CMS strengthens Northern offering with arrival of finance specialists

Building on the appointment of Matthew Davies and promotion of Tanya Francis earlier this year, international law firm CMS continues to strengthen its Manchester offering with the arrival of two finance specialists from London.

Ruth Marken and Oliver Ellington have relocated from the firm’s London office, in a move which reflects the growing importance of Manchester as a key financial hub.

Ruth Marken, a partner in CMS’ Banking & Finance team, has over 20 years’ experience advising across the full range of financing transactions, with a particular expertise acting for corporate, fund and lender clients in the real estate, technology and media sectors. Senior Associate Oliver Ellington has 11 years experiencing advising similar clients, primarily in the real estate and fintech sectors.

Mark Haywood, CMS’ Head of the North comments: “We are delighted to welcome these two incredibly talented lawyers to the team. Their arrival form a critical part of our strategy to expand our already wide service offering in the North and respond to the growing demand from clients across the region for banking & finance expertise.”

These latest appointments reaffirm CMS’ commitment to its Northern offering and follow the hiring of partner Abby Dry and a team of lawyers to establish an offering in Liverpool in February, the arrival of Corporate partner Matthew Davies in April, the promotion of Real Estate partner Tanya Francis and Planning Partner Rebecca Roffe in May and the relocation of Real Estate Disputes partner Simone Ketchell from London to Sheffield in August. Last month, the firm announced that it has joined the Northern Powerhouse partner programme, a key part of Northern Powerhouse, bringing together businesses, institutions and organisations who all believe strongly in the economic potential of the North, and support the need for a combined effort by government and business to realise that potential.