Vincents Solicitors has expanded its Private Client team in Garstang and increased support for its highly specialised Court of Protection work. Lisa Lodge, head of the Garstang branch and joint head of the Private Client department, has welcomed three new starters to her team and is continuing to recruit to the growing probate department.
Solicitor Dan Pinder, legal assistant Mary Greenway and probate clerk Virginia Webster have all become art of the Garstang team, one of Vincents’ specialist high street hubs for Private Client work.
Vincents’ private client department helps people to make and amend their Will, deal with both straightforward and contentious probate matters, put in place Trusts and Lasting Powers of Attorney, and look after clients’ affairs directly as their Attorney or Deputy when they lose capacity as part of the highly specialist Court of Protection work.
Dan Pinder will support clients wanting to contest or defend a Will, or who are seeking help for any contentious probate matters. He is also a specialist in the creation of Family Trusts and Personal Injury Compensation Trusts.
Virginia Webster will support Garstang-based probate specialist Amy Whitehouse and work closely with the firm’s wider probate team. While Mary will work alongside Lisa Lodge on the firm’s sensitive Court of Protection cases.
Lisa Lodge said: “Our Private Client department is busier than ever before with people making and amending Wills and putting their LPAs in place. The probate team has also seen an increase in work, dealing with the estates of those who have sadly passed away.
“I think the pandemic has really focused people’s minds on making sure they have their Will in place for if the worst happens, and also that they have outlined their wishes in an LPA to ensure things are looked after if they are hospitalised for an extended period or, ultimately, lose capacity.
“We have also seen a marked increase in the amount of Deputy work being undertaken. This is partly due to the impact of Covid, and more broadly to the reputation we have built up for the professional and sensitive way we deal with our COP clients over their lifetime.”
Dan Pinder joins the firm from Simpson Millar in Liverpool and has made the move to Lancashire with his family. He asaid: “I’m extremely pleased to be joining a strong, established team with an excellent reputation. Vincents is a progressive firm, somewhere I can enhance and develop my skills working alongside experienced colleagues on a wide variety of interesting cases, and deliver great results for my clients.”
Legal apprentice Mary Greenway started with Vincents as an administrator in 2018 working out of the firm’s Penwortham branch before moving into the commercial property team at head office in Preston. She successfully applied for the internal promotion to the Court of Protection role and will undertake an in-house training programme to qualify as a legal executive.
Probate assistant Virginia Webster has stepped up to the probate team from a previous role working at the Garstang office as the firm’s Yorkshire Building Society cashier. Vincents has enabled YBS to retain a presence in the town by providing a counter service from its branch in Rope Walk.
“Contentious probate can be a very challenging area of the law and emotions can run high. We’ve appointed a solicitor with the technical expertise to deal with highly complex issues but who is also personable and empathetic with clients, and are delighted to welcome Dan,” said Lisa.
“It is a delight to be supporting Mary on her journey to becoming a qualified Legal Executive. Having started in a purely administrative role, it is great to see her enthusiasm for developing her legal experience and undertake this apprenticeship, and I look forward to mentoring her through that process over the coming years.
“And we’re very pleased to welcome Ginny to the Private Client department and into the probate team, she will be a huge asset to Amy and our clients in these matters. As our workload in this department continues to grow we are still recruiting at all levels, and would welcome enquiries from solicitors, chartered legal executives, and administrative assistants to work in our Garstang and Lytham offices.”
Vincents’ offices are currently open to visitors on an appointment-only basis. Clients can meet with their solicitor at their nearest branch or by using voice or video calls, and staff can even provide home or hospital visits.
