Latest news with #GraniteCity-based
Scotsman
29-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Pinsent Masons major hires bolster Aberdeen energy offering
Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has announced two Partner appointments which significantly strengthen its Aberdeen office. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Energy sector specialist Chris Sawyer has joined the firm's corporate team while former Burness Paull director Gillian Harrington joins as a partner to lead the Granite City-based employment team. Both appointments have been described as 'headline hires' by Pinsent Masons Partner and Aberdeen Head of Office Richard Scott. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Chris Sawyer has held a number of C-suite level in-house legal roles over a 20 year period with major oil and gas operators including bp, and more recently EnQuest where he was General Counsel. Gillian Harrington, Partner and head of Pinsent Masons employment team in Aberdeen. His international experience, including a three year period as head of legal for bp's Russian business in Moscow, aligned with two decades of UKCS focused activity, bolsters Pinsent Masons expertise in oil and gas, energy transition, risk management and regulatory compliance. Gillian Harrington is well-established in the north-east having spent her entire career in Aberdeen and for the last six years was a director in Burness Paull's employment team. Her experience of advising executive boards on complex, contentious and non-contentious employment issues, will be an asset to the firm's broad range of UK and international clients. Julia Maguire, Pinsent Masons' Global Sector Head, Energy, said: 'The energy sector, both in the North Sea and globally, offers huge opportunities. Many larger energy companies are selling their mature assets to the smaller independent energy businesses who then redevelop them to extend their lifespan while reducing carbon emissions. Our clients need guidance on navigating shifting markets, driven by the energy transition and the need to ensure a secure energy supply in the context of continuing geopolitical uncertainty. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Chris' and Gillian's expertise will help ensure we capitalise on these opportunities and continue to deliver our energy clients' most important and most complex deals across the globe. Having seen our global energy practice grow by 90% over the last four years, we appreciate the continuing and growing client need for the kind of deep sector expertise and experience which Chris and Gillian can offer.' HSE litigation specialist Willie Park has been promoted to Legal Director at Pinsent Masons. Pinsent Masons also recently announced the promotion of Aberdeen-based HSE litigation specialist, Willie Park, to Legal Director. Richard Scott said: 'Both Chris and Gillian are very highly regarded in their respective fields and the stature of these appointments underlines our commitment to clients in Aberdeen and beyond to continue to provide market leading expert legal counsel across the energy sector. 'As Chris and Gillian settle into the team, and with Willie Park's appointment as Legal Director recognising his expertise in and out of court, our offering goes from strength to strength and we will continue to seek out the best practitioners who can add to value to our client portfolio.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Chris Sawyer said: 'I worked with Pinsent Masons at bp and again at EnQuest so know the firm very well and as a recipient of its client outreach seminars and thought-leadership initiatives, I think Pinsent Masons as a truly sector-focused law firm offers clients something quite unique. Energy specialist Chris Sawyer joins Pinsent Masons as a Partner in the corporate team. 'The risk portfolio of operating in the North Sea has gone up significantly in recent years, be that through climate action and awareness, regulation or the taxation system. Those risks are starting to play out in a way that lawyers are being called upon to assess them differently from say five years ago, and coming at this with a 'GC mindset' I will be able to advise clients on navigating those complex issues.' Gillian Harrington added: 'Pinsent Masons has an excellent reputation in the energy sector both in Aberdeen and globally. I see a significant opportunity to further grow our employment practice and to continue to deliver market-leading advice to our clients.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Metro-east family watched helicopter crash in their yard. Here's what they saw
Ashley Quigley will never forget the events of Thursday April 25. That was the night a helicopter crashed in her yard in Hartford, Illinois. A pilot and two crew members were aboard the ARCH Medical Helicopter when it crashed after a training exercise, Hartford Police Chief Matt Asbury said in a press release. The pilot and the two crew members all sustained non-life-threatening injuries and Friday night were listed in stable condition, Asbury's said. The Granite City-based medical helicopter was in Hartford at approximately 8:51 p.m. for the training, which was hosted by the Hartford Fire Department. When the Arch Helicopter was taking off 'an unknown incident caused it to crash, and a short time later it caught fire,' Asbury said. The Hartford Fire Department, with the assistance of Madison County Haz-Mat, were able to extinguish the helicopter after it burst into flames, Asbury said in a press release. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a cause, according to a release. Ashley Quigley and her 10-year-old son had just come back from her nephew's baseball game down the street from her house at 105 Elm Street. A friend mentioned that the helicopter was in the area, she said, but was too focused on the game to give it much thought. But when the helicopter landed in her back yard, her 4-year-old son was too excited to let the opportunity to catch a glimpse pass. 'He thought it was the coolest thing in the world to see the helicopter had landed in his back yard. He was so excited,' she said. Quigley was holding her 9-month-old daughter and had her 4-year-old in tow. Then it all went wrong. The propeller hit the tree and the helicopter 'just started spinning out of control,' she said. 'You could hear the crackling sound of the propeller when it hit the tree. You heard the tree crack. It looked like somebody was juggling a ball in the air for a few minutes then it came crashing straight down to the ground.' Quigley noticed a man laying on the ground next to the wreckage. She wasn't sure if he fell out of the helicopter or if he was injured on the ground. 'I was shaking. My 4-year-old was screaming bloody murder. … I saw all of the firefighters come over and start helping the people,' she said. Firefighters already at the scene responded quickly when fire erupted on the underside of the helicopter. 'As they were helping the victims on the ground, the helicopter fire got really big. It was the craziest and scariest thing I had ever seen,' Quigley said. 'I was worried that something from the helicopter could come flying at us. I was worried about the people who were inside of the helicopter. There were so many emotions inside that I didn't really know what I was thinking at the time.' She said she directed her children back into the house, both for safety and to shield them from any more traumatic images. As for now, she added, they are praying.
