James Stephenson has left Brabners to become an associate solicitor at the Liverpool office of North West law firm Napthens

North West law firm Napthens has hired senior associate solicitor James Stephenson to its Liverpool office, to join its commercial litigation team. He joins from Brabners.

Having qualified in 2010, James brings more than 10 years’ experience in handling high value and complex litigation to the firm, having dealt with proceedings in all courts, including the County Court, High Court and Court of Appeal.

Acting for individuals and businesses in a wide range of industry sectors he has regularly advised on contractual disputes, professional negligence claims, shareholder disputes, commercial debt recovery and insolvency proceedings – relating to both bankruptcy and winding-up orders.

James has been recognised in the Legal 500 and has previously been recognised as a ‘Rising Star’ for both commercial litigation and debt recovery and listed as a next generation lawyer.

He said: “Napthens is a leading name in the North West legal sector and has truly established itself as a key player in Liverpool over the past few years. There’s a real ambition within the team to make a mark not just in the North West, but across the UK, so I’m excited to play a part in that over the coming years.”

In 2018 Napthens opened an office in The Plaza, Old Hall Street, to develop its presence in the city region and complement its existing locations across the North West, in Lancashire, Cumbria and Merseyside.

Gareth McIntegart, Head of Napthens’ Liverpool office, said: “Liverpool City Region is a key part of Napthens’ future growth plans and James is another exciting addition to the growing team.

“Honing his craft here for the past 10 years, James knows Liverpool inside out and is exactly the kind of talent we are looking to attract. We have no doubt he’ll build excellent relationships with our clients and his expertise will further enhance the skillset of our market-leading commercial litigation team.