Partner, Associate and Trainee Profiles

We thought you might like to find out more about some of our Partners, Associates (senior lawyers), Solicitors and Trainees.

• Partners;
• Associates; and
• Trainee Solicitors.
  

Partner Profiles

Degree                     LLB Law, University of Wales, Aberystwyth
                                   Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

GDL / LPC                 College of Law, Guildford

Dream holiday        One where my Blackberry does not flash to tell me I have an e-mail

First job                    W.H.Smith - General merchandise counter

Ideal dinner guest  Douglas Adams (author of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy amongst many other fine books)

Choice of                  The power to remove paper jams in the printer and resolve IT problems without any increase in
superpower             heart rate or agitation

My Career Journey

I joined Ashfords in 1999, qualified in Construction and Engineering Department in 2001 and made my way to Associate level shortly thereafter. After some years as an Associate, I left the firm in 2006 and worked for Corrs Chambers Westgarth in Brisbane, Australia (again within a construction law team) before I returned in 2007 as a Partner.

If I had to sum up my career so far I would say... Sometimes unexpected, mostly challenging and almost always satisfying. 

Degree                      Birmingham University, Law

GDL / LPC                 De Montfort at the University of Birmingham

Dream holiday        Anywhere not too hot, with mountains and the sea so I can be active and lazy

First job                    Kitchen hand (with special responsibility for cleaning out raw chicken) and waitress

Ideal dinner guest  Coco Chanel

Choice of                  Be able to stop time to create more hours in the day
superpower     

My Career Journey

I started out at Wragge + Co  in Birmingham doing Projects.  I loved the first and last seats, but not Birmingham after nine years.  My partner and I decided Devon was the best place to live in the UK so we made the move in 2005, which is when I moved to Ashfords and set up the Projects Team here.  The team has gone from strength to strength ever since.  I am now two months into my new career as a mother to a lovely little boy.

Degree                      Birmingham University, LLB;  Leicester University, LLM

GDL / LPC                 College of Law, Guildford

Dream holiday         Greek Islands or California - has to be hot and have good beaches and great food

First job                     Painted a garage and worked in a farm shop

Ideal dinner guest   Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi (if I can have two)

Choice of                   Flight
superpower   

My Career Journey

I started as an Ashfords Trainee in 1989 and qualified as a litigation solicitor in 1991.  I then became an employment specialist. I act mainly for employers and senior executives.  I have been recruiting Trainees since the early 1990s, and am very proud to say that many of my recruits are now partners in the firm.

Degree                     LLB Law - University of Wales, Aberystwyth & Universiteit Utrecht

GDL / LPC                UWE

Dream holiday       Sailing or windsurfing anywhere hot and windy

First job                    Kitchen Porter in a local restaurant, earning a staggering £1.50 p/h

Ideal dinner guest  Julius Caesar

Choice of                  Time travel
superpower     

My Career Journey

I started my legal career working as a research assistant for a leading barristers' chambers in Adelaide, Australia before returning to the UK to train with Ashfords in Exeter and Bristol. After training seats in commercial property, property litigation, commercial litigation and corporate, I qualified into the Corporate Team in Bristol and now specialise in private equity & venture capital and mergers & acquisitions.
 
Working in the rapidly-expanding Bristol office has provided me with fantastic experience, having acted on a variety of large deals as well as having been encouraged to manage my own work-load and get out and about to meet work referrers and clients. I advise a variety of local, national and international companies and investment funds, typically in high growth technology sectors, and take great pride in playing a small part in their development.
 
Don't be fooled, a career in the Westcountry does not mean a life of early evening beach barbeques - it is genuinely hard work - but training and qualifying with Ashfords has provided me with an opportunity to raise my family in a beautiful part of the world whilst working with an interesting and heavyweight client base in a supportive environment.

Associate Profiles

Degree                     LLB Law with French, University of Birmingham                                  

GDL / LPC                College of Law, York

Dream holiday        Kangaroo Island, South Australia

First job                    Tomato picker.

Ideal dinner guest  Mary Queen of Scots

Choice of                  Ability to fly
superpower            

My Career Journey

I trained with a Newcastle based commercial law firm and joined the Corporate and Commercial team at Ashfords when I was two years qualified, following a six month career break carrying out voluntary conservation work in Australia.  I have been at Ashfords for over four years now and I was delighted to be promoted to Associate in May 2011.
 
I have been really lucky during my career to work for some really interesting clients and on a number of exciting projects.  Working as a commercial contracts lawyer for Ashfords means that life is never dull, as I have carried out work ranging from advising a consortium in relation to the supply of photovoltaic panels to a number of housing associations to delivering contract law training to the sales team of a large regional manufacturing business.  I have also been fortunate during my time at Ashfords to carry out secondments to Invensys Controls, the Met Office and Viridor Waste Management Limited.  This has been a great opportunity to gain a first hand understanding of how legal services fit into the client's business and to improve my awareness of the commercial issues affecting our clients.

Degree                     LLB Law, Bristol University                                

GDL / LPC                 University of the West of England 

Seats                        Planning (Exeter), Personal Injury (Exeter) and Employment (Bristol)

Dream holiday        All inclusive resort in the Caribbean

First job                    Car valeter at Spangles Car Wash

Ideal dinner guest  Noel Fielding (and Jennifer Aniston!)

Choice of                  To be able to fly
superpower             

Degree                      LLB Law, Open University

GDL / LPC                 Plymouth University

Seats                        Commercial Property (Exeter), Restructuring & Insolvency (Exeter) and Corporate (Exeter)   

Dream holiday        Somewhere unbearably romantic. White sands, azure sea, coconuts, turtles,
                                   sundown cocktails... George Clooney?

First job                    Working in the tea-rooms at the Blue Pool just outside Wareham, Dorset at the tender age of 14

Ideal dinner guest  Eminem (aka Slim Shady)

Choice of                  Immortality
superpower      

Degree                      History, Cambridge University 

GDL / LPC                 GDL, University of the West of England
                                   LPC, College of Law, Chester

Seats                        Corporate and Commercial (Plymouth), Property (Plymouth) and Employment (Taunton)

Dream holiday        Trekking in the Himalayas

First job                    A campsite courier for Eurocamp

Ideal dinner guest Neil Armstrong

Choice of                  Flight
superpower             

Degree                      LLB Law, Exeter University

GDL / LPC                 College of Law, Guildford

Seats                        Commercial, IP & IT (Exeter), Employment (Exeter) and Trusts & Estates (Exeter)

Dream holiday        To go travelling again, across Europe and Russia this time

First job                    Working in a gift shop on Saturdays

Ideal dinner guest A celebrity chef, maybe Jamie Oliver, so he can cook me a nice dinner!

Choice of                  To stop time
superpower     

Degree                      LLB Law, Cardiff University                                  

GDL / LPC                 Cardiff University (Institute for Professional Legal Studies)

Seats                        Property Litigation (Tiverton), Projects/PFI (Exeter) and Commercial Property (Exeter)

Dream holiday        The unobtainable - somewhere off the tourist trail with a great coastline, hills,
                                   snow and sunshine

First job                    This is my first job other than weekend and summer jobs, the first of which was at a
                                   horse riding stables

Ideal dinner guest The grandmother I never met - I'd like to be able to pinpoint where certain family traits come from

Choice of                  The ability to pause, fast forward and rewind time
superpower             

Degree                      LLB Law, Birmingham City University

GDL / LPC                 College of Law, Birmingham

Seats                        Corporate (Exeter), Restructuring and Insolvency (Bristol) and Commercial (Bristol)

Dream holiday        Island hopping on a luxury yacht

First job                    Chamber maid at The Holiday Inn

Ideal dinner guest  Elton John

Choice of                  Teleportation
superpower     

Degree                     History, University of Sheffield

GDL / LPC                 GDL & LPC, University of the West of England

Seats                        Corporate (Exeter), Planning (Exeter) and Commercial Litigation (Exeter)

Dream holiday        Greek island hopping, spending as much time as I wanted on each island

First job                    Doing seasonal work at a museum in Dover

Ideal dinner guest Stephen Fry, Dara O'Briain... anyone who makes me laugh

Choice of                  I'd love to be able to fly
superpower