A Summer Summary
Now that we have settled in to September, we have time to reflect on a fantastic summer at Crane & Staples...
Hertfordshire Law Society Dinner
The celebrations started back in June, when we attended the annual Hertfordshire Law Society dinner at Hatfield House. This dinner included the inaugural Herts Law Society awards ceremony, and we were absolutely delighted that our very own Georgina Donnellan won Junior Lawyer of the Year, 2019! Additionally, Elizabeth Russell came runner-up in the very competitive Outstanding Contribution Category. It was a wonderful night for Crane & Staples and all members of the Herts Law Society. Thank you to Judith Gower and the HLS Council for organising the event.
Best Business Women Awards Judging
In July, Bonnie Twiggs and Samantha Webb had the difficult job of judging the Best Business Women Awards 2019. Judging was very tough this year as there were so many amazing entrants. The winners will be announced at the BBW Awards on 11 October, and Crane & Staples are delighted to sponsor this event for the fifth consecutive year.
Asian Legal Awards Nominations
More awards nominations came in August, when we were elated to find out that two of our solicitors had been shortlisted at the very prestigious Asian Legal Awards. Manish Patel is in the top three for ‘Company and Commercial Lawyer of the Year’ and Attia Hussain is nominated in the special ‘Women in Law, 100 years’ category, to mark the centenary of the Sex Disqualification Act. Attia and Manish were both humbled to be nominated at such a renowned ceremony, and in the company of outstanding lawyers and barristers from across the country. The awards take place on Saturday 28th September and team Crane & Staples will be attending to cheer on Tia and Manish!
Afternoon tea at Hanbury Manor
We had a very sociable summer, with Heather Charles-Wall and Tracey Fenner joining the team at Country Properties, Hatfield, for a sophisticated afternoon tea at Hanbury Manor. This was a great opportunity to catch-up with some friends and most importantly, eat some delicious cakes!
HJLD Boat Party on the Thames
Some of the junior lawyers at Crane & Staples also attended the HJLD Boat Party on the River Thames, organised by Elizabeth Russell, joint chair of HJLD. The team really enjoyed seeing the sights of London at night and getting to know other junior lawyers from firms in Hertfordshire and Essex.
Cinema on the Green
We also celebrated summer in the Wonderful Welwyn Garden City and were proud to sponsor the Cinema on the Green event again. This year, we sponsored the showing of Pitch Perfect. In keeping with the musical theme of the movie, we offered our VIP tickets to students from the local Stagecoach Theatre School. The students were polite and friendly and a great credit to the school. We are glad they enjoyed themselves at the cinema!
Sensory Floors Facility at Lister Hospital
At the end of August, the sensory floors facility in the Lister Hospital Children’s Ward officially opened. This was partly funded by our March for March charity walk back in the Spring. We are very happy to hear that the children are having lots of fun playing with the interactive floors.
Netball Match
In another summer of sport, we played our first netball match against Bretherton Law. Thank you to Bretherton Law for organising this event, and well done to team C&S (Katie, Sam, Sophie, Sara, Sheryl, Karen, Annabel and Georgie) for winning the match 9-5! We hope to play again soon, and there are even talks of starting a local league…
Staff Changes
This summer, we have also welcomed some new members of staff: Vasoula Televantos joined us as an Associate Solicitor in our Property department. Lisa Murphy also joined as a Wills, Trusts and Probate solicitor in the Private Client department. We are proud of former letters administrator Nadia Miah, who has just started her training contract in our Family department. Sabina Cassata has become a conveyancing assistant, whilst Amy Tapping, Emma Phillips and Kamila Kwiecien take over as letters administrators. We were sorry to say goodbye to Conveyancing Assistant Mischa McKevitt and we hope that her legal studies lead her back to us one day!
Coming up...
Coming up, we have the Asian Legal Awards at the end of September and wish Manish and Attia the best of luck! We’re also pleased to be taking part in the Macmillan Coffee Morning again this year. We have exciting plans for the festive period and are hoping to do something special to mark the centenary of the Sex Disqualification Act, in celebration of 100 Years of Women in Law.
Of course, Autumn can be a difficult season, especially combined with the uncertainties surrounding Brexit this year. However, we are on-hand to help with any concerns you might have about your Family or Business matters in light of Brexit and will be happy to assist you with any queries.