The Jersey-headquartered wealth structuring company Hawksford has named Donna Withers as probate manager and David Carswell as general counsel and associate director.

Withers joins Hawksford from law firm Hill Dickinson, where she gained seven years’ experience in the private client and wealth management sector.  She qualified as an English solicitor in 2006 and became a full member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners in 2008.

Withers has particular expertise in UK inheritance tax compliance, post-death mitigation and multi-jurisdictional estates. She joins a four-strong probate team.

Carswell, meanwhile, has been with Hawksford for a year, joining in August 2011 as a senior associate solicitor. In his new role he will be responsible for and fully involved in a wide range of legal matters, representing both Hawksford and select clients, and will work closely with the directors, associate directors, client teams and the existing legal team, the firm said.   

A qualified English Solicitor, Carswell has previously worked for Mourant, Rathbones and the Ermitage Group.

Hawksford has been in expansion mode in recent times, acquiring Trustcorp Jersey in early 2012 and Swiss based boutique law firm, L-S&S GmbH, in July last year. Hawksford also opened a Dubai office in March 2011 and now employs 160 people across three jurisdictions. 

Last month the firm hired Charlotte Brambilla as client director from offshore law firm Mourant Ozannes, where she was a senior associate in its international private client team.