New Partners cement major law firm’s on-going commitment to retaining talented professionals across the region

New partners Steve Hennegan (left) and Joshua Brigg.

THE region’s largest law firm has welcomed two new partners as it strengthens its commitment to attracting and retaining talent in the area.

Joshua Briggs and Steve Hennegan are delighted to take up their new positions within Wilkin Chapman solicitors, which has its headquarters in Grimsby and offices in Lincoln, Beverley, Louth, Horncastle, Alford and Sheffield.

At 32 years of age, Joshua is the youngest of the firm’s 44-strong team of partners. A former pupil at Waltham Leas, Tollbar Academy and Franklin College in Grimsby, Joshua was at a crossroads in his life when he left his studies with three A-levels.

“While my results were good, I am the first one to say they were not fantastic. However I did not let this hold me back. It just demonstrated to me that more resolute determination needed to be applied,” said Joshua.

He was accepted for the role as trainee Legal Executive at Wilkin Chapman in 2004 – beginning his legal training a year later. After nine years of working and studying simultaneously he qualified as a solicitor, being made a partner just three years later. Joshua works within the firm’s commercial litigation department.

“Looking back, it would have been very easy for me to have given in, working and studying at the same time was incredibly hard work, but I never lost sight of my goal,” said Joshua

Now living in Cleethorpes with wife Phillippa, Joshua is a governor at Franklin College and returns to Tollbar Academy and Franklin to tell his story to today’s students.

Steve, 44, is also a fine example of a professional who has grown within Wilkin Chapman, having relocated to the Lincoln area after meeting his future wife Claire, who is from Lincolnshire.

An experienced Legal Executive, he worked for a number of leading Manchester firms as well as a large regional firm in the Kent area.

Steve, who graduated from the University of Bolton with a BA (Hons) Degree in History, joined Wilkin Chapman’s personal injury team in 2008 from a high street firm in Altrincham, Cheshire where he was head of the personal injury department.

He went on to complete the Graduate Diploma in Law in 2013, and the Legal Professional course in 2015, before qualifying as a solicitor in 2016 and being promoted to partner in December 2017.

Working in firm’s Grimsby and Lincoln offices, Steve said: “It is a delight to be involved in the future here at Wilkin Chapman and I am immensely proud of the work we do in helping many deserving people.”

As a senior professional who is passionate about personal injury law, he holds the true values and reputation of the firm extremely highly.

“There is no doubt that our work is highly regarded in an area of law that can be both sensitive and complex. Using the full range of skills we have here at Wilkin Chapman, we are able to collaborate to ensure the best possible outcome for all those involved,” added Steve.

As his career progresses to its next phase, Steve sees his role as one which combines his existing work with that of shaping the future of the firm and those within it.