29 Apr 2026
Birketts appoints Barbara Hamilton-Bruce as Chief Operating Officer
"Birketts appoints Barbara Hamilton-Bruce as Chief Operating Officer. She will lead legal operations, risk and compliance, finance, IT, operations, data and change management at the firm."
In her role as Chief Operating Officer at Birketts, Hamilton-Bruce will be responsible for the firm’s risk and compliance, finance, IT, operations, data and change management teams, supporting the firm’s long-term strategic objectives and continued focus on client service excellence.
Previously she was a Partner and Legal Operations Director at Simmons & Simmons. She brings over three decades of experience in legal operations, transformation and leadership within complex, highly regulated environments; her career has been defined by driving organisational change, embedding technology-enabled solutions and delivering more efficient, client-focused operating models.
Hamilton-Bruce is also a longstanding CILEX champion and has been named on the Global Top 100 HERoes Women Executive Role Model list for the past two years. She succeeds Tim Sarson, who retires after 18 years of leadership, and her appointment supports Birketts’ move to a C-suite leadership model. She joins Chief People Officer Shaun Savory and Chief Marketing Officer Laura Shumiloff to ensure strategic focus across people, client development and legal operations.