Stone King expands team with new hires

Law firm Stone King is making significant strides in its growth strategy by adding four new professionals to its ranks, thereby enhancing its commercial, property, and planning capabilities. The firm’s latest hires signal its ongoing commitment to expansion across its various offices in the UK.

The commercial team welcomes James Fox as a partner in the London office. Having previously worked with Gardner Leader, he brings over 20 years of invaluable experience in advising businesses on a wide array of matters, including commercial contracts, procurement, digital transformation projects, data protection, and strategic transactions. James has also held senior legal positions with major organisations such as Capita and Reliance, along with having tenure at international law firms Dentons and K&L Gates. His expertise is particularly notable in areas like software licensing and technology-enabled services.

Bernard Ralph joins the London office with the objective of leading a new nationwide planning team. He arrives from Knights, bringing over two decades of experience in navigating the complexities of the planning process. Dual-qualified in both the UK and Australia, Bernard has an impressive client list that features residential and commercial developers, aviation and leisure operators, as well as various public sector entities.

In addition, the firm has hired David Ramsbottom and Aman Singh Randhawa as commercial property associates in Birmingham and Bath, respectively. David previously worked at firms like Lanyon Bowdler and Womble Bond Dickinson, with a specific focus on charitable organisations, particularly faith-based ones. Aman also has a strong background in commercial property, having served in similar roles at Clarke Wilmott and Bevan Brittan, primarily representing charities and faith-based organisations.

These recent appointments follow the earlier recruitment of employment partner Laura McHugh in Manchester in June, signalling a deliberate strategy to enhance expertise across various sectors. Vicky Brackett, CEO at Stone King, expressed enthusiasm about the new team members. She said, “We give a warm welcome to all our new joiners. These appointments underline our commitment to growth, both nationally and regionally, and our continued investment to ensure that clients, wherever they are based, can have easy access to our experienced, expert team of lawyers.”