Kirsty Cooke > Ashfords LLP > Exeter, England > Lawyer Profile

Ashfords LLP advises employers and individuals on right to work issues, including EU nationals’ right to reside and the points-based system, and also handles the immigration aspects of corporate transactions. The practice also stands out for its expertise in the tech, healthcare, and hospitality sectors alongside niche experience in marine and seafarer cases. Praised for her ‘exceptional blend of expertise, dedication, and client-focused approach’, team leader Kirsty Cooke assists on a wide array of recruitment, employment, and HR matters for regional and national clients. At the associate level, Laura Wonnacott is a key name with specialisms covering the marine sector as well as family visa applications.

Representing a diverse blend of NHS trusts, GP practices, charities, private providers, and individuals, Ashfords LLP‘s healthcare and life sciences practice is prominent for advising on investments and M&A, handling court of protections proceedings, and providing property and employment advice across the South West. The team has also been active in a number of mandates surrounding digital health investments, an area bolstered by the firm’s venture capital practice. Transaction and private equity expert Jocelyn Ormond and health and charity real estate specialist Ben Tarrant lead the department from Bristol. Dividing her time between Exeter and Taunton, Katie Webber is particularly noteworthy for her experience in court of protection proceedings, with Exeter’s Kirsty Cooke being a key port of call for employment and immigration mandates. In the digital health space, Bristol-based senior associate Brett Lambe is of note.

Ashfords LLP provides clients with support across the full range of employment and HR needs. Its expertise includes immigration, redundancies and restructurings and the team often represents clients before the High Court, Court of Appeal, and the Employment Tribunal in complex claims. Following the retirement of Charles Pallot in May 2023, Bristol’s Stephen Moore solely leads the practice in which Exeter-based Su Apps stands out for her expertise in a variety of areas including TUPE. Clients in the health sector regularly turn to Kirsty Cooke, whose experience sits at the intersection of business immigration and employment; she is also active from the firm’s Exeter office.