Ellisons Solicitors has announced a promotion in the construction team. Ian Seeley has been made a Partner following three years as Associate Solicitor at the firm.
Ian joined Ellisons in 2018 and leads the firm’s Construction and Regulatory team.
Speaking on his promotion Ian Seeley said: “As the construction team we offer an extra string to the Ellisons’ property bow so that the firm can offer experience right the way through the development process, from conception of an idea all the way to the conclusion of a build. I’m excited by the promotion and the chance to continue helping people across the spectrum of construction issues.”
Having qualified as a solicitor in 1996, Ian has a mixture of public sector, local authority, and private sector experience throughout his 25-year career, something that brings added benefit to clients. “One of the things that sets Ellisons apart as a firm is that I have a background and specialism in regulatory crime from my time in the public sector. Working on a building site can be fatal if regulations aren’t followed. Consequently, it is a highly regulated industry and it’s extremely important that our clients understand and follow all the regulations. I really enjoy bringing that expertise to the team,” Ian continued.
With construction issues high on the current news agenda it has been a busy few months for the construction team at Ellisons.
“At the moment, a lot of the issues we work on in the building and construction sector are very topical and generating media interest. A lot of our cases at the moment are people caught up in the issue of cladding and I imagine this will continue for some time. We provide a service to help anyone affected work out the best and most cost-effective way forward. Cases we’ve seen include leaseholders who have bought apartments and now find themselves faced with massive service charges; and management companies who are expected to coordinate remedial work, pay for it and recover it from leaseholders. We also see claims being brought against cladding contractors by the main contractors who employed them, notwithstanding that all work was signed off as complying with Building Regulations requirements at the time of installation. This provides us with a unique perspective on what is, at the most basic level, a failure of regulation,” said Ian.