A Colchester solicitor inspired to go into law after his father was among a group of workers who claimed unfair dismissal against a local shipyard has joined Kerseys Solicitors’ employment law team.

Adrian Green, 46, chose his career path after James W Cooke shipyard in Wivenhoe laid off its staff 30 years ago.

The married-father-of-four joined the law firm, which has offices in Ipswich and Colchester, after 14 years working in employment law.

“It was a case which set precedents and I saw how powerful knowledge of the law could be,” said Adrian of his father’s case.

The case recognised situations where former employees could put in employment tribunal claims - even after the three month time limit had expired.

It also confirmed that it was for employers to decide how they ran their own business, including when they could make redundancies.

But Adrian had to wait before embarking on his chosen career. Money was initially tight and he went to university after he had worked for a few years to get some money behind him.

Adrian, who has gone on to win pay-outs of tens of thousands of pounds for clients who claim to have been unfairly dismissed, said: “I couldn’t go to university when I was 18 because we didn’t have the money after my father was laid off. I worked full-time until the age of 23 and saved up. I had worked in residential property, but knew my interest really lay with employment law.”

The former Gilberd School and Colchester Sixth Form College student went on to graduate from Anglia Ruskin University in 1996 with honours.

Adrian, who has also helped defend companies from paying out hundreds of thousands of pounds to disgruntled employees, added: “I find employment law fascinating and it’s a busy area of law. I also enjoy the attention to detail involved - which can sometimes make or break a case.”

He has worked for several niche employment law firms in East Anglia, and spent the early part of his career with the Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF), supporting employers in the manufacturing and engineering sector in the UK.

Adrian, who worked for the 120 year-old organisation for nearly a decade, said: “We acted for everyone, from small companies to large multi-national corporations. It was great hands-on experience.”

“I enjoy helping employees who feel they have been wronged getting the justice they believe they should have,” he said. “But I particularly enjoy the variety of work involved in acting for the employer, which is not just limited to disputes. It can include drawing up the employment paperwork, as well as strategy and tactics.”

•East Anglian estate agents David Burr has welcomed Julian Chung to its sales and lettings team in Leavenheath. Julian brings with him a wealth of experience having been branch manager of a successful corporate estate agency in Hadleigh for the last 11 years.

Managing director Jack Thornley said they were “thrilled” at the appointment.

“Julian’s arrival signals the next step in our expansion as we look to cement our status in Hadleigh and the surrounding area via a new sales and lettings office due to open later this year,” he said.

Julian said he was “really looking forward” to joining David Burr.

“In what will no doubt be a challenging year for our country, I remain confident in the desirability of Suffolk, reinforced by what has a particularly buoyant market in recent times,” he said.

•East Anglian chartered accountancy firm Larking Gowen has bid a fond farewell to two of its longest-serving partners and announced a new chairman.

David Jefford and Anne Richardson, who have a combined experience of 80 years, have retired from the partnership. David joined as a graduate trainee in 1977 and Anne joined the firm in 1978 as a newly qualified chartered accountant.

Their combined departure was celebrated at a farewell reception which took place at the Weston Room in the Hostry at Norwich Cathedral and was attended by 100 guests including many of David and Anne’s clients.

Jon Woolston has been reappointed as managing partner for a further four year term from January 2017 to December 2020. New chairman Chris Greeves began his four year term in January, taking over from David Whitehead.

Chris joined the firm in 1981 and qualified as a chartered accountant in 1984 and became a partner in 1991.

“It is a tremendous privilege to be elected by my fellow partners to serve as their chair,” he said.

“David will be a hard act to follow. My role is to help all the Partners to work together to build on the achievements of the past and ensure that Larking Gowen is ready for the challenges and opportunities ahead of us.”

David Whitehead said: “I have been immensely proud to be Chair for nearly 11 years, it has been a great honour to represent Larking Gowen at this level and I wish Chris all the best with his tenure. I know he will do a great job and continue to support the growth of the firm through his extensive network.”

Jon said they were “immensely grateful” to David and Anne for their significant contribution to the firm over the past 40 years.

“They have both seen many changes at Larking Gowen throughout their careers but at the heart of it they have stayed true to our values of ‘client service’ and ‘passion for our people,” he said.

“Both David and Anne have built significant and lasting relationships with their clients but also great teams around them. They will both be sadly missed by their clients and their teams and we wish them a long and happy retirement.”

•Kerry Doy has joined Ipswich PR firm Prominent PR as an account manager, with particular experience in construction and built environment public relations and marketing.

Kerry will manage a selection of the agency’s local, national and international clients, and support the creative team while helping to build on the company’s client base.

Kerry said: “This is a great opportunity for me to expand on my skills and to work with an exciting, dynamic and strategic team. The company has had considerable growth since its inception three years ago, and I look forward to being a part of the company’s continued growth.”

Director Helen Rudd said: “Kerry will be a huge asset to the business and we are delighted to welcome her on board. We have recently won a number of clients and in the last year have expanded to offer a full creative service - PR, copywriting, marketing, branding and design as well as a full press office facility.

“This is an exciting time for the business and we are immensely proud of all we have achieved in a short space of time. Now a team of seven, we have plenty to look forward to in 2017 and beyond.”

•Ipswich-based law firm Ashtons Legal is celebrating after three of its staff qualified as solicitors after completing their training contracts.

Sophie Howard, Krupa Shiani and Francesca Tubb all undertook two year training contracts which saw them move around Ashtons’ offices and working in a number of disciplines. All three have accepted roles internally in their chosen fields upon qualification and join four solicitors who qualified in November.

Sophie Howard has joined the dispute resolution team, Krupa Shiani the commercial property team and Francesca Tubb the lifetime planning team, all in the firm’s newly refurbished and growing Cambridge office.

Chief executive Ed O’Rourke said: “I am thrilled that we have had a record number of trainees all qualify and remain with the firm in the space of six months. Sophie, Krupa and Francesca are a great asset to our expanding Cambridge office and I wish them all the very best in their future careers at Ashtons.”

•Suffolk hotel group TA Hotel Collection has appointed new joint managing directors following the retirement of group managing director, Grahame Tinnion.

Grahame, who joined the business in 1997, has spent the last four years leading the development of the group as it has grown to become one of the region’s leading leisure companies. He will be leaving the organisation at the end of March.

Grahame is being replaced by two new joint managing directors, Peter Osborne and Ingo Wiangke, who are both being promoted from within the organisation.

“We would like to thank Grahame for the enormous contribution he has made to the growth of the Collection,” said group chairman Guy Heald. “We are very proud of the reputation the group has gained for the standard of its accommodation, restaurants and leisure facilities. Much of this success has been due to Grahame’s leadership and invaluable understanding of the sector.”

Grahame said: “It’s been an exciting and challenging 20 years helping the business to grow and I am immensely appreciative of all the support I have received. The industry has changed enormously, but the one thing that has remained the same is the fantastic people it’s been my privilege to work with and cater for, and I would like to wish everyone the very best wishes for the future.”