Top names join expanding law firm

Award-winning law firm Blanchards Bailey LLP has bolstered its commercial team with the appointment of two industry big hitters. The experienced duo of Robin Cole and David Ashplant have joined the firm as growing business dictates the need for expansion. The pair are based at Blanchards Bailey’s head office in Blandford and work right across the board on commercial and commercial property matters. Robin has more than 30 years’ specialist experience as a solicitor in commercial property and real estate finance, most of it at partner level in London. His previous roles have included head of property finance at international law firm Richards Butler (now Reed Smith), partner at Hammond Suddards (now Squire Patton Boggs) and, most latterly, heading up specialist real estate teams at Mayfair firm, Forsters LLP. His specialisms include acting for family trusts, landed estates, developers, property companies and investors in relation to a wide range of development and investment acquisitions/disposals, joint venture, and participation arrangements. He said: “I am thoroughly enjoying this new challenge – my policy has always been to understand my clients’ objectives and deliver to them solutions in the most effective and expeditious manner possible and that is exactly what I am doing at Blanchards Bailey.” Robin, who has the honour of being a Liveryman of the City of London, is also known for editing editions of Butterworth’s Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents. David, appointed as a company commercial solicitor, has more than 35 years’ experience in the field of commercial business law. Beginning his career in the City of London, he also spent 28 years with Lester Aldridge in Bournemouth, leaving in 2017 at Partner level. He said: “I bring vast experience to Blanchards Bailey across my areas of specialism and I am delighted to join such a progressive and proactive firm.” David’s field of expertise includes mergers and acquisitions, contracts, shareholder agreements, joint ventures, intellectual property and technology licensing, IT contracts, and competition law. Blanchards Bailey Principal Alan Horne, Chief Executive, said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome lawyers of the calibre of David and Robin to the firm as we see continued expansion of our commercial activities. “Their appointment demonstrates that Blanchards Bailey is able to attract top lawyers from other leading law firms and we are able to offer comparable expertise to larger national firms. “David and Robin’s vast experience has dovetailed perfectly with the hard work undertaken by our loyal and skilled team across our four offices who consistently deliver the best possible legal advice to valued clients.” Eighty-strong Blanchards Bailey is a Legal 500 firm – making it one of the top firms in the South West – and is based in Blandford with offices in Poundbury, Shaftesbury and Weymouth. The firm received unprecedented recognition in the UK's leading law sector directory, the Legal 500. The annual publication, The Legal 500 2019/20, mentions the firm in a record-equalling seven categories with eleven individual lawyers recommended. Blanchards Bailey also won a hat-trick of titles at the 2019 Dorset Legal Awards: Law Firm of the Year (up to 99 employees), Company Commercial Team of the Year and Private Client Team of the Year.