A law firm has chosen Birmingham to base its fourth UK office.
Devonshires, which is headquartered in London and also has teams in Leeds and Colchester, has opened the operation in Temple Street in the city centre.
It has hired housing corporate and governance partner Gemma Bell, from Penningtons Manches Cooper, who specialises in advising housing associations on large corporate projects including mergers and acquisitions, group consolidations and joint ventures.
She has also contributed to the National Housing Federation's latest version of Model Rules, the sector's most widely used constitutional document.
Ms Bell is joined by three other lawyers specialising in advising on corporate, regulatory and governance issues.
They are senior solicitor Rose Klemperer, who is also the co-founder and co-chair of Women in Social Housing Midlands, and solicitors Ellen Damlica and Sharon Thandi.
Ms Bell said: "I am honoured to be able to spearhead their opening in Birmingham. There's a real synergy with the work of my team and that of Devonshires. All four of us are really excited by what we can achieve."
Devonshires said it expected to add further lawyers across multiple disciplines to the office in the coming months.
Partner and head of social housing Andrew Cowan added: "The whole firm is thrilled to welcome Gemma and her team to Devonshires.
"Gemma's reputation speaks for itself, and her work perfectly complements that of our firm as social housing leaders. It will also enable us to better serve our clients outside London.
"I am sure they will make a significant contribution to the firm both locally and nationally."
