Mills & Reeve boosts partnership with four internal promotions

The four new partners are based across the UK, with one each in Mills & Reeve’s London, Birmingham, Cambridge and Manchester offices. 

Jonathan Greenwood will become a partner in the corporate team, Paul Knight in commercial, David Varnham in banking and Eric France in commercial disputes. 

Justin Ripman, Mills & Reeve senior partner said “We are delighted to welcome all four into the partnership, particularly as Jonathan and Paul are home grown talent, initially starting out with us as trainee solicitors. A key pillar of our 2020 strategy is around people and developing talent, and these new promotions prove that we invest in our young lawyers and give them opportunities to develop their skills. 

“David and Eric on the other hand illustrate our ongoing ability to attract top talent from other leading firms, allowing them great opportunities to develop and grow with us.” 

Jonathan is based in Cambridge and specialises in assisting clients who operate in the education, and has a particular focus on private investment, corporate finance, corporate and governance structuring, and mergers and acquisitions. He also leads the firm’s academy conversion practice, working with schools and colleges on their conversion to trusts. 

Paul relocated from the firm’s Cambridge office in March 2015 to head up the new Manchester commercial team, particularly in order to capitalise on the many opportunities in the technology sector. Paul has developed a strong reputation in the North and he is fast becoming an industry expert in developing technologies, including Artificial Intelligence and driverless cars. 

David joined in January 2016 from the London office of Allen & Overy, where he spent over ten years in the firm’s banking department, to head up the new Birmingham banking team. David is well known in the Midlands and has a reputation for creating strong and lasting relationships with clients and banks. 

Eric joined in July 2016 from Clifford Chance, as head of commercial disputes in London. Specialising in insurance, professional negligence and IT disputes, Eric is well known by City based insurance companies and has extensive litigation experience on some high profile and complex cases.