hello
Welcome to the third issue of the Mills & Reeve Alumni newsletter. 2018 has so far got off to a great start and we’re really happy to be able to report that we’ve been named as one of the Best 100 companies to work for by the Sunday Times for the fifteenth year in a row. Our people are a priority for us so of course making it on to the list at all is fantastic, but to be the only law firm that has managed to do that for 15 consecutive years is certainly cause for celebration! As well as appearing on the Best Companies list, M&R was also named as joint Firm of the Year 2018 by RollOnFriday. The award, which we shared with Osbourne Clarke and Burges Salmon, is based on feedback from more than 5,000 staff and partners at law firms across the UK. Our Alumni network is made up of former colleagues across the country and even a few enjoying more exotic climates, and we now have over 280 members. We’re pleased so many of you want to keep in touch – if you know anyone else who might like to join please do point them in our direction! We want to keep up to date with your news – if you would like to appear in a future issue in our “where are they now” feature, or just want to let us know about a new project, then get in touch by joining our LinkedIn group, following us on Twitter @Alumni_MR or emailing us on alumni@mills-reeve.com. We’d love to hear from you! Brian Marshall, Head of Alumni Network
Jonathan Nixon It is with enormous sadness that we have to report that Jonathan Nixon, Principal Associate in the Commercial Disputes team (Birmingham office) passed away on 26 October 2017 following a year of treatment and care for a malignant lymphoma. Jon joined M&R in August 2005, was an outstanding lawyer and was considered by everybody at Mills & Reeve as a great colleague and friend. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his enormous contribution to the firm. It was a privilege to work with him and know him. He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts remain with his wife Stacey and children Sam, Beth, Leo and Sophia.
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where are they now?
charity challenge
the numbers
news
hatches, matches and promotions
If you have any suggestions on what you’d like to see in future updates, we’d love to hear from you at alumni@mills-reeve.com Remember to let your former colleagues know about the Alumni Network: www.mills-reeve.com/alumni Mills & Reeve: Alumni Network Alumni_MR
where are they now? Chris Perfect Director - Ethics and Compliance Improvement Program, Wood PLC Solicitor (previously trainee solicitor) from August 2004 – December 2009
fond memories Up until very recently, I was Director of Strategy Services at Wood PLC. Wood is a technical services company. We provide a range of services: engineering & design, operations, maintenance, construction and decommissioning. Our clients are companies such as BP, Shell, Exxon and Dow. Although headquartered in the UK, the US is Wood’s largest market and the leadership team for the Americas. Following Wood Group’s acquisition of Amec Foster Wheeler, I have moved into a new role (my fifth!) appointed Director of the Ethics and Compliance Improvement Program. As the name suggests, I’m part of the ethics and compliance team, responsible for project managing the implementation of a group-wide program intended to deliver a step change in ethics and compliance awareness and functional capability.
During my time with M&R I was a solicitor in the Corporate team in Norwich. I enjoyed that experience – the team grew dramatically during my time with the arrival of Terry Gould and local Eversheds lawyers. I learnt a lot from some amazing partners including James Hunter, Nick Fischl, Terry Gould, Caroline Dean and Greg Gibson. My training with M&R provided a strong foundation for all the roles that I have undertaken since leaving the firm, even those that are non-legal. I’ve been lucky enough to maintain a relationship with M&R. The Norwich corporate team worked on the acquisition of ATG, an automation business that Wood acquired in 2015.
I have fond memories of my time with M&R. It gave me an incredibly broad foundation of corporate and commercial work – with I love my job. It is challenging and rewarding exposure across a range of teams as well in equal measures. There is very little by secondments to CITB, Wood Group and way of repetition to what I do. I work for Martin Hu in Shanghai. some smart, passionate, hardworking and extremely talented people. The best part of my job is helping them to learn, develop and succeed. One of the big challenges of the role is encouraging the business to think long term. This can be difficult especially when market conditions are challenging.
I have fond memories of my time with M&R. It gave me an incredibly broad foundation of corporate and commercial work.
What’s your favourite memory of M&R? I remember a work ski trip to Courchevel in 2005 with James Henderson (now with Aviva), Greg Laming, David Catchpole and others. What do you miss most about your time with the firm? I miss Norwich – it’s a pretty place with lots of history and a cosy, small City feel too it. Tell us about your family I am married to my wife Mel. We have two boys – Barnabas (9 years) and Felix (10 months). We have lived in Houston, Texas since October 2014.
where are they now? Isabel Napper Founder - GreyWired Solicitor, Partner and Consultant from April 1998 to May 2016
the bigger picture What did you do at M&R? I was a partner in the IP team and headed up the then new, technology NSL. Cambridge was establishing itself at the heart of the tech sector and it was an exciting time to be involved and setting up a new team. The clients we worked with were at the cutting edge of the industry and it was an exciting time in my career. How did your time here help shape what you are doing now? I am a Non-Executive Director for three businesses, and two of these are contacts from my time at M&R. Working as a partner means that you establish very close bonds with clients, and working at the firm has definitely shaped my career now. I founded GreyWired because I know that the experience I had as a partner at a law firm like M&R means that I have experience in all aspects of business. As a partner, we deal with marketing, business development, HR, finance and budgeting and I want to share those skills
with other businesses. I work mainly with professional services businesses because the culture is quite unique. It’s not like working anywhere normal! My experience means that I understand partnerships and how they work, and of course, the unique relationships you build with clients, being such a trusted advisor. When I chose to take early retirement, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. My contacts and connections have really shaped my new business, clients asked me to help and I said yes. I’m busier now than when I worked full time! Being a consultant means I get to see the bigger picture and am involved with all aspects of the business. As a lawyer, although we provide commercial and pragmatic advice, you often only see one or two aspects of the business and there are bigger decisions and scenarios happening that you may not be aware of (or told!). Helping small businesses and organisations means that I see right into heart of business.
My contacts and connections have really shaped my new business.
What’s your favourite memory from M&R? Going to a pitch with Tom Pickthorn at Bourn Hall, the IVF clinic in Cambridge. We were all prepped and ready for our meeting, signed in at reception to see Dr Macnamee, the CEO, and sat waiting in the reception. It was only as we went into the pitch that we realised we had been mistaken for a couple waiting for treatment!! Tom and I have seven children between us (none together!!) and I think the fact that we were laughing so much at the beginning of the pitch won us the work! And they are still clients now! What do you miss most since leaving? Working on your own, whilst very rewarding, has taken me a while to adjust to. I miss the wonderful people at M&R, the jokes and daily interaction I had there. What’s next for you? I am a Non-Executive Director for Scientific Digital Imaging plc, Health Enterprise East and Eastern Academic Health Science Network which keeps me very busy outside
of my consultancy business. I left M&R to retire, and so I am working towards doing that at some point. And of course, looking for that elusive work/life balance! Give us a piece of advice for someone working here now Use the stairs!!! You meet more interesting on people on the stairs. Tell us something that we don’t know about you I am chair of Arthur Rank Hospice in Cambridgeshire, an organisation that supports people and their families, with life-limiting illness.
where are they now? Elisabeth Lee Retired Partner and Consultant from September 2008 to February 2011
changing times What did you do at M&R? I joined the firm in 2008 to head up a new insurance and professional indemnity practice in Manchester. At the time, there was only a family law team in Manchester, so this was the first commercial offering by M&R in the area. It was a really exciting time, we had a small team of about eight people that joined, and we were all hugely enthusiastic to be given the opportunity to start something new. The office at the time was based at Peter House and I fondly remember moving crates and boxes over one August weekend to set up the new office. Our family colleagues were a little surprised to see us completely set up and ready for work on the Monday morning! The offices back then weren’t quite as salubrious as they are now – it was definitely more camping than glamping – but we were a really close-knit team and it was an exciting time for us all. How did your time here help shape what you are doing now? I retired from M&R having worked for 40
years as a lawyer. I felt that, after a very fulfilling career, I had reached the stage where I was ready for a change of pace. My last few years at M&R were very satisfying. We recruited my replacement Niall Innes, the team doubled in size and we moved to the current offices in New York Street. It was a great point at which to finish my career. The following year I was particularly interested to see the firm merge with George Davies & Co which I had joined in 1972 as their first female articled clerk. How times have changed! What’s your favourite memory from M&R? As I said, the offices at Peter House weren’t quite the quality they are now and we had some unusual visitors during our time there! My favourite memories are the people, the camaraderie of the team, and the occasions that we met up with colleagues from other offices. It is so rewarding to see how the firm is continuing to develop its reputation not just in Manchester but across the country. What do you miss most since leaving? I miss the friends but I don’t miss the files!
Make the most of the opportunities that your work and skills give you.
I don’t miss those midnight moments when you think you may forgotten something either! I still keep in touch with several of my original team and regularly receive updates from the firm including Private Affairs, the client newsletter. Tell us about what you are doing now I have three small grandchildren with another one on the way so they keep me very busy. For a number of years after I retired I was on the board for Manchester Met University, and until recently I was Chair of the governors of a local girls’ school. I now have the luxury of time, so I can spend it with my family in London and also have a son in Hong Kong who I plan to visit this year, just in time to meet his new baby. What’s next for you? I am making the most of my retirement! We had a flat in France for many years, and I am now doing a French conversation class in an attempt to improve my vocabulary and sentence construction! Give us a piece of advice for someone working here now Make the most of the opportunities that your work and skills give you. Think
about what you are interested in and put something back into that. Nearly all organisations will welcome your skills, whether as a trustee, governor, or just volunteering. Meeting people with different skills and experiences makes you not only a better lawyer but also a more rounded person. Tell us something that we don’t know about you I am a huge supporter of the Arts and enjoy theatre and opera. I am very lucky to have the time to travel around the country seeing productions and supporting these institutions. I have the luxury of time, which is something that is all too rare when you are working.
charity challenge 2018
in support of Bloodwise Bloodwise was chosen as the charity for this year’s Charity Challenge in memory of our friend and colleague Jon Nixon who sadly passed away from blood cancer last year. Bloodwise provides funding to over 400 leading researchers working in over 160 projects across the UK. So far, we have raised over £22,000 and this amount is set to increase further over the coming weeks. Inspired by a talk from Dr Farhat Khamin (a specialist researcher) and Emma Jones (regional manager of Bloodwise) who kindly came and spoke at our Birmingham office about the amazing work that Bloodwise do, our fundraising efforts have been particularly innovative.
The Birmingham office had an inter-floor competition (including selling samosas and publically waxing an unlucky victim) and the Leeds office hosted a Charity Fish Challenge competition. The money we have raised will fund the research to help find cures for every type of blood cancer, as well as developing better tests so that people can receive an accurate diagnosis, more quickly. Bloodwise also provides expert information and practical support for everyone affected by blood cancer.
the challenge Every year, staff at Mills & Reeve set off on an adventure to unleash their inner Bear Grylls to raise money for a worthy cause. This year, on 9 June, 93 members of Mills & Reeve descended on Derbyshire to hike, gorge walk, abseil and cave their way around the Peak District in support of Bloodwise. The weekend was a success everyone was put through their paces, the weather was beautiful and by the day of the challenge we had already exceeded our fundraising target! The extended hike for one group resulted in them being able to claim that they went to the ‘highest peak in the Peak District’ – although it was not quite as overwhelmingly high as hoped! Nick Finlayson Brown brought along his dog Paddy, who was an instant hit with everyone involved. The gorge walking section was however not for Paddy and instead he looked on as his group climbed up waterfalls, jumped into plunge pools and struggled to stay upright whilst scrambling over slippery rocks.
Those in the cave faced different challenges as they squeezed their way through some very small dark holes whilst the abseil was not for the fainthearted! We are absolutely thrilled we have raised such a large amount for a great charity and to top it all off fun was had by all and it was great to get to know colleagues from across the offices – it is a great example of how to Achieve More. Together. It also appears that the firm’s reputation for being a friendly place to work will continue - to quote one of the guides we were ‘alright for a bunch of lawyers!’ We are already looking forward to next year’s Challenge! If you would like to donate to this fantastic cause, please visit our Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ mills-reeve-charity-challenge-2018 Eleanor Cawthra, Trainee Solicitor
other firmwide fundraising Over the last six months, our staff have been working hard to raise money for local office charities. As you will see from the pictures below, the fundraising activities have been of all shapes and sizes and have included: dress down days, cake sales, “fitness frenzies”, “Partners/Managers in the Docks”, quizzes, auctions and numerous marathons!
Amazingly, staff have raised over
£30,000 in donations for deserving charities: The Blue Smile Project Bloodwise The Benjamin Foundation
the numbers We ambitiously set ourselves an even bigger target than 2017 and once again we’ve announced record annual results – including the highest ever all staff bonus, at £2,273 for every full time employee who has been with the firm for at least a year. Our 2017/18 financial results confirmed that our turnover rose from £93.2 million in the previous financial year to a massive £106.3 million – an increase of 14 per cent. Again this means M&R have outperformed the top 100 UK law firm average, with fee income growth for the firm of 13.5 per cent, compared to an average of 7.7 per cent. It also means we have achieved one of the key objectives from our 2020 strategy – to reach £100 million turnover – two years early.
new partner promotions In addition to our financial results, we were delighted to announce four internal promotions to partner - Jonathan Greenwood in the corporate team, Paul Knight in commercial, David Varnham in banking and Eric France in commercial disputes. Jonathan and Paul both started at the firm as trainee solicitors, demonstrating the firm’s commitment to another key pillar of our 2020 strategy – developing talent and giving our colleagues the opportunities to expand on their skills. Once again we are delighted to be able to share our success with you this year, and we’re looking forward to achieving even more together in 2019.
On 27 October 2017 we went live with our Mills & Reeve Trainee Twitter account (@MandRTrainees). The aim of this account is to reach a wider population of potential lawyers and to provide information about what life is like as a Mills & Reeve trainee. So give us a follow and help us share content to as wide an audience as possible!
about our firm
Office locations and international reach
2018
Turnover
Charitable donations
£106.3 £103, m
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London
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Birmingham
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Cambridge
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Leeds
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Manchester
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Norwich
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Best place to work
Social
We have been named a record 15 years running as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in The Sunday Times’ annual survey
Join @MillsandReeve on Twitter 8,800+ followers and counting...
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Last year our lawyers engaged with 75 jurisdictions across the globe working with our trusted international network of independent law firms
Staff make up across the firm
Staff satisfaction 97% of our staff would recommend Mills & Reeve as a good place to work
990+ staff
500 lawyers 123 partners
Clients include
news 10 years in Leeds and Manchester Manchester On 1 February 2008 Alison Bull, Sue Brookes and I, together with former colleagues, solicitor Karen Hughes (now running a bar in France!) and secretary Lindsey Anderson, came across from Addleshaw Goddard and opened our brand new Mills & Reeve office in Manchester. Our Leeds colleagues did the same in their city. Overnight, Mills & Reeve became a truly national family team and indeed firm. So, just five of us in serviced accommodation in Peter House, Manchester on that first day, but with an honorary member of the team in Roger Bamber who selflessly relocated from Cambridge, living in a flat during the week to support us all and help us get to grips with all the new systems and the firm’s culture. It was a steep learning curve but from day one we were welcomed with open arms, enormous enthusiasm and goodwill and a commitment to build our presence in the city into something special. That did not come as a surprise to us though because, as a family team at Addleshaws we’d been working with our new colleagues through the twice-yearly training (and partying!) collaboration that had continued from the old Norton Rose M5 group and had morphed into the National Family Law Group (NFLG). When it came to choosing our new home there was really only one game in town.
Peter House was great accommodation in those first months but after a change of ownership we started to experience some interesting issues. I recall two in particular. We didn’t have our own meeting rooms, we had to book and pay for them. Proudly showing a new client into the room, I discovered there were no chairs. The other occasion was when a fellow tenant from another floor stood at the top of the stairs into the lobby area and, with his baseball cap worn in skater boy mode, shouted “Hey, reception babe dude” to the front of house woman. The high-powered executive I was just collecting from said lobby was somewhat taken aback! In 2011 we moved to our current offices on New York St, with me bringing the photos of NYC that I’d bought from the Christmas market. We had a competition to name the meeting rooms on the 9th floor which was won with names including Empire and Madison (see what was done there?!). By then of course we’d been joined by our insurance and private client colleagues and in 2013 we merged with George Davies (on the 8th floor) to create a full service Manchester presence. From five to 100 people in 5 years. Something to be truly proud of and I know there’s so much more to look forward to as we continue to build. Nigel Shepherd, National Head of Family Law
Leeds On 1 February 2018, the Leeds Office of Mills & Reeve was delighted to host a party to celebrate our tenth anniversary. Ten years previously, David Salter and I moved our Family team from Addleshaw Goddard to bring the unique Mills & Reeve brand to the Yorkshire market place. We were delighted to be taking this step alongside our Manchester colleagues then led by Nigel Shepherd. The relationship between the family teams at Mills & Reeve and Addleshaw Goddard had always been extremely strong. We had trained together for many years as part of the M5 group of firms and had enjoyed annual weekends of learning and merriment at country house hotels, the splendour of which had ebbed and flowed over the years with the country’s economic fortunes! True to form, we celebrated our union with a delicious lunch at a country pub near Knaresborough and were taken to and from the office in a classic Wallace Arnold coach! This auspicious start typified the welcome that Mills & Reeve gave to us. From those early days of just nine members of staff offering Family Law advice in serviced accommodation in Princes Exchange, Leeds, it has been a privilege and a pleasure to participate in and watch the growth of the office. Since Christmas 2014, we have been located in our own premises at 1 City Square which were deliberately refurbished to resemble a floor of Botanic House. They have proven to be a very happy professional home to an exceptionally talented and ever-growing team of people looking after a diverse range of clients. The first service line to join Family was Insurance and Neil Howes heads a formidable team of seven. Our Private
Client offering has flourished under Julia Rangecroft’s stewardship and we were delighted when Andrew Playle joined the team in 2016 from what was then Bond Dickinson. Simon Sherwood leads Real Estate and was rewarded for his sterling efforts with the Real Estate Team of the Year Award at the Yorkshire Legal Awards shortly after he joined us. We have had a strong Corporate presence since 2015 when Paul Johnson joined us from Irwin Mitchell. The services we are able to provide to businesses across our sectors has been broadened significantly by Mark Pearce and Martin Priestley joining us from Womble Bond Dickinson and Pinsent Masons respectively. In addition to those joining us from other firms, Stuart Craig has relocated from the Cambridge Office to launch our Employment offering and Andrea Newman has also moved up from the Cambridge Office to broaden our Agriculture capability. From a team of nine, we are now 37 strong and looking forward to the next ten years of growth within a vibrant office full of dedicated people who never lose their sense of purpose and fun. Philip Way, Partner
news Birmingham office refurb On Valentine’s Day 2005, residents of the Birmingham office made a leap across the city to the bright lights of Colmore Row. The bill boards (as many of you will remember) painted a picture of the “New Kids on the Block Row” – a statement of intent that M&R were ready to make a splash in the Midlands legal market. The building held (and still holds) a stately corner position opposite St Philip’s Cathedral and to all intents and purposes looked like it would fit the bill. And it did… for a while. Fast forward 13 years and the building is not at its best. But all is about to change.
So it’s out with the old and in with the new. And even the old stuff is being put to good use. We have donated our old furniture to a number of charities, including the Birmingham People’s Centre, a charity set up to help people with employment issues, and the Dogs Trust, Kenilworth. Dogs Trust Kenilworth is the biggest dog rescue centre in the country and can accommodate up to 180 dogs at any one time. They have visited the office three times and have collected cabinets, chairs, cups and saucers and most recently the old sofas and tub chair from the conservatory. The dogs who find kennel life particularly difficult are provided with an armchair or sofa within their kennel, to make them more comfortable and our old furniture has been put to good use.
Starting from the basement (newly christened the ‘Lower Ground Floor’) up, the works will see a complete overhaul of working and client spaces, creating a If you’re passing through, please do pop in. modern, collaborative environment to feel proud of. Possibly one of the most significant changes will be to the aforementioned Lower Ground Floor. The once slightly dark and dingy space (with less-than-sparkly showers) will be transformed into a bright and airy training and meeting space for everyone to enjoy, as will the 4th floor conservatory. The floors will feature sit-stand desks and create a paperless and agile environment. On the ground floor, the space will be opened up to create more versatile client areas and will reflect the region’s heritage. As a tribute to our late friend and colleague, the new Board Room will be named The Jonathan Nixon Room.
On the sofa is an extremely nervous lurcher called Uno, who is being coaxed with squeezy cheese by one of the behaviourists, in order to build up trust with humans.
focus on london one year on since Maxwell Winward merger At the time of publication of the last Alumni Magazine, we were gearing up to expand our London office to almost double its size and welcoming new members to the M&R fold by merging with Maxwell Winward, a real estate, projects and construction and surety law firm based just down the road from our existing London office. The merger on 1st June 2017 increased the size of our London office to 73 from 30, increased partner numbers from 6 to 11 and added real estate, surety, projects and construction and corporate and commercial practice areas to the existing insurance, disputes and family teams already based there. The additional teams immediately had a really positive impact on the office with numerous visitors commenting that it had created a real buzz in the London office. Andrew Jeffcoat, who joined Mills & Reeve from Maxwell Winward said “it’s hard to believe that it’s only been a year since we merged with Mills and Reeve, though it seems like just yesterday it was announced. A year of agile working, achieving more together and building Lego towers in innovation week has flown by; coming from a small firm we feel lucky to have been so welcomed into the Mills & Reeve team.
A year on from the merger, the London office is still buzzing with activity, all is going well and the Maxwell Winward team have settled in to their roles. Neil Davis, Head of the London Office comments: “I am delighted that the merger has been such a success. The combined firm has already won several new client appointments which, separately, neither firm would have been certain to secure. Since the merger we have made further investments and have identified a number of exciting growth opportunities which we will be looking to develop particularly around our education, private wealth, charities, real estate investment, technology and sports sectors. Just as important is the fact that, culturally the two firms have fitted together really well. There is a shared ethos which meant that the teams worked very effectively together from the outset and that has been a significant contributory factor in the success of the merger.”
focus on international Part of the Firm’s 2020 strategy plan is to “Grow our international work” and be a “National leader with worldwide reach”. We certainly have achieved this.
• increased international turnover to be more than 30% of the Firm’s turnover;
We have a continuing programme of regular visits, secondments and shared training programmes. These activities have allowed us to develop and thrive. Together we are able to offer clients an expert international service that guarantees:
•
• accessibility to the right lawyer, having expertise, support and strong connections in both the jurisdiction and the sector;
Over the last 18 months alone we have:
expanded our jurisdictional coverage across the globe to total 10 desks with the addition of Off Shore and Far East Desks;
• been engaged in 75 jurisdictions; • increased substantially our referrals to and from our international partners; and • signed affiliation agreements with two leading firms, Graf von Westphalen in Germany and Van Benthem & Keulen of The Netherlands. This is in addition to our affiliation with the largest French law firm, FIDAL. These three relationships continue to grow and thrive through joint legal training programmes and regular secondee exchanges, as well as joint client work. To serve our clients’ international needs, our extensive international network covers all major countries. This network has been custom built over many years and comprises firms who are leaders in their own jurisdictions and share our values and approach to client service. The core strength of our international service is the committed relationship with these firms.
• transparency on budget, process, costs and communication; and • collaboration – teamwork, support and well managed communications. As part of our membership of SCG Legal (the only UK member), we had the once in a generation opportunity, of hosting their midyear conference in London in June. Over one year of planning pulled together a brilliant conference agenda covering numerous topics including: • Brexit and the Future of London; • Artificial Intelligence and how it will shape the law firms of the future; • Life Sciences – a panel of leading global life science companies and their challenges and opportunities in the sector; • GDPR and priorities in Global Privacy – views and discussion from 5 jurisdictions;
• Driverless Technology; and • Challenges facing UK businesses with international operations – a panel session of in-house council and CEOs talking about the challenges facing their international businesses. The conference pulled in a record breaking number of delegates with more than 160 attendees coming in from over 60 countries. We held a drinks reception in our London office on the Thursday evening which Adnams (a client) supplied the best English beverages. The close of the conference was marked with a drinks reception, private tours and dinner in Westminster Abbey. It was truly a spectacular two days with feedback reflecting how informative, interesting and enjoyable it was.
Dispelling the myth of common law marriage: living together
Couples that live together are the fastest growing family type in the UK with numbers growing from 1.5m to 3.3m in the past 10 years. But, despite the increase, those who live together as a couple are not given the same legal rights over property and maintenance payments as married couples. There is a popular misconception the ‘common law marriage’ does exist but the reality is that couples that live together do not have the same legal rights as married couples. That’s why Mills & Reeve has launched the first dedicated resource for this growing family unit… Cohabitation-law.co.uk gives practical, sensible advice to all couples that live together but aren’t married. Whatever stage of relationship you are in, at the beginning and about to buy a property or at the end of a relationship, the site will offer you guidance and how to avoid some of the common pitfalls.
The myth of the common law marriage 26% 25%
40%
think that unmarried couples have the same rights as married couples if they have been living together for over one year
who live together have the property in the sole name of one of the parties, meaning the unnamed partner has no rights over the property
73% 73%
59%
weren't aware that as joint tenants their property would automatically pass to the co-owner upon death regardless of what the will states
76% have never heard of a cohab agreement
didn't know what type of support they and their children would be entitled to if they were to separate
www.cohabitation-law.co.uk Figures are from a Mills & Reeve and YouGov survey of 1,000 cohabiting couples in the UK
hatches...
Ella Jo Randall
Isabella Frances Nicole Forkes
Ted Rachael Machin
Sebastian Marc Benedicta Yardley
Teddy Nicola Sierzega
Lexi Stephanie Middlewick
Arwen Francesca Laura Ludlow
Finley Agata Dennis
Paisley Kizzie Peacock
Joshua Charles Joanna Duncan
Hugo Amelia Lewis
matches...
Danielle Mutter and husband Andrew Married 11 November 2017
Andrew Munns and wife Sian Married 6 May 2018
and promotions partner promotions
David Varnham
Eric France
Jonathan Greenwood
Paul Knight
associate promotions Alice Seager Becky Honess
senior paralegal promotions David Fletcher Louise Lister
paralegal promotions Kirsten Wagner
business support Carol Taylor (Senior Facilities Assistant) Christine Joyce (Business Development Advisor) Dominik Wakelin (Senior IT Support Analyst) Emma Farmer (Senior Bid Advisor) Karolina Labrenz (Project Manager) Kirsty O’Keeffe (Business Development Manager) Lucy Murphy (Library/Information Services Senior Assistant) Matt Skipper (Business Development Manager)
Michelle Hunt (Senior Business Development Advisor) Nicola Crossfield (HR Business Partner (Projects)) Rachel French (Central Inception Team Leader) Rohiny Belani-Garyali (Senior Risk & Compliance Paralegal) Sam Reeve (Senior IT Support Analyst) Sarah Adams (Senior Events & Hospitality Executive) Selina Williams (Partnership Committee Secretary) Sharon Hickey (Senior Facilities Assistant) Steve Hornsby (Senior Files & Deeds Assistant) Tricia Hearn (Senior IT Trainer) Will Hunting-Jones (Senior Receptionist)
and finally… National Treasures retire from Cambridge office June was a bitter-sweet month for many as we lost two “national treasures” from Mills & Reeve – Ian Mather and Fiona Medlock retired. We thought we would take this opportunity to reflect on their long and successful careers with M&R. Both have since reported that they are busier than ever and retirement is harder work than working!
Ian Mather Ian Mather was head of the Cambridge office for the past six years and has been instrumental in cementing Mills & Reeve’s position as the leading firm in the East of England region. Initiatives like the annual Question Cambridge event and his natural ability for networking mean Ian is known to the vast majority of the Cambridge business community. He has also demonstrated his commitment to the wider community as chairman of Cambridge Ahead. Ian said: “After 36 years in practice, and 33 years as a partner, it was time for me to slow down a little and pursue other interests, although I will still be very much involved in the Cambridge business community and hope to secure some non-executive positons with different organisations.” Nick Finlayson-Brown is taking up the baton from Ian as the new head of the Cambridge office. Nick, a real estate lawyer and head of the firm’s China desk, plans to build on Ian’s excellent work by focusing on the thriving business culture in the region and, in particular, looking to develop the growth in international investment that Cambridge has seen in recent years.
Fiona Medlock Fiona joined the firm in 1986 when it was Francis & Co as a secretary and took on the role of graduate recruitment in 2002. During her time at the firm she has seen over 300 trainees recruited into the business, some of whom are now partners. Fiona provided valuable careers advice to many prospective applicants as well as those who joined the firm, and trainees old and new owe her a great debt for the enthusiasm and wise words she shared with them over the years.
We’d love to hear from you and feature your replies in the next edition of our Alumni magazine! Email alumni@mills-reeve.com
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