Keystone Law announces the appointment of eight new partners

Keystone Law welcomes Employment partner Gearalt Fahy, Corporate partner Tanya Shillingford, Commercial Property partners Emma Cracknell and Oliver Ray, Marine partner Hannah Cash, Family partners Laura Hughes and Elizabeth Simos, and Commercial partner Ben Hargraves to the firm.

James Knight, Founder and CEO of Keystone Law, said:

“I am delighted to welcome these eight new Partners to Keystone Law. Each is a superb lawyer with an exceptional track record and deep expertise in their field, further strengthening our offering to clients across six important practice areas.”

The new appointments are:

Gearalt Fahy – Employment

Gearalt helps employers navigate complex workforce challenges with clarity, confidence, and foresight. He partners with boards, HR directors, and senior leadership teams to anticipate risk, resolve issues before they escalate, and protect business-critical interests.

He acts almost exclusively for corporate clients from PLCs, mid-tier corporates, and ambitious SMEs. He uses his significant experience of advising on the employer side to successfully advise senior executives on a range of issues from negotiated exits to enforcement of post-termination restrictions.

Gearalt was a Partner at Womble Bond Dickinson before joining Keystone.

Tanya Shillingford – Corporate

Tanya has significant experience advising UK and international corporates and individuals in relation to mergers, acquisitions, and disposals.

She advises on a broad range of corporate matters, including joint ventures, shareholders’ arrangements, and group reorganisations. Tanya also advises on the design of corporate structures such as Family Investment Companies. She has specialist experience with LLPs, advising on LLP structures and agreements, conversions to LLP status, and transactions involving LLPs. She supports clients with the establishment and structuring of Employee Ownership Trusts.

Tanya joins from RWK Goodman, where she was a Partner.

Emma Cracknell – Commercial Property

Emma advises occupiers, investors, developers, funders, and pension schemes on a wide range of property transactions. She has particular expertise in landlord and tenant matters, regularly acting for landlords on leases, portfolio management, and estate administration. In addition, Emma also advises clients on the purchase and sale of residential properties.

Her clients include property owners, investors, landlords, occupiers, and operating businesses with substantial commercial property portfolios, ranging from family-owned estates and private companies to large corporates and PLCs, across multiple sectors.

Emma was a Partner at Barker Gotelee prior to her move to Keystone.

Oliver Ray – Commercial Property

Oliver advises on a full range of commercial property matters. His work include development projects, acquisitions, disposals, and refinancing. He also has expertise in acting for landlords and tenants on leases and general estate management.

Oliver’s clients include SMEs, developers, investors, and high-net-worth individuals.

Oliver was also a Partner at Barker Gotelee before joining Keystone.

Hannah Cash – Marine

Hannah is a leading marine law and superyacht specialist who advises on non-contentious transactional matters within the luxury marine sector. She acts across a wide range of high-value marine assets and has a distinctive specialist focus on the luxury London houseboat market.

Hannah advises on the sale and purchase of new-build and pre-owned vessels, vessel registration, marine finance and mortgage arrangements, yacht charters, and mooring and berthing agreements.

Hannah joins Keystone from YachtingLawyers, a firm she founded.

Laura Hughes – Family

Laura advises clients on all aspects of family law. She supports individuals from the outset of separation through to resolution and beyond.

Laura is a specialist in managing the resolution of financial settlements on divorce through negotiation, non-court dispute resolution (NCDR), or court proceedings and has a particular interest in cases involving complex and contested financial issues.

Laura joins from Penningtons Manches Cooper where she was a Partner.

Elizabeth Simos – Family

Elizabeth specialises in family law, with a particular focus on high-net-worth divorce, complex finance, and children law disputes. She frequently advises in cases involving international aspects and in urgent matters requiring protective injunctions.

Elizabeth represents clients across business, entertainment, and sport, as well as other high-profile and high-net-worth individuals.

Prior to joining Keystone, Elizabeth was a Senior Associate at Ketley Miller Joels.

Ben Hargraves – Commercial

Ben is a commercial and finance lawyer with extensive international experience advising on complex cross-border transactions. He specialises in commercial contracts, financing, compliance, and in-house legal support, with particular focus on energy transition, automotive, and mobility projects.

Ben advises corporates, financial sponsors, OEMs, scale-ups, and start-ups on a range of matters, from strategic commercial agreements, joint ventures, leasing arrangements, and sponsorship to asset and project finance.

Ben joins Keystone from an investment company.