Thames Valley: Shoosmiths appoints Jonathan Naylor as head of office

Law firm Shoosmiths is welcoming a new office head at the Thames Valley office as former head and real-estate partner Andrew Farmery steps down to relocate to Shoosmiths’ London office.

From May 1, employment partner Jonathan Naylor took over from Farmery, who had been head of office since September 2012. Farmery’s tenure has seen Shoosmiths’ Thames Valley continue to flourish financially and has been acknowledged by the legal directories as the number one commercial law firm in the region.

Farmery’s leadership has also seen the Thames Valley office pioneer Shoosmiths’ agile working, a model which is being rolled out across all Shoosmiths’ offices due to the resounding success of its launch in Reading recently.

Naylor has been an employment partner at Shoosmiths since May 2012. A qualified barrister, Naylor advises HR directors and senior managers on all aspects of the employment relationship and as an experienced tribunal advocate he appears regularly in both the employment tribunals and the employment appeal tribunal.

Claire Rowe, chief executive at Shoosmiths, commented: "Andrew has shown fantastic leadership in overseeing the successful transformation of the Thames Valley office into a completely agile working environment. Andrew’s experience will see his relocation to the London office bring an abundance of opportunities to grow our service offerings nationally particularly in relation to property investors and corporate occupiers."

Farmery added: "It has been a pleasure to be head of such an enthusiastic and committed office. The Thames Valley office embodies the famous Shoosmiths culture of excellent client service and I firmly believe it will continue to the leading law firm in the region under Jonathan’s leadership."

Naylor added: "I am extremely pleased to be taking on the role of office head in the Thames Valley. Andrew has been an exemplary head and I looking forward to building on his achievements and helping this office achieve even greater success in the future."