John Owens will join the MSB’s family law department, arriving from PMC Family Law, and Karla Cope is joining from Hillyer McKeown and will head up the private client team

Family law specialist, John Owens, is joining the family law department at Liverpool-based MSB on April 1 and Karla Cope is also joining to head up the firm’s private client team.

Already well established in the Liverpool legal sector, John joins MSB from PMC Family Law and will be a senior associate solicitor based at the fast-growing firm’s No 4 St Paul’s Square headquarters.

He graduated with a law degree from the University of Ulster in Belfast and completed the Legal Practice Course (LPC) with the College of Law in Chester, before moving to Liverpool.

His background was initially in litigation but, after completing his training as a solicitor with PMC, he took then took the decision to specialise in family law. He has since developed specific expertise in dealing with mid to high net worth financial cases, those involving an international element and Children Act cases, with a particular focus on Fathers access rights.

John said: “I am able to draw on my varied experience and ability to work across different areas of law in order to achieve the best possible outcome for my clients. I like to put my clients at ease and to develop a rapport, whether they are individuals of high net worth, celebrities or vulnerable clients of modest means.”

Karla is joining MSB from from Hillyer McKeown where she was manager of the lifetime planning department. She said: “I’m delighted to join such a well established and still-growing firm and very much looking forward to the challenges the role will present.

“MSB has a well-developed portfolio of private client work, but there is room to grow this further. I hope to be able to apply my experience to embedding a strategy that will ensure steady growth of the department in the coming months. It’s an exciting time.”

MSB has already established a strong reputation in family law in the North West and has consolidated its position further over the past 12 months with a series of hires as well as the acquisition of specialist family law firm, Cheesmans. The department is now 45-strong.

Emma Carey, managing partner of MSB, said: “Hiring John and Karla is in line with our policy of identifying the best legal talent available and bringing them into our organisation. Their experiences and skills will make their respective departments even stronger and I am delighted to welcome them to the fold.”