New partner sets out to help Lincolnshire landowners with renewable innovations

Commercial property lawyer joins Wilkin Chapman with a specialism in sustainability.

Wilkin Chapman solicitors has appointed Helen Barton as a partner at its Lincoln office.

With more than 15 years of experience, Helen will focus on all aspects of commercial property work, with a particular emphasis on development work and the energy and renewable sector, and will provide services to landowners and commercial clients.

Having begun her career in Lincoln, Helen spent six years at a company in Scunthorpe before joining Wilkin Chapman in January 2023. She said:

“I always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to come back to Lincoln someday. I hit a bit of a crossroads in my career. The opportunity came up to come back and reconnect with people in Lincoln so I grasped it.

“Wilkin Chapman has been a firm that I’ve known of for years from when I worked in Lincoln. I’ve watched it grow and become the entity that it is now. There was only going to be one firm that I would come back to Lincoln for and that was Wilkin Chapman.

“The way that it’s grown, the fact that it’s forward thinking and the different sectors that it’s moving into made it a very attractive prospect.”

Helen’s work will focus on helping landowners and businesses with a range of commercial property matters, with a particular focus on renewable energy projects. Helen explained:

“Renewable energy is an increasing and ever changing sector. Where landowners have been approached by developers interested in renewable projects such as solar farms and battery storage facilities, we’re helping them in negotiating and agreeing the documentation, including option agreements and leases. As technology progresses in the sector, we need to keep up to date with developments. It’s an exciting sector to be a part of.”

Helen brings a wealth of experience working with commercial clients with her to Wilkin Chapman. She said:

“At my previous firm I did a mixture of commercial property work and aside from the renewable projects and development work, I was also involved in sales and purchases, and landlord and tenant work, particularly for repeat clients.

“I really enjoy working with commercial clients on a repeat basis, getting to know their business, getting to know how they like things done and building up relationships with them.”

With over 400 partners and staff located across a network of legal offices in Grimsby, Lincoln, Beverley and Louth, Wilkin Chapman is the largest law firm in the Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire region. The Lincoln office overlooks Brayford Pool in the city centre.

Wilkin Chapman was ranked at 111 in the Lawyer’s Top 200 UK Law Firms for 2021. For more information visit www.wilkinchapman.co.uk.