International law firm DAC Beachcroft is delighted to announce the appointment of partner Joanne Sears.

Joanne, who is a highly regarded practitioner, joins DACB from Gateley Legal where she was joint-head of the firm's Leeds residential development team.

Joanne joins DACB's residential development practice in Leeds, where she will lead the team and bring significant experience in acting for housebuilders on large scale and strategic residential developments.

The appointment further adds to the strength of DACB's Northern development practice following the appointment of George Parker-Fuller in March of this year.

DACB's Head of Residential Development, Gemma Leonard said, "This appointment adds to our national strategy of building a housebuilding centre of excellence and demonstrates our commitment to growth both nationally and to service the development divisions of clients based in the North of England."

Joanne commented, "DACB has an excellent reputation in the market, known for its breadth of expertise and collaborative culture, and I am greatly looking forward to working with the team."

DACB has one of the largest real estate practices in the UK, with a multi-disciplinary national team spread across six offices advising a client list which includes every major UK housebuilder, at every point of the development cycle, from inception / heads of terms, right through the acquisition and development cycle to the sale of individual dwellings and clear site exit on completion of those sales.