FEATURE
Progress – Teesside office lead partner Leah Duffield is proud of the team’ s growth since she joined Muckle in March 2025.
Building a strong foundation of people and capabilities is integral to Muckle’ s growth on Teesside.”
of corporate law and the combination of having genuine local knowledge, complex transaction experience and the firm’ s strong national reputation will be a real asset to Teesside.”
Oliver is pleased to be joining Muckle at this time of growth:“ When the opportunity came to join Muckle and further develop the firm’ s presence in Teesside, I knew it represented a unique prospect. Muckle’ s shared values and its ability to develop and retain exceptional people really stands out – it’ s clearly a firm where people can build long-lasting careers that have a meaningful impact, and that’ s reflected in its culture and the commitment that its clients and wider community experience.”
Growth opportuni-Tees Samantha and Oliver’ s appointments bring the total number of Muckle colleagues based in Teesside to six. After Leah Duffield’ s appointment in March 2025, the team welcomed Rachel List, Jack Reynolds
( office PA) in mid-to-late 2025. Leah, private client partner and lead Teesside partner, said:“ Building a strong foundation of people and capabilities is integral to Muckle’ s growth on Teesside, so we’ re focused on bringing in the right people with the right expertise that will help this office thrive.
“ I am delighted to welcome Sam and Oli to Muckle. Both bring exceptional knowledge of their legal areas and the wider Teesside region, which will undoubtedly play a key role as we continue to grow our client base in the region.
“ I joined Muckle in March last year as the first to be based on Teesside and I’ m proud of the team’ s growth in such a short period of time. I’ m looking forward to seeing what the future holds for us as we continue to expand.”
( private client paralegal) and Claire Rance For more information, visit muckle-llp. com
Regional commitment As part of the firm’ s five-year strategic plan, Muckle aims for its Teesside and Cumbria offices to contribute 15 % of the firm’ s overall revenue by 2031.
Muckle has been active on Teesside for many years, providing the full spectrum of legal services to clients such as Wilton Universal Group and Teesside International Airport. The firm has also played a key role in supporting local communities, providing charities such as Middlesbrough-based Clean Slate Solutions with ongoing grant funding, volunteering and pro bono advice.
In addition, the firm is committed to improving social mobility prospects across the North-East and Cumbria, including in Teesside. In 2025, Muckle supported eight Tees Valley charities with grant funding totalling £ 27,260, and this year is exploring opportunities to support more charities that focus on social mobility with grants.
The voice of business in the Tees region | 31