String of new hires for Olliers

 Olliers Solicitors has grown its team with a string of new fee-earning and support appointments, as well as making key promotions.

The criminal law expert has appointed Anne-Marie Nicholls as a senior associate. Anne-Marie was previously a lawyer at the CPS, leading the team on domestic violence cases for a decade. For the last seven years, she has worked as a specialist prosecutor in the Rape and Sexual Offences Unit (RASO), dealing with various cases, including child sexual exploitation and historical sexual abuse.

Anne-Marie has 17 years of experience in pre-charge advice and preparation and extensive knowledge of the process from the prosecution perspective. Of the Olliers team of 25 or so defence solicitors, three are former crown prosecutors. This brings an extra dimension to the level of service the team at Olliers can provide.

Jack Tomlinson has also joined the firm as a solicitor, having previously worked at a leading motoring defence firm. In his new role at Olliers, Jack will be undertaking his police station accreditation, internal pre-charge accreditation and representing clients at the pre-charge investigative stage.

The team has also been boosted with new talent, as two of Olliers’ Summer 2023 interns join the team permanently – Eleanor Harris as a paralegal in the Disclosure and Barring Service department following graduation from the University of Manchester with a First in law and Aimee Darbyshire-Ellison as a member of the firm’s support and new business team.

Gavin Westmorland will also bolster the new business team. Olliers will benefit from his unique skill set, having worked for many years within sales but more recently as a police constable with the British Transport Police – offering him an invaluable insight into the criminal justice system.

Alex Close-Claughton and Hannah Poole have both qualified as solicitors. Hannah joined the firm following a summer internship and has completed a two-year training contract. In contrast, Alex joined the firm’s Crown Court department eight years ago as a senior caseworker. He undertook the six-year Solicitor Apprenticeship, completing the SQE1 and SQE2 exams.

Commenting on the hires, Olliers’ managing director, Matthew Claughton, said: “Our recent hires and promotions demonstrate the firm’s ongoing commitment to nurturing new talent in criminal law.

“At the end of September, Hope Rea and Connor Brylczak will commence their training contracts with us, having joined the firm following previous summer internships. We’re proud to be flying the flag for criminal defence among the legal industry’s next generation and have high hopes for all our new starters.”

For more information, visit www.olliers.com