutory will applications.

Over the last four years with Clarion, Lois Davey has worked hard to grow and develop the residential conveyancing team that support our high net worth clients.

Natalie Brierley is a highly experienced member of the property litigation practice and has demonstrated an ability to develop strong client relationships and work on complex matters.

Nicholas Choiniere is a renowned contentious private client lawyer, ranked in Chambers as ‘an associate to watch’ and recognised in Legal 500.

With 20 years’ experience in legal costs, Robert Patterson (non-lawyer) plays a pivotal role in the civil and commercial costs team, taking responsibility for some of the most complex and demanding assignments, including international instructions.

Since qualifying with Clarion five years ago, Zoe Roberts has become an integral part of Clarion’s employment team, undertaking complex advisory and contentious work for employer clients and developing the team’s key client relationships.

Finally, Jo Crowley (Court of Protection) and Ella Wilkinson (costs and litigation funding) have been promoted to associates (non-lawyers). Both Jo and Ella have been studying for their CILEx qualifications while working as paralegals in their respective teams.

This year, Clarion again achieved a three-star accreditation in the prestigious UK’s 100 Best Companies to Work For scheme, and announced an impressive hat trick – in the first and second quarter of 2022, the Leeds law firm was recognised as the top company in Yorkshire to work for, it took number one spot as the best law firm to work for in the whole country and it was also ranked second overall out of all the entrants in the large company category from across the entire UK.