One of Manchester’s most experienced and highly regarded lawyers has joined law firm Slater Heelis LLP as a partner.

Jim Tully joins Slater Heelis’s corporate team having spent five years as director of legal and general counsel retail at the Co-op.

Jim was a key member of the team which rescued and rebuilt the Co-op and acted on many of the Co-op’s major deals including the £1.6bn acquisition of Somerfield, the £620m sale of its pharmacy business and the £143m acquisition of Nisa from its 1190 members.

Jim has more than 25 years’ experience as a corporate lawyer including 14 years as a partner at Addleshaw Goddard.

He was responsible for building a market leading private equity practice, acting for nine out of the ten private equity houses then in the North West market and led on hundreds of corporate transactions.

Simon Wallwork, head of corporate and commercial at Slater Heelis, said:

“Jim’s appointment is a major coup, not only for the corporate team but also for Slater Heelis as a firm.

“His vast experience fits perfectly with our partner-led approach and his commercial awareness and acumen will be a great asset to our corporate clients.”

Chris Bishop, Slater Heelis managing partner, added:

“Jim’s decision to join Slater Heelis reflects the excellent reputation of our corporate team which is consistently ranked in the top 10 most active corporate teams in the North West by Experian. He will play a pivotal role in adding further strength to the team and to the client-focussed services provided by Slater Heelis.”