Willans LLP, a leading Gloucestershire law firm known for its female leadership, has appointed a second woman to share the top job.
Bridget Redmond is now joint managing partner of Willans with Margaret Austen, who has been in the role since 2006.
Research conducted last November by magazine Cotswold Life found only 71 women in total at board level. The study covered the composition of the top 100 companies in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire and the number of female equity partners of the region’s biggest legal and accountancy partnerships.
Having two female managing partners in succession at a Gloucestershire business is even less common, as is sharing the position.
Bridget joined the firm in 2004 and became a partner in 2006. In recent years she has headed up the firm’s well respected residential property department. The daughter of a Somerset solicitor, Bridget is an LSE graduate and lives in Cheltenham with her husband and two children.
Margaret, who was appointed Deputy Lieutenant in September 2013, will reduce her hours to part-time from 1 June. She will still continue to focus on her charitable work. A trustee of Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum Development Trust, Margaret has been heavily involved in the project to raise funds to build the new extension, which was officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester on Friday 30 May. She is also a trustee of the Friends of Gloucester Cathedral, honorary company secretary to Cheltenham Festivals and honorary solicitor to the Holst Museum.
Margaret will continue to work for the firm’s charity clients which include a number of well-known, national organisations.
Bridget Redmond, joint managing partner, commented on her new role:
“I feel excited and honoured to be sharing the role of managing partner with Margaret. She has managed the firm exceptionally well though difficult economic times and we have emerged from the recession in good shape to go forward. Willans is a great firm, and our success is built upon the brilliant lawyers and support staff that we employ and their hard work and dedication to our clients and to the firm. We have been part of the local community in Cheltenham for nearly 70 years, and we look forward to many more years serving private clients and businesses alike.”
Willans was established in Cheltenham in 1947. Today, it employs around 65 people at its Imperial Square offices and acts for local, national and overseas clients.
