Agriculture appointment for Jacksons Law firm

May 31st 2019

Award winning law firm, Jacksons continues to expand with the recruitment of one of the regions leading agricultural property law experts.

Partner, Nicola Neilson joins Jacksons commercial property department as its head of agricultural property to strengthen the support offered to the firms farming and National Farmers Union (NFU) clients based in the North East of England.

Nicola, originally from Lancashire, moved to the North East to study at Law at Teesside University and then Durham University where she completed a masters degree. Following completion of her LPC at the College of Law in York, she made the decision to stay in the North East and was offered a training contract with another firm in the Tees Valley where she remained for over 18 years. In 2011, she qualified as a Fellow of Agricultural Law Society, one of the first in the North East to do so.

Nicola specialises in agricultural tenancies and farm sales and purchases. In addition to working with the firms commercial property department, she will be working alongside agriculture experts from across Jacksons including members of the Dispute Resolution, Wills, Trusts and Probate and Corporate and Commercial teams, bringing a more cohesive approach to expand the firms farming client base.

Geoff Skeoch, senior partner said, "I am delighted to welcome Nicola to Jacksons at this stage in the firms expansion. She will no doubt make a significant contribution to the success of the team. Nicolas appointment reflects our strategy to develop our presence in the North East and to provide our NFU and farming clients with the highest quality of advice."

Nicola said, "It's an exciting time to join Jacksons, a firm I have long recognised as being innovative and have admired from a distance over the years. I am looking forward to working with the partners and staff at Jacksons and developing relationships with the regional teams at the NFU and the firms clients."

In addition to Nicola, the commercial property team at Jacksons comprises three partners, two associates, one assistant solicitor, a trainee and one paralegal, all working on behalf of a wide range of commercial clients in the North East of England as well as those based in other parts of the UK. The department is recognised for providing excellent levels of advice and client care to businesses across all sectors including energy, utility, retail, industrial, education, investment, regeneration, development and leisure.

The commercial property department continues to go from strength to strength has seen a growth of 20% in turnover in the last two years which has led to the expansion of the team by way of an appointment of a solicitor and a promotion of solicitor to associate. The department was delighted to be the winner of the Insider Media Property Award Property Law Firm of the Year 2018.

Jacksons Law firm is one of the North East's longest established law firms and has been practising in the Tees Valley for over 140 years. Operating from its head office in Stockton on Tees, an office in Newcastle upon Tyne and office space at the North East Business Innovation Centre in Sunderland, it is well placed to assist clients across the region on a wide range of business and personal legal advice.