The curtains are closing on 2016 and what an emotional rollercoaster of a year it has been, packed with momentous political and historical events. Fortunately, here at Trinity Chambers, 2016 has brought strong developments and positive change, as we remain unwavering on our tradition of exceptional Legal advice and representation throughout Essex. Join us for a quick reprise of several highlights of our year, detailed below.

New Faces In Chambers

This year we were delighted to welcome two new barristers to our chambers, adding their experience and enthusiasm to our collection of legal professionals. Alice Owen accepted our invitation to take up tenancy in our chambers after completing her pupillage here, which she began in April 2015.

We also welcomed Gabrielle Jan Posner, a specialist in the Care and Private Law Children’s Act with over 30 years’ experience and prominent author. Gabrielle added to her growing body of work with her article on Family Assistance Orders published in Family Law Week.

As well as these brand new faces, we also welcomed back a former Door Tenant in November. Anne-Marie Lucey returns as a specialist in Children Act applications and other Family Law matters. Anne-Marie is bilingual in French, having previously studied and worked at an international firm in Paris.

However, this year we said farewell to Matrimonial Finance expert Anna Williams. A founding member of Trinity Chambers and Family Law Bar Association (FLBA) member, we’d like to congratulate Anna for taking up full-time appointment as a District Judge.

Awards Success

2016 was a year of recognition for both our individual barristers and Trinity Chambers as a whole. An undoubted highlight was being ranked once again in the prestigious Legal 500, identifying our chambers as one of the most prominent in the South East. This included individual honours for Andrew Bailey, Tina Harrington and Josephine Spratt-Dawson for their work in Family Law and John Brooke-Smith in Personal Injury/Criminal Negligence.

We also celebrated the success of Daniel Attridge, who early this year qualified as a Civil Mediator from the London School of Mediation. This makes Daniel perfectly positioned to guide civil disputes outside of the courtroom, offering our clients flexibility in managing their legal concerns through mediation.

Chelmsford Legal Walk 2016

One of the events we were proudest to have been a part of in 2016 was the Chelmsford Legal Walk. We were proud to host the event at Highfield House, leading over 30 people on an enjoyable 8km trek across Chelmsford, joined by volunteers from local legal professionals and other societies, including High Sheriff of Essex, Lorna Rolfe.

This was put together in aid of the Eastern Legal Support Trust (ELST), a charity that does tremendous work providing free legal advice throughout the East of England. Team Trinity raised a fantastic £545, contributing towards a massive £1,450 for the event overall. We are already warming up for next year’s march!

Events, events, events

Our barristers were busy across Essex in 2016. In September, we hosted our annual Summer Seminars and Garden Party. This was an excellent opportunity for barristers, solicitors and other professionals to connect and discuss important developments in UK Law. Daniel Attridge’s seminar on Equitable Accounting in Cohabitation Claims was particularly well-received.

Family Law experts, William Green and Craig Vickers, were invited to speak at The University of Essex. They presented a specialist perspective on recent children’s law cases and modern parenting as part of the university’s Continual Professional Development Courses.

This wasn’t our only foray into Essex education over the past year, as Grahame Richardson was on hand to lend his expertise on the panel at the Giles Wilson Moot Competition. Encouraging structured debate between law students across the county, Grahame offered his feedback and helped select the winning team from The King John School in Benfleet.

Happy New Year

We are looking forward to progressing even further in 2017 and taking part in more excellent events and opportunities in Essex. We hope you share are ambition and have a bumper year in the next 12 months as well.

As a reminder, our chambers will be closed from 12pm on Friday 23rd December 2016 and reopen at 8.30am Tuesday 3rd January 2017. Please call us on 07981 195861 for urgent hearings in the meantime.

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