A LEADING law firm in York is entering a new era with a new managing partner.

Langleys Solicitors has promoted Tim Cross to managing partner, taking over from David Thompson who led the firm for 10 years.

Tim will be responsible for the strategic direction of the business and personal law firm, and implement the organisation’s values across its core sectors; business, insurance and private.

For the past decade, Tim has been head of the commercial division at Langleys, where he led on the relationships with clients, including Helmsley Group and In-site Property Solutions. He has also played a key role in the leadership team.

Tim will help take the firm into its next phase of growth across the three sites - York, Lincoln and Manchester.

A commercial property lawyer by background, he specialises in retail, investment and development work. Prior to joining Langleys, Tim sat on the board of directors at Lupton Fawcett, having been an equity partner at various firms since the early 2000s. He originally qualified in 1988, and has spent his 30-year career in law firms throughout Leeds and Yorkshire.

Tim said: “David has taken Langleys Solicitors’ on an incredibly exciting journey over the last decade; now it is time to consolidate that work, and further develop our values and behaviours in order to build a sustainable platform for the next phase of growth. Langley’s is a sum of its people, and putting them first makes for a successful firm of happy, dedicated and ambitious lawyers.”

Meanwhile, Jenni Bartram, a long-standing member of the Agricultural Law Association and former president of the Yorkshire Law Society, has joined York law firm, Harrowells as a consultant solicitor. Harrowells has a strong presence in agriculture throughout Yorkshire.

Jenni is experienced in many areas of law involving farm businesses and landowners including partnerships, wills, taxation and succession planning, diversification schemes, business tenancies, property, planning and renewable energy schemes.

A former governor of Askham Bryan College, she said: “I am delighted to join Harrowells as the firm is developing a dedicated and very able team with depth and ability to look after the agricultural sector.

"There will be vast changes for British farming during the next five years. As we leave the EU, we currently have no idea whom our future trading partners will be and what rules and regulations will apply.“Support under the existing Basic Payment Scheme will also end which is going to cause a large drop in income and profit for many agricultural businesses which should now be forward planning very carefully in light of these changes.”