Gateley Legal Leeds hires Kate McLean for corporate and Brendan McGilloway for real estate as East Parade office continues to grow

AIM-listed law firm Gateley Legal Leeds has appointed two new legal directors at its East Parade office, strengthening both its corporate and real estate practices. Kate McLean joins the corporate team bringing experience in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, reorganisations, and shareholder arrangements. Brendan McGilloway joins the real estate team from Deloitte Legal, where he was associate director, having previously held roles at Eversheds Sutherland, CMS, and Addleshaw Goddard. Alongside the two senior hires, the firm has taken on four new paralegals in its property platform: Will Stewardson, Maisie Robey, Nikhil Chohan, and Joseph McDonagh.

“These appointments are a sign of the confidence that we have in the region. Leeds is a city on the up and is the largest financial and professional services hub in the UK outside London and we are pleased to be growing alongside it. Kate and Brendan are highly experienced lawyers who will make a very positive impact on our client offering and support our strategic ambitions to expand our corporate and real estate practices.”

— Roger McCourt, Partner and Leeds Office Head, Gateley Legal

Gateley’s Leeds Growth Story

Gateley Legal Leeds has over 100 professionals at Minerva on East Parade. The firm, founded in Birmingham in 1808, was the first commercial UK law firm to list on AIM in 2015 and now employs over 1,500 people across 27 locations nationally including a presence in Dubai.

Why this matters for Leeds

For Leeds’ professional services sector, senior lateral hire at this level is both a vote of confidence in the market and a signal of where deal activity is heading.