Summary

I am a non practising solicitor that spent 20 years in private practice initially undertaking civil litigation then criminal advocacy and latterly wills, probate and estate administration. My particular area of expertise is in advocacy. I attained Higher Rights of Audience in Criminal Proceedings in 2006 and frequently represented defendants in Crown Court jury trials. I also left my firm in 2016 having started there as a trainee solicitor and progressed to the ultimate role of being one of two senior partners of the firm.

Biography

I graduated from Southampton Institute (now Solent University) with an Honours Law Degree in 1988 and completed the Legal Practice Course at the College of Law, Guildford, in 1999. I qualified as a solicitor in 2001 and stayed with the same firm throughout my career until I left in March 2016. I started my practice in Civil Litigation and moved in to Criminal Litigation to improve my advocacy skills. I became a fully accredited police station representative and court duty solicitor. I attained higher rights of audience (crime) in 2006 and, always on the search for new challenges, decided in 2013 to move in to non-contentious work undertaking private client including wills, tax and probate. When I left my firm I was one of the two senior partners and the COLP. As a result, I had taken on a lot more of the managerial and business side which was the principal reason for me deciding to change direction and start teaching.

Teaching responsibilities

I joined the University in 2016 as a part time hourly paid lecturer. I have since submitted an application for recognition as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) via the Academic Professional Excellence Framework (APEX) and my application has been successful. I am currently the Module Co-ordinator for the Advocacy Practice and Theory Module and the Expert Witnessing and Dispute Resolution Module. I also presently teach Civil Litigation and Client Care to students undertaking the CILEx Module as well as also being involved as a supervising solicitor in the Legal Advice Clinic.