Careers on the up

CILEX Fellow Samantha Taylor has joined Bath’s Whitworth Law and will head up its probate offering. Founder David Whitworth said: “Her excellent knowledge and wealth of experience in this area of law will ensure our clients are fully supported when dealing with complex and life-changing issues.”

Another Fellow, Sarah Hamby, joined the dispute resolution team at East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire-based law firm Wilkin Chapman.

Student member Kris Gungah joined forces with two colleagues to form a new Court of Protection team at south-coast firm Lester Aldridge. Kurt Lee, partner and head of private client, said of the trio: “Their collective expertise and dedication to protecting the rights and interests of vulnerable individuals will be invaluable to our clients and will provide significant depth of experience in this area of law.”

A former nurse of 25 years, Helen Hargreaves, secured the next big step in her legal career as she opened a new franchise in York for national independent legal consultancy Puzzle Piece Law, which specialises in family law. She is currently working towards her fellowship.

In August, two CILEX members celebrated promotions at national law firm Capsticks: regulatory specialist Amita Gungaram became a senior associate while housing and regeneration expert Daisy Girvin secured the only associate promotion awarded across the firm.

City firm Fieldfisher welcomed chartered legal executive Beth Whittaker as the newest member of the medical negligence team in September. As well as running her own caseload, she will assist partner Ian Christian on complex high-value cases.

October saw Sarah McCarthy, a former chartered legal executive of the year winner at the Family Law Awards, strengthen Jackson Lees’ family law team. Sarah joined the Liverpool and Wirral based firm from Hill Dickinson.

North Wales and Chester firm Swayne Johnson welcomed Maxine Phillips to head its Chester office in November. The former legal secretary was persuaded to train as a CILEX lawyer 20 years ago after her former boss said she was “seeing more clients than he was”.

Finally, leading home-moving group Movera – which boasts seven legal brands – launched a funding programme to provide employees with access to multiple professional qualifications, including CILEX. The £75,000 apprenticeship programme is currently supporting Connie Murray-Jones, legal assistant at Cavendish Legal Group, and Paulo Dos Dantos, a case manager at ONP, through the CILEX Foundation course.