Jon Riley to lead Pinsent Masons’ Leeds office

Having joined the firm in 2005, Jon currently heads up the firm’s property team in Leeds working across public and private sectors on projects of regional and national significance. Recent high-profile projects include advising Leeds City Council on the delivery of the £115m East Leeds Orbital Road and representing Homes England, Network Rail and the National Railway Museum at a public inquiry relating to York Central, one of the country’s largest brownfield development sites. Jon is also currently Chair of the Yorkshire board of property industry charity LandAid, which aims to end youth homelessness in the UK.
John Cleland, Managing Partner at Pinsent Masons said, “Leeds is a very important hub for the firm. We anticipate a lot of exciting activity and development in the region. Devolution and the growing influence of metro mayors in northern England will bring thousands of new homes and jobs, alongside significant new opportunities for investment. Jon is very well established and connected throughout Yorkshire and across the North, having advised some of the biggest regional players during his career, so was a natural fit to head up the Leeds practice.”

Lawyers from the Leeds office have led on a number of high-profile matters in recent years including advising ALK Capital on its acquisition of Burnley Football Club, BP on its Net Zero Teesside carbon capture, utilisation and storage project, and advising the UK government on its agreement with Pfizer and BioNtech for the supply of Covid-19 vaccinations.
Jon takes over from pensions partner, Jacqui Timmins, who has decided to step down from the role, having been the Leeds office head since 2017.
Jon Riley said, “More than anything else I’m simply looking forward to meeting in person again - with colleagues, clients and our wider community. And not just in the office, but wherever else each of us chooses to work from now on. It’s exciting to think about this summer being a spark for renewed collaboration in our region, with devolution and decarbonisation driving the economy across Yorkshire and the North as we begin to emerge from the pandemic.”