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NEWS
Moore Barlow celebrates promotion of new partner who started career at firm
Top-100 law firm Moore Barlow has announced that Senior Associate Sophie Winstanley has become partner.
Sophie started as a paralegal at what was then Moore Blatch, working for the Education and Asbestos teams before successfully applying for a training contract and becoming the first trainee at the firm’s Richmond office.
During her traineeship, Sophie worked under the guidance of Senior Partner Trevor Sterling within the firm’s then-newly founded Major Trauma team, which she went on to join immediately upon qualifying as a solicitor in 2016.
Sophie rose from Associate to Senior Associate while specialising in cases involving major trauma, including brain injury and amputation, with an overarching focus on rehabilitation. She has been involved in numerous complex and high-profile personal injury cases, some of which have settled for seven-figure sums and made the headlines of major news outlets, such as the Croydon Tram incident in 2016. Sophie has played a key role in the success of Moore Barlow’s award-winning Major Trauma Service while consistently contributing to wider projects across the firm.
Speaking of her promotion to partnership, Sophie said: “I’m extremely proud to become a partner at the same firm that gave me my start in law. At Moore Barlow, you are positively encouraged to become the person and the lawyer that you want to be: individuality and diversity is authentically celebrated here. It’s one of the reasons that I care so deeply about this firm and the wonderful people that work within it – so it’s a great privilege to be in a position where I can help to shape its future.”
Trevor Sterling, Senior Partner, said: “I’m so pleased that Sophie is joining the firm’s partnership. She is brilliant at what she does and is a true role model for where hard work and determination can lead. Her career trajectory from paralegal to partner at Moore Barlow stands as a testament to the fact that this is a firm that nurtures talent, something which inspires the kind of loyalty that Sophie exemplifies.”
Managing Partner Edward Whittington said: “As well as being a great legal practitioner, Sophie is also very operationally savvy and business-minded, which are great qualities in a partner. To progress from paralegal to a member of the leadership team within the same firm shows just what a good fit she is for our firm and vice versa. We’re very proud to say that Moore Barlow is a place where careers start, and partners are made.” ■
Venters Grow Their Team with Romanian speaking Lawyer
Venters Solicitors are a niche Family law firm operating from four offices, with their head office in Reigate. Since they were founded in 1991, they have provided help and support to thousands of clients with Family and Criminal cases that have family, spousal or children matters at the heart of them.
Family law matters and disputes involving children are often very emotional and language barriers can add even more stress into an already highly charged process. The recent recruitment of multilingual Solicitor, Antonia Rotaru, who is fluent in 4 languages, has given Venters the opportunity to offer clients who speak those languages a truly inclusive service.
Antonia who joined the firm in April, speaks English, Romanian (her native language), Spanish and Italian which are notably four of the top six languages spoken in Surrey according to the 2021 census*.
Antonia says “The Romanian community in Surrey is growing and I am very happy to be able to help Romanian speaking clients with their family law and children law needs. I completed my Law Degree at the University of East London in 2019, followed by my LPC and Training Contract at a well-known law firm located in
the City. I qualified as a Solicitor shortly after and joined Venters Solicitors in April 2024. I am very excited about my future with Venters, and I look forward to being mentored by some of the best family lawyers in the region.”
The founder of Venters, June Venters KC adds “I founded Venters with the belief that everyone deserved access to justice, and I’m delighted to welcome such a talented Solicitor to our team, further enhancing our family law services.” ■
*Source: https://www.surreyi.gov.uk/census-2021
The 2021 census confirms that there are 8082 Romanians living in Surrey and Romania is the only country which was in the top ten in 2021 but was not in the top ten in 2011, suggesting more recent settlements of Romanian-born residents.
