CRUTES Law Firm has appointed a new assistant solicitor to work on a number of new instructions which the firm has recently acquired.

Katherine Hannah, 26, from Durham has joined the firm’s Newcastle office and will work in the firm’s litigation department specialising in defending health and safety prosecutions.

She is returning to her native North East after spending nine months as a crown prosecutor in London with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

She has studied an LLB (Hons) degree at Durham University, and completed placements in South Wales and Leeds through the CPS trainee solicitor programme and she became a qualified solicitor in October 2010. She will now work alongside Crutes partner and head of litigation, Rod Searl.

Hannah said: “I’m ecstatic to get this job. Crutes is a well known firm with an excellent reputation and I’m delighted to be here. In London I built up a lot of experience in criminal law and now I’m eager to use my knowledge in other sectors.

“Health and Safety is an exciting and growing area of law and I’m really looking forward to working on a variety of private practice law cases. Hopefully in the next 12 months I will establish myself at Crutes.”

Rod Searl said: “Our litigation department has a specialist Health and Safety Unit, which was established over four years ago as a result of a marked increase in prosecutions in the public and private sectors. As a result of her background at the CPS, Katherine’s specialist advocacy experience will be invaluable to us and the clients we represent.”