We have appointed a senior consultant, two associates and a new trainee solicitor to our practice.

Philip Griffiths previously ran his own niche commercial/ IP practice, Alderwick’s Solicitors, for 12 years in Bath. Originally from Llandysul, he has returned to Wales to join Berry Smith’s commercial and intellectual property team.

The 62-year-old embarked on a career change in his late 30s, studying for his Masters at Cardiff Law School before obtaining his LPC from the College of Law in Guildford. Previously, he had practised as a dentist on the south coast of England.

The firm’s commercial property division, which has now added Rashmi Chakrabarti to its team, saw a significant increase in activity during the last 12 months, which reflects the general upturn in the marketplace.

Having qualified and worked at Eversheds for 11 years, 38-year-old Rashmi joins Berry Smith after spending a year travelling the world.

The newly appointed associate, from Merthyr Tydfil, joined the firm in January.

Owen Jones, who also joins at associate level, completed his training contract at Douglas-Jones Mercer in Swansea before moving to Bristol firm Cook & Co Solicitors. After 4 years over the border, his appointment to Berry Smith’s Corporate team sees the 31-year-old from Pontardulais returning to his Welsh roots.

Reading University graduate Catrin Mackie completed her LPC at Cardiff Law School before taking a six month placement at London firm Solomon Taylor & Shaw. With ambitions to specialise in litigation, the 22-year-old started her two year training contract in December within Berry Smith’s Dispute Resolution team.

Alison Hoy, chief executive at Berry Smith, said: “We are really pleased to welcome Philiip, Rashmi, Owen and Catrin to the business.

“We believe the most important thing is having the right people in place to provide the best service for our clients, at the right price.

“2014 was a bumper year for Berry Smith, with a great deal of business coming from both existing clients and new business resulting in a 20% growth in turnover. These four new colleagues represent a diverse range of skills and experience, so I’m sure they will flourish here and play key roles in our continued organic growth.”

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