GILBERT STEPHENS - Key Persons
Alistair attended Exeter School and then studied law at Reading University graduating in 1978. He trained at Gilbert Stephens and then remained with the firm becoming a partner in 1986.
Alistair specialises in commercial property and company work and acts for a number of small local businesses as well as some larger property owning companies and partnerships.
Alistair's interests include surfing, music and he is an active member of a large Exeter church. Alistair's wife is a teacher of the deaf and they have three sons who are all aspiring musicians.
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- Partner / Exeter
- Solicitor at Our Exeter
Alyson is a solicitor at our Exeter office who deals with a wide variety of Private Client work to include Wills, Powers of Attorney, Inheritance Tax Planning, Court of Protection matters and trusts. Qualified as a solicitor in 1993, Alyson began her training in a London City firm and then spent the next twenty-four years working for firms in Kent and Surrey, the last ten years of which as a Partner at a law firm in Surrey.
Alyson relocated to Devon in the summer of 2017 and after 2 years with a North Devon firm, joined Gilbert Stephens in February 2020.
Alyson has a particular interest and expertise in working with families affected by learning disability and is able to ensure that proper Wills, trusts and Powers of Attorney are put in place for the whole family. Alyson has found this area of work to be the most rewarding. She is also a Dementia Friend.
Outside of work, Alyson spends her time out in the countryside or on the beach walking her two Labradors. She enjoys watching and participating in theatre, listening to music, and has an avid passion for cooking.
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- Executive Assistant to CEO / Exeter
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- Chartered Legal Executive / Ottery St Mary
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- Legal Assistant / Crediton
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- Legal Secretary
- Legal Assistant / Crediton
Bianca works as a Legal Secretary for two departments, one being our agricultural conveyancing team assisting one of our Partners, Rebecca Cox. The other working in Family Law, working aside Mark Arden our Criminal Solicitor and the rest of the family department.
Bianca is hoping to undertake more training to develop her career in Law.
Outside of work Bianca is very social and enjoys spending time with her friends and family. She also enjoys long walks in the countryside, reading and regularly going to the gym.
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- Probate Executive / Crediton
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- Associate Solicitor / Exeter
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- Legal Assistant & PA to CEO / Exeter
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- Senior Archivist / Exeter
Claire became a part of the Gilbert Stephens team in 2017 and currently serves as a member of the support team. Her responsibilities mainly include document archiving for the Exeter office.
Additionally, she has been entrusted with decorating our firm's entrance for the Ottery Christmas Tree Festival in recent years. This is a tradition that was previously upheld by her late mother, Liz Govier, who had dedicated over three decades of her life to Gilbert Stephens.
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- Fellow of Both the Chartered Institute
- Partner / Okehampton
Conall is an experienced Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and Agricultural Law Association having started his legal career in 2004. Although he specialises in agricultural private client matters, he also assists non-agricultural clients with their private client matters. His area of expertise is in the preparation of Wills, full estate administration (both testate and intestate), Lasting Powers of Attorney, Trusts, Inheritance Tax Planning and Court of Protection work.
He is also a fully accredited member of Solicitors for the Elderly and the Society of Estate and Trust Practitioners (STEP).
In 2004 Conall joined a law firm in Cornwall as a trainee Legal Executive, he then moved across the border to Exeter, working for ten years in the Private Banking department of one of the big five national banks, where he dealt with complex estates, either due to their value or the issues involved. He then returned to practice in working for another law firm in the East Devon area.
As he feels it is very important to be able to fully understand matters effecting his rural clients, to gain a better understanding he is able to visit clients at their farms.
He hopes that he is able to put clients at ease, guiding them through his area of the law, which sometimes can be daunting, or in the case of Inheritance Tax, with the various reliefs and exemptions can seem a minefield.
In 2017 he was independently rated by Three Best Rated as one of the top 3 Estate Planning legal professionals in Exeter.
Outside of work Conall enjoys walking, travelling and socialising with friends and family.
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- Associate Chartered Legal Executive / Okehampton
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- Private Client Executive / Sidmouth
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- Accounts Manager / Exeter
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- Office and Compliance Administrator / Exeter
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- Legal Assistant / Okehampton
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- Senior Archivist / Crediton
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- Legal Assistant / Budleigh Salterton
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- Legal Assistant / Crediton
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- Legal Secretary / Okehampton
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- Trainee Solicitor / Exeter
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- Associate Chartered Legal Executive / Exeter
- Member of Resolution
Jessica has worked within the legal profession for over 30 years, gaining a great deal of knowledge and experience. She qualified as a Legal Executive in 2000 and specialises in divorce and financial matters. Jessica has extensive experience dealing with financial cases including those with both low and high value assets.
Jessica also deals with private law children cases involving the arrangements for the care of children following a marriage or relationship breakdown, as well as cases in relation to domestic violence, involving injunctions and emergency applications to the court.
Jessica is also a member of Resolution, which is committed to a non-confrontational approach to resolving family disputes.
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- Administration Assistant / Budleigh Salterton
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- Legal Secretary / Ottery St Mary
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- Legal Secretary / Sidmouth
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- Legal Secretary / Crediton
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- Legal Assistant / Budleigh Salterton
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- Senior Associate Solicitor / Crediton
Lesley trained with Barlow, Lyde & Gilbert in London and qualified in 1984. She taught English in Sweden before moving to Devon in 1985.
Lesley initially joined a law firm in Barnstaple before moving to Exeter, specialising in private client work, firstly as an assistant and then as a salaried partner.
Lesley joined The University of Exeter in early 1994 to teach on the Legal Practice Course and continued when the course was transferred to Plymouth University in 2006. At the time of transfer she began work as a Consultant to a law firm in Launceston until joining Veitch Penny in 2014.
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- Chartered Legal Executive / Exeter
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- Senior Associate Solicitor / Crediton
Mark specialises in all areas of Family Law including Divorce, Separation, Partner issues, Financial matters, Public law proceedings (including care), Civil Partnerships, Co-habitee disputes and Children matters together with a wide experience in litigation. Mark also has over 20 years experience in criminal law, ranging from serious criminal offences to motoring matters.
Mark qualified at Liverpool University with LLB Hons in 1984. He has recently returned from Australia where he also qualified as a solicitor. He moved to Devon and joined Symes Robinson and Lee in 2005. Mark is married and has 4 children, his most recent addition to the family in March 2006. In his spare time, Mark likes to listen to music and enjoys sport and farming.
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- Conveyancing Executive / Exeter
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- Legal Secretary
- Legal Secretary / Crediton
Molly works as a Legal Secretary in our Conveyancing team in Crediton and more specifically, working on agricultural matters. Day to day she assists one our Partners, Rebecca Cox, in all aspects of the conveyancing process right from opening files to completion.
Molly is about to begin her CILEX journey which will enable her to develop her career in Law, the first stage will enable her to work as a paralegal.
Outside of work Molly enjoys taking her dogs for long walks on Dartmoor, eating out at new restaurants and spending time her my family.
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- Administrator
- Trust Administrator / Exeter
Nikolas Barnes is a Trust Administrator within our Private Client Department based at our Exeter office.
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- Head of Residential Conveyancing / Exeter
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- Senior Associate Solicitor / Okehampton
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- Senior Solicitor / Exeter & Okehampton
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- Solicitor
- Partner / Crediton
Rebecca Cox is a solicitor based at our Crediton office. Rebecca specialises in agricultural property work, including the sale and purchase of farms and farmland and rural and agricultural property, charging of rural land and property, rights and easements, and the transfer of sporting rights. Rebecca has a good working knowledge of rural payment schemes and grant schemes. She regularly makes farm visits and has a real interest and deep understanding or the rural community and issues affecting agriculture.
Rebecca has worked in rural property practice in Devon for the past eighteen years and is a Fellow of the Agricultural Law Association and a member of the CLA.
Outside of work Rebecca enjoys walking and running and spending time with her family.
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- Legal Secretary / Sidmouth
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- Legal Assistant / Crediton
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- Legal Secretary / Crediton
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- Accounts Manager / Exeter
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- Accounts Executive / Exeter
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- Legal Secretary / Okehampton
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- Paralegal and Assistant Office Manager / Sidmouth
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- Chartered Legal Executive / Exeter
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- Legal Secretary / Ottery St Mary
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- Consultant Solicitor / Exeter