Shakespeare Martineau announces Midlands promotions
22 April 2025
National law firm for life and business Shakespeare Martineau has announced 16 promotions across a variety of teams and locations, including 13 in the Midlands.

Photo caption: Top to bottom, left to right – Aller Dawlat, John Buckley, Holly Lockley, Ben Darlow, Stewart Freeman, Victoria Taylor, Claire Burrows, Matthew Jones, Nicola Lediard, Natalie Spink, Kieran Pearson, Harpreet Sandhu, Dominic Suffolk, Joshua Dyal.
Promoted to partner are commercial property experts Aller Dawlat and John Buckley, based in Nottingham; land lawyer Holly Lockley and infrastructure solicitor Ben Darlow in Leicester; social housing specialist Stewart Freeman in Stratford-upon-Avon; and Birmingham-based private client solicitor Victoria Taylor and Claire Burrows, who is in the firm’s specialist managed legal services team.
- Aller is a key member of the real estate and energy teams, specialising in high-volume energy transactions, investment and development projects.
- John has a broad range of general commercial property experience, including landlord and tenant and residential and commercial real estate development, with a focus on energy development.
- Holly specialises in the acquisition and disposal of development land, helping clients maximise potential while navigating potential challenges.
- Ben focuses on acting for landowners in high-value and complex sales. He also specialises in insolvency-based and charity-related property matters.
- Stewart deals with a high volume of sale transactions exclusively for housing association clients and has worked in the social housing sector for more than 13 years.
- Victoria specialises in helping individuals plan for the future through wills, lasting powers of attorney and estate planning.
- Claire is a litigator who leads the interventions, investigations and inquiries offering within Shakespeare Martineau’s managed legal services business unit.
New legal directors are commercial property and development lawyer Matthew Jones and dispute resolution specialist Nicola Lediard in Birmingham; and Kieran Pearson, in Nottingham, who works in the managed legal services team.
- Matthew handles a mixed commercial practice and represents institutional and nationally-recognised landowners, as well as commercial and high street name occupiers.
- Nicola has experience in complex commercial disputes, particularly involving urgent injunctive relief, energy and agricultural matters.
- Kieran plays a key role in our claims and regulatory investigations team, focusing on financial and case investigations, and acts for regulators in statutory interventions.
Harpreet Sandhu, Dominic Suffolk and Joshua Dyal, all in Birmingham, have been promoted to associate.
- Harpreet has extensive experience in cradle-to-grave contentious and non-contentious litigation, specialising in debt recovery, asset finance, enforcement, contractual disputes and financial regulatory advice.
- Dominic specialises in non-contentious construction and has expertise drafting and negotiating building contracts, consultants’ appointments and collateral warranties.
- Joshua advises corporate and individual shareholders in relation to mergers and acquisitions, company restructurings and various company matters for private and public companies.
Victoria Tester, managing director at Shakespeare Martineau, said: “Our people are the driving force behind our success, and our clients directly benefit from the investments we make in their growth and development.
“Recognising and rewarding high performance is a core part of our culture, reinforcing our commitment to supporting our team at every stage of their careers. We remain dedicated to nurturing talent and empowering our people to deliver outstanding service to clients across the region and beyond.
“It is fantastic to see so many well-earned promotions across various teams and levels – congratulations to all on this achievement.”