Ashfords looks to further growth in Bristol with new location head

UK law firm Ashfords has appointed Jocelyn Ormond as its new Bristol head as it looks to further expand its presence in the city.

Jocelyn is a corporate and private equity partner and leads the firm’s services to the healthcare and life sciences sector – in particular in the expanding digital health space.

Jocelyn started his career at Slaughter and May and Allen & Overy, and was a UK partner at Simmons & Simmons from 2014 until 2019.  He joined Ashfords in November 2019 as part of the firm’s strategy to grow its corporate and commercial services offer for clients, particularly in areas complementing its strong technology sector focus. 

Jocelyn takes over the leadership role from corporate partner and technology sector head Chris Dyson.

Commenting on the appointment, Jocelyn Ormond said: “Bristol has a burgeoning legal community and we see a real opportunity to develop further our commercial and private client offer for clients across the UK and internationally, from here in Bristol. In particular, we are building on our existing strengths in areas like tech, energy & resource management, public sector, healthcare and real estate to meet our wider firm growth objectives.

Ashfords has welcomed a number of senior hires to the Bristol office in recent months including the recruitment of partner Ian Manners from DAC Beachcroft to lead its Business Risk & Regulation team and energy & construction partner Carl Thompson from Osborne Clarke to expand its work in the clean energy sector.

The firm has also recently undertaken a major refurbishment of its Bristol office, adding extra space with a new waterside client suite at Tower Wharf. Work areas have been similarly redesigned to support the firm’s shift to more flexible hybrid working.

Over the last year, the firm has advised on a wide range of matters including on one of the largest deals in the region  –  Pennon’s acquisition of Bristol Water. It also advised Form 3 on its $160m Series C investment led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management; NMI, a leading payment provider, on contracts and IP licensing arrangements across the UK and EU; and Crest Nicholson Operations on the purchase of a c435 dwelling residential development site in Gloucestershire.

ashfords.co.uk