Investing in leaders at Miles & Partners

Following Sophy Miles’s announcement of her intention to retire from the partnership of Miles & Partners LLP we took the opportunity to review our management structure. We were very pleased when Floyd Porter agreed to lead the Mental Health team alongside Sophy until her departure in October when he will succeed to the role of Head of the Mental Health Department. Floyd joined Miles & Partners in October 2008 having previously spent many years as the mainstay of the Mental Health Department at Christian Khan. In May 2011 Floyd was appointed an Associate at Miles & Partners LLP where his practice has gone from strength to strength.

In addition to continuing to act for a large following of clients in Mental Health Tribunals in 2009 Floyd extended his practice to include acting for clients in matters concerning Mental Capacity with notable success in the recent case of County Council of the City and Council of Cardiff and Peggy Elizabeth Ross (by her litigation friend the Official Solicitor) and Norman Emlyn Davies which concerned the right of an elderly person suffering from dementia to take a holiday cruise. Floyd (instructed by Mr Davies) successfully argued that the local authority had used the Deprivation Of Liberty Safeguards completely inappropriately and the Court agreed it that it would be in Peggy’s best interests to go on the cruise, a judgement which received a lot of coverage in the media.

Kate Hammond Managing Partner says, “Floyd’s progression to the job of team leader is a very natural step. His experience as a lawyer and skills as a front line advocate have already contributed enormously to the success of the Mental Health Team and we are looking forward to him developing those skills and building on those successes as Team Leader.”

We are also pleased to announce the appointment of Sadia French as an Associate in Miles & Partners LLP. Sadia joined Miles & Partners as a Trainee Solicitor in March 2007 and qualified as a Solicitor in the Family Department in December 2008 and has practised exclusively in the area of children law since then. Within care proceedings Sadia also acts for parents as well as other family members such as grandparents, aunts and uncles. Sadia’s other main area of expertise is Child Abduction. Sadia has represented parents in Latvia, Sweden and the USA. Sadia has also represented those defending abduction claims.

“Sadia‘s dedication to her clients and to Miles & Partners LLP reflect the ethos of our firm and we are sure she will be a valued member of the management team.” said Kate Hammond, Managing Partner.

Sadia is a fully qualified translator and is fluent in Spanish and Italian. Sadia is a Member of Resolution and the Association of Lawyers for Children.

“The firm has a very strong and praiseworthy policy of developing its own people. Appointments and promotions from within are made and the atmosphere is supportive, friendly and responsive” – Lexcel, January 2012.

The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.