Independent legal practice Brabners, which has an office Preston, continues to invest in its senior management team with the appointment of Lisa Robinson-Behnejad as director of marketing & business development and Ruj Dev as head of commercial finance and project management.
Lisa brings more than 20 years’ experience of developing and delivering marketing and communications strategies across several sectors including legal and insurance. She joins Brabners from international law firm DWF, where in her role as director of corporate communications she was part of the senior team that helped to redefine the firm as it transitioned from a regional law firm to a global business.
At Brabners, Lisa will take responsibility for all aspects of the firm’s marketing strategy and lead its business development, communications, CRM, digital, brand and product teams.
Ruj is a qualified chartered accountant and joins the firm from Hill Dickinson. She has more than 15 years’ experience working in the private and public sector, where she has held senior financial management positions at companies such as PwC and Merseyside Police. Ruj is also an experienced project manager and she will work closely with Brabners’ CEO Robert White to deliver key strategic projects for the firm.
Lisa said: “In an increasingly digitised market where customers interact with brands through a number of different platforms, it’s more important than ever for firms to communicate in a way that cuts through the noise. Client’s aren’t simply looking for robust legal advice, they want a commercial partner who truly understands their business and will work by their side to support on the most important, often complex, business critical decisions they make. Our lawyers are on the front line providing that service and it’s our role to help explain how we can do that.
“We work in a highly competitive sector and the legal market, more than any other, is becoming increasingly saturated. This puts increased pressure on us to discover new ways of attracting and retaining clients. My focus will be on working closely with our lawyers and senior team to understand exactly what our clients need from us. This is essential to ensure that we invest in the right areas and develop targeted, strategic campaigns that not only build our brand in core commercial markets but open up new opportunities that will underpin further revenue growth.”
Commenting on her appointment, Ruj added: “Brabners is an entrepreneurial firm with a clear growth strategy and it’s an exciting time to be joining the business. Our lawyers are known for their technical expertise, business acumen and collegiate approach and it’s this focus that sees the firm continue to work with the best clients. The regional legal market is throwing up new challenges, but we’re well positioned to attract the best talent and I will be working closely with our teams to ensure they have everything they need to continue to drive performance and exceed client expectations.”
Robert added: “We’re an ambitious firm and to make sure we have the talent and capacity to continue pushing forward we’ve made a concerted effort to invest in our senior team and bring the right people on board. I’m pleased to welcome Lisa and Ruj to the firm, both of whom have a breadth of experience, which importantly isn’t limited to the legal sector. They are well positioned to lead the future development of our marketing & business development and finance teams.”
