Richard Booth Appointed as a Partner.
Richard Booth Newly Appointed Partner At Adams Harrison
Congratulations to Richard Booth who has just been appointed as a Partner in Adams Harrison.
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Congratulations to Teresa Pitts
Congratulations and gifts were given to one of our staff members, Teresa Pitts, to celebrate her 60th birthday.
As she is out of the office tomorrow (her birthday) we celebrated a day early.
Teresa Pitts of Adams Harrison Celebrates A Special Birthday
Sawston Fun Run 2019
Adams Harrison, sponsors of the Sawston Fun Run, entered a team of 12 on Sunday 12th May.
There were some 1100 runners taking part. Adams Harrison had two runners – Rebecca Dedman who achieved 17th place for her age group and Jack Edwards (Sue’s grandson) who achieved 25th in his age group with a time of 40 minutes.
As for the rest of the team we were collecting money and handing out flags on our way round and the last member came in some 47 minutes on the shorter route.
The Adams Harrison Team At The Sawston Fun Run 2019
This is what you call going for it 5 miles round the streets of Sawston all in aid of Charity
Congratulations to Kelsey Ling
Congratulations to Kelsey Ling our junior secretary who had completed her apprenticeship with us and is now working in the Family Department.
Passing this latest Pitmans test is another feather to her cap.
Love is in the air at the Sawston office
Love is in the air at the Sawston office – two engagements in a matter of months:-
Paige Doran and Fiancé Aaron
Paige Doran secretary to Lisa Thornhill got engaged on 27th December to fiancé Aaron in a surprise engagement on 27th December in Paris.
Cazz Rice and Fiancé Gary
Cazz Rice, secretary to Rebecca Dedman got engaged to fiancé Gary on Tuesday 2nd April – again a complete surprise on their 2 year anniversary.
We wish them all the best for their future lives together
Paul Cammiss
It is with deep regret that the partners have to announce Paul Cammiss a former partner in the firm for very many years passed away on 15th February. Our deepest condolences are sent to his wife Lin and family.
Paul was a founder member of Adams Harrison in 1989 and remained involved with the practice, even after his retirement in June 2014, performing a role as a consultant until last year when he finally decided to enjoy retirement fully.
He will be sadly missed by those of us that were lucky enough to work with him at Adams Harrison
Congratulations To Hayley Ford
Hayley Ford Solicitor Wills Trusts and Probate
We are pleased to announce that Hayley Ford has passed her final examination of The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) qualification with a distinction.
This means that Hayley can now apply to become a full STEP member known as a ‘TEP.’
TEPs are internationally recognised as experts in their field, with proven qualifications and experience. Hayley studied for two years to obtain the qualification and took a specialist route focusing on advising vulnerable clients.
Women In The Legal Profession
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!
Jenny Carpenter Celebrates 20 Years At Adams Harrison
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.
Congratulations to Kelsey Ling
Many congratulations to Kelsey Ling, who has completed her apprenticeship and is now working in our Family Department.
Well done Kelsey!
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