Date: 10 July 2006

BULLER JEFFRIES AND DAWKINS & GREY UNITE

Birmingham legal firm Buller Jeffries is set to boost its commercial property and private client team when the partners and staff of Dawkins & Grey join the firm on 10 July.

The arrival of the six-strong Dawkins & Grey team, who will move from their base in the Jewellery Quarter to Buller Jeffries’ Bennetts Hill offices, also coincides with the promotion to partner of Clive Vernon.

Clive has been head of the Commercial Property and Private Client department since he joined Buller Jeffries from Eversheds in early 2005. He has over 20 years’ experience in commercial property and will head up the newly enlarged team of 13.

Judy Bonegal and Roger Williams both join as partners from Dawkins & Grey. Judy’s experience includes property work for charities and housing associations as well as residential conveyancing, wills and probate, whilst Roger specialises in commercial property, trusts and probate and general property work. He is also the Consul for the Netherlands.

With Dawkins and Grey on board, Buller Jeffries has 11 partners, 6 associates and over 60 staff based at its Birmingham and Coventry offices. Both firms have close connections with the Birmingham Law Society. Judy Bonegal is a council member and editor of Bulletin, the Society’s regional magazine, and partner Caroline Coates is current deputy vice-president.

Roger Coates, senior partner at Buller Jeffries, said: “Whilst Buller Jeffries has a national reputation for our specialist insurance litigation work, our commercial property and private client practice has also grown substantially over the past 12 months under Clive’s leadership.

“The inclusion of Dawkins & Grey provides the ideal platform for future growth.  Judy, Roger and their team have a great deal of experience and a loyal and expanding client base. This, combined with the shared ethos and values of our two firms, gives Buller Jeffries a strong proposition going forward.”

Judy Bonegal, partner, added: “We are delighted to be joining such a like-minded firm as Bullers. Both firms have strong, established roots in the Midlands and the commercial property and private client practice is flourishing. This is a tremendous opportunity to work with Clive and his team to build on this success.”

Buller Jeffries was established in 1870 whilst Dawkins & Grey was formed as a partnership shortly after the end of the Second World War.