Shoosmiths has appointed two new co-heads to its real estate development and living practices – strengthening its leadership across key markets.
Published: 18 December 2025
Choisanne Man has been appointed as co-head of development, working alongside James Needham.
Choisanne brings extensive experience advising on residential, commercial, and mixed-use schemes and will continue driving growth in the firm’s development practice, which supports clients including HBD, O&H, CBRE, Far East Consortium, Invesco and City & Provincial Properties.
William Seymour takes on the role of co-head of living, partnering with Judy Fawcett. Together, they’ll lead Shoosmiths’ national strategy across the living sector.
William’s focus will include housebuilding and strategic land, working closely with sub-sector leads Peter Marsden and Thomas Hall, while Judy continues to lead on build to rent, purpose-built student accommodation, later living and healthcare alongside Barry McKeown, Sheelagh Cooley, Andrew Pattinson, Edell Asquez, and Melissa Barker - areas where Shoosmiths has developed a truly market-leading reputation for supporting institutional developers, operators, investors, and funders.
Jason Jackson, Partner and Head of Real Estate Clients and Markets said: “Both Choisanne and William bring proven expertise and trusted relationships to these roles. Their leadership strengthens our ability to deliver for clients and grow across key markets.”
James Needham, Partner and Co-head of Development added: “Choisanne has been a pivotal part of our development executive team for some time, shaping our strategy and driving some of the new business opportunities we’ve secured over the past year. Her commerciality and holistic understanding of residential, commercial, and mixed-use development markets will help us build on the transformative work already underway and take it to the next level.”
Judy Fawcett, Partner and Co-head of Living added: "2025 has been a landmark year for the living team - one where we were named Residential Legal Team of the Year at the RESI Awards. It’s also been a year of facing challenges head-on, including market viability issues, to help clients deliver standout mandates, from Kennedy Wilson’s single-family housing expansion to £1bn regeneration schemes and major portfolio deals, including the recent sale of a 610-home single-family housing portfolio. We’re taking this momentum forward, with William set to work with our team on cementing Shoosmiths’ position as the market leader in the residential sector."