Transition at Furley Page as Senior Partner Peter Hawkes retires after 42-year career with the firm

Leading South East law firm Furley Page has announced a number of organisational changes following the retirement of Peter Hawkes, Senior Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution, at the end of April.

A dispute resolution specialist, Peter retired after more than four decades with the firm. Joining Furley Page as a trainee in 1979, he became a Partner in 1983. He went on to be appointed Head of the Dispute Resolution Team, and was also elected Senior Partner in 2001.

Jeremy Licence, Managing Partner at Furley Page, said: “Peter has overseen the continual growth and development of the firm, establishing Furley Page as one of the top law firms in the South East. It has been a pleasure to work with him for many years, and we all wish him a long, happy and well-deserved retirement.”

Partner George Crofton-Martin replaces Peter as the new Head of Furley Page’s highly regarded Dispute Resolution team. George joined Furley Page in 2005 and advises across a wide range of commercial disputes in all levels of the English Courts, with specialisms including dispute resolution, contract disputes and competition law.

Jeremy Licence continues in his roles as Managing Partner, Head of Real Estate and chair of the firm’s executive team, posts he has held since March 2017.

Meanwhile, residential property law specialist Darren Philpot has been promoted to Partner, having joined the firm as a Senior Associate in 2019. Darren’s expertise covers the full spectrum of residential property transactions including acting for high-net-worth clients, and those with large estates and agricultural homes.

Jeremy Licence said: “Today’s promotions are highly deserved and reflect the significant contributions that George and Darren have made to Furley Page and our clients. I look forward to working with them to bring about the firm’s continued growth and development.”

Furley Page has also recently received the renewal of its Investors in People Standard, which sets a framework for providing consistent quality and service to its clients.