Hayley Ford of our firm has recently raised £820 for Arthur Rank Hospice through the Will month scheme.
This amount of money could pay for 11 counselling sessions for patients’ relatives, making a difference to those affected by a life limiting illness
Jenny Carpenter and Sue Lawton attended the Careers Event held at the Arts Centre in Haverhill from 4pm to 6pm yesterday afternoon. Jenny and Sue spoke to many students interested in a career in law, also some of those that had no idea but suddenly realised that this could be an option for them.
I wanted to express our gratitude once again for your support yesterday with the Aspire Event. We were thrilled with the turn out from both students and parents and feel the event was a huge success in terms of our aim to inspire the young people of Haverhill and surrounding areas. I’ll no doubt be in contact again soon with regards to the next one!
Jacqui Singleton, Work Related Learning Coordinator Samuel Ward Academy
Also last week Matthew Darmon (Trainee Solicitor) and Sue Lawton attended the Anglia Ruskin Law Careers Fair – again a wonderful turn out of law students and some very interesting questions were asked. These students are the future for law so it was very gratifying to meet such focused individuals.
An interesting article in the Law Society’s Gazette publication this month reports that there is a “female talent drain” in that whilst entry level to the profession appears to be open to everyone, it is not the same once the ladder is ascended in the profession. The number of female partners in solicitors’ firms is low. Statistics show that there are now more women than men qualifying as solicitors with women representing over 60% of newly qualified solicitors since 1990. However, only 28% of partners in private practice are women. Only half of all judges under the age of 50 years are women.
A Court of Appeal Judge, Lady Justice Rafferty was speaking at the Royal Society Diversity Conference when she stated that “diversity must be maintained beyond entry level to the profession”.
Here at Adams Harrison female partners represent 83% of the firm, with the Managing Partner being a woman!
The staff at all Adams Harrison offices took part in the Wear It Pink campaign recently and raised a total of £50.45.
Also, on 14th October the partners sponsored the MacMillan Late Harvest Luncheon which is another major annual fundraising event for MacMillan, with one of the partners and two solicitors together with their respective spouses attending.
Jennifer Carpenter, Managing Partner clocks up 20 years service with Adams Harrison this week.
Jenny joined the firm 20 years ago in October 1998 as a trainee solicitor, recruited by the firm’s former senior partner, Tom Harrison who was her training principal. “I recall seeing the position advertised whilst I was at the College of Law” said Jenny. “I was immediately attracted to the position as it was stated as being contentious biased. I knew I wanted to practice litigation and not non-contentious areas such as property or probate so it was the ideal training contract for me”.
Jenny has predominantly been based at our Saffron Walden office, where the firm has been based for almost 185 years, and has practiced various areas of litigation.
Jenny commented “There have been changes in the law and in particular the technology used when practicing law in my time with Adams Harrison. When starting as a trainee solicitor e-mail was a very new method of communication and it was almost considered discourteous to e-mail another professional. Letters remained the main method of contact. However, these days e-mails are used almost without exception; so the task of most solicitors is determining how best to deal with the constant influx of this type of communication. Books are now used far less frequently with a lawyer’s resources being available, subject to paying a subscription, on line. In fact almost every type of transaction or litigation is now dealt with on line with various portals and web based systems in place. Gone are the days of needing a typewriter to fill in the fields of a court form”.
Jenny spent many years attending the police station and undertaking advocacy in the Magistrates Court when the firm held a legal aid franchise for criminal legal work. For the duration of her time at the firm she has advised many clients, both employees and employers, on employment related issues, including drafting and advising on settlement agreements. She has negotiated numerous satisfactory outcomes in relation to employment disputes, always priding herself on showing empathy in difficult situations.
Jenny provides contentious probate advice and representation to clients in a variety of situations. “This is becoming an increasingly popular area of the law as people generally appear to have become more aware of the ways in which to question the validity of a will or to bring a claim against an estate” Jenny stated.
Jenny qualified as a solicitor in 2000 and became a partner of the firm in 2005. She has since January 2014 been the Managing Partner of the firm. The firm holds a Lexcel accreditation given by the Law Society and as a result faces a vigorous 2 to 3 day annual audit. In this year’s audit the firm was “highly commended for sustaining a very high level of compliance against the Lexcel Standard”. The firm was labeled as “an example of a really good practice, and amongst the very best that the writer (the auditor) has reviewed” in terms of its plans and policies. Together with the firm being told that “Adams Harrison continues to be an extremely well run and extremely well managed Practice”.
The firm has grown and expanded in the last 20 years, almost by double. Jenny services clients’ legal needs across all three of our offices in Sawston, Saffron Walden and Haverhill. Jenny commented: “I thoroughly enjoy the diversity of my role within the firm and the wide range of clients that I am able to assist. I am very proud of Adams Harrison that is the successful firm it is today thanks to the commitment, loyalty and hard work of all our wonderful staff”.
“Here’s to the next 20 years …” was Jenny’s final word.
Adams Harrison staff attended a very successful Careers Fair held at Saffron Walden County High School last ‘night and attach the Certificate of Appreciation that was awarded to us.
Sue Lawton was joined by Emma Laidlaw, Jack Stewart and Matt Darmon and they were able to chat to parents and students about a career in the law and how best to achieve their goal.
Over 90 exhibitors took part and it was very well attended.
Matt Darmon, Jack Stewart and Emma Laidlaw of Adams Harrison at Uttlesford District Careers Fair
Matt Darmon explaining to a prospective law student exactly how he achieved his ambition of becoming a solicitor.
Kelsey Ling (pictured) Adams Harrison’s recently qualified Apprentice joined Sue Lawton at the Haverhill Jobs Fair last Wednesday 3rd October 2018, held at the West Suffolk College in Haverhill.
The event is run by Haverhill Town Council, One Haverhill Partnership, Jobs Centre Plus and West Suffolk College and Adams Harrison were very happy to support.
Kelsey Ling of Adams Harrison at Haverhill jobs fair
Haverhill’s triathlon festival returned for its fifth year, with a record 162 athletes competing across three types of sport and five races in and around the town.
HaverTri – the Adams Harrison Triathlon Festival was held on Sunday 7 October at Haverhill Leisure Centre, again in aid of Haverhill Scouts and Guides.
The HaverSports’ race saw athletes swimming in the leisure centre, before cycling through the nearby Essex villages, and finishing with a run along Haverhill’s historic railway line.
Winning the sprint triathlon in a time of one hour five minutes 53 seconds was Ben Redman, with the first woman home Emma Elston in one hour 20 minutes 29 seconds. Going double the distance in the Sprint+ race, Craig Warriner was first across the line in two hours 13 minutes 38 seconds, with the leading lady Emma Duncan in 32 minutes 23 seconds.
Skipping the pool for the duathlon (run – bike – run), Jason Elrick won the Sprint race in one hour 39 minutes 27 seconds, while Orla Devaney was the women’s winner one 57 minutes one second. Doubling up for the Sprint+, Craig Stewart won the day in two hours 35 minutes 56 seconds, with the first female Polly Wells in three hours 26 minutes 58 seconds.
Some 20 youngsters also competed in the aquathlon (swim and run, for ages eight and above), as the town’s triathletes of tomorrow were put through their paces.
“It was fantastic to see our biggest number of triathletes to date competing in around Haverhill, with town athletes mixing with those coming from across the region to experience racing here. It’s particularly pleasing to see so many of the younger aspiring athletes taking part, and coupled with the wide range of ages and abilities we had competing shows that our events really are suitable for all. We hope the support we experienced here today is reflected in people now coming to close their race season with us at the St Eds’ Running Festival in Moreton Hall, Bury St Edmunds, on Sunday 28 October.”
said HaverSports director Jack Tappin.
Rhodri Rees, senior partner at Adams Harrison Solicitors, said:
“We believe in supporting events in our community, while encouraging people to keep fit and contributing to important charities in the town. HaverTri is a good way for us to show our support in Haverhill and to continue to support these important sectors in the town.”
Duncan Batty, Group Scout Leader of 1st Haverhill Scouts, said:
“This annual events helps to contribute towards the funds we need for a new hut so the youth of Haverhill can continue to benefit from Scouting and Guiding. It also allows us to get involved in the community and show our support for people competing and keeping fit.”
Information about all HaverSports’ events is available at http://www.haversports.com/
You can see the full results here: http://racetimingsolutions.racetecresults.com/Results.aspx?CId=16269&RId=973&EId=4
You can get full details on St Eds’ Running Festival and enter here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/st-eds-running-festival-2018-tickets-46934374979
To provide support for St. Nicholas Hospice, Admas Harrison Staff took part in “Will Week” where wills were prepared for no fee and clients were asked to make donations to the hospice.
In total £2185.00 has been donated to the hospice.
Thank you to everyone that took part in the Macmillan Coffee Morning/Cake Sale – to everyone that provided the delicious cakes and savouries and everyone that donated money. Together we raised £83.77.
Emma has chosen Macmillan as the charity to support from the Bake Off earlier in the year, which raised £142.08.
This takes the total we have raised for Macmillan to £230.45 – a fantastic amount for a very worthwhile charity.
