Law firm announces new senior associate promotion

Leading regional law firm mfg Solicitors LLP recently announced a new promotion within their team.

Phil Hunt, solicitor in the Commercial Property division at mfg Solicitors, has been promoted to senior associate.

Phil (pictured) studied law at Staffordshire University and was part of the first generation of his family to attend university. Starting work as a paralegal in Birmingham City Centre firm Emms Gilmore Liberson in 2015 after completing the Legal Practice Course, Phil initially felt out of place in a professional environment.

He said: “I felt in over my head and surrounded by people who, in my mind, were from a different world to the one in which I had grown up.  However, I soon realised there were plenty of people in the same boat as me!”

Phil went on to secure a training contract and qualify into the commercial property department at Emms Gilmore Liberson before the firm was acquired by Knights plc. After facing the trials of lockdown and the challenges of working at a much larger firm, Phil was promoted to associate in October 2021, before deciding to move to regional firm mfg Solicitors LLP in the summer of 2022.

Phil says he has been happy at mfg ever since, considering it the best of both worlds in terms of the small versus large firm mentality. Phil says it is an environment where he is encouraged to continue to push himself and always look for the next challenge.

Phil’s latest promotion to senior associate in mfg’s Commercial Property division is a welcome one, although as Phil notes: “Whilst you should always be proud of the more obvious indicators of advancement, such as being promoted and gaining a new title, you should also be mindful that you do not suddenly know everything as a result.

“I see my career over the past nine years as an ongoing learning curve, achieved through hard work and a lot of help from colleagues, friends and family.  And that is a trajectory I hope to continue!”