Capsticks Solicitors are pleased to announce two new members to their housing management team. Claire Hogan-Clarke and Ian Larkins have joined the team working from the Chorley and Manchester offices of Capsticks. 

Claire is an experienced Legal Executive with a depth of skills acting for social landlords.  She specialises in anti-social behaviour, disrepair, policy and procedure and safeguarding vulnerable residents, conducting a breadth of court hearings including committal applications and applications to strike out. Claire is often requested by clients who appreciate her no-nonsense style of advocacy. She is a familiar face within the housing sector, having previously worked in-house for Liverpool Mutual Homes as an Anti-Social Behaviour Officer and having worked on a project attracting national media coverage, implementing best practice and performance targets across Merseyside. Claire is also experienced in enforcement and homelessness, having worked with a number of local authorities.

Ian is an Associate bringing with him a wealth of knowledge in complex housing law.  He has a reputation as an avid and agile advocate in county courts across the country.  Ian has worked with social housing providers for many years, advising and representing clients on intricate matters including trials, appeals, CMCs and interlocutory applications.  Having represented such a wide variety of housing providers he has built up extensive experience, offering agility and drawing on best practice to provide first class advice. Earlier on in his career, Ian practised commercial dispute resolution, doing hearings before the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) and conducting forfeiture proceedings, dilapidations claims, contract disputes, lease renewals, boundary issues and negligence claims.  Ian also has in-depth experience as a fraud investigator, providing further acumen noted within his holistic and accessible advice to clients.

Paul Lloyd, Partner in our Chorley office, commented, “We are delighted to welcome Claire and Ian to the team.  Each has brought their unique skills.  Claire previously worked for a housing association and then moved on to become a trusted advocate, bringing with her a depth of insight into the challenges that social landlords face.  Ian is a well-known advocate in the sector, having specialised and conducted anti-social behaviour cases all over the country for many years. Claire and Ian add greater depth to our strong housing management team as we keep our clients one step ahead.” 

The moves come at a key time as Whiteheads Solicitors LLP was acquired by Capsticks Solicitors LLP in October this year. The newly merged team form part of a wider offer across the country, offering exemplar and agile services to social housing providers.