DOWNS SOLICITORS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners
Amber deals with a range of Private Client work including Wills, administration of estates, Lasting Powers of Attorney and mental capacity work.
As well as making sure the right beneficiaries will inherit your estate, Amber will help you minimise your exposure to the capital taxes. She will also assist you with Powers of Attorney to make sure the right people will be able to take control of your assets should you be unable to do so yourself.
Amber is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
Andrew heads up the Commercial Property team covering all aspects of commercial property. His main focus is the purchase and disposal of both freehold and leasehold investment property and acting for both landlords and tenants in connection with commercial leases.
Andrew covers all aspects of commercial property. His main focus is the purchase and disposal of both freehold and leasehold investment property and acting for both landlords and tenants in connection with commercial leases. He assists clients who have large national property portfolios, including well-known charities. In addition, Andrew acts for a number of off-shore clients in connection with their UK property investment portfolios.
Angus specialises in litigation and licensing, acting mainly in building disputes, boundary disputes, debt collection, professional negligence and inheritance claims. He is also a fully accredited mediator and undertakes appointments across a broad range of disputes.
Boris completed his training with the firm in 2022 and is a Solicitor in the Dispute Resolution department. Boris specialises in both contentious and non-contentious Intellectual Property matters, including copyright, trademarks, passing off disputes, and brand protection strategies.
Boris also has experience in various other areas of dispute resolution such as insolvency proceedings and property litigation matters.
Boris recently completed the Postgraduate Certificate in Intellectual Property Law at Queen Mary, University of London in January 2023.
Boris enjoys playing squash, padel tennis, and travelling in his free time. He also enjoys learning languages and speaks Italian, Bulgarian, French and Mandarin Chinese.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Solicitor
Charmaine is a Solicitor in our Corporate and Commercial team.
Charmaine qualified as a solicitor in December 2013 and has experience in dealing with all areas of corporate and commercial law including buying and selling businesses (assets and share transactions), drafting and advising on shareholders' agreements and all types of commercial contracts such as terms of business, distribution and supplier agreement
Charmaine has advised clients from start-ups, to AIM listed companies from a wide range of different industry sectors such IT, manufacturers etc. but has gained considerable experience in acting for dentists, vets and care home owners in respect of acquisitions or disposals of their businesses.
Chris works in the conveyancing team in our Dorking office. He advises clients on the buying and selling of both leasehold and freehold residential properties, transfers, lease extensions and deeds of variations.
He has a wealth of experience as a residential conveyancing solicitor and has spent most of the past 20 years in Dorking, where he has built-up a great knowledge of the local area.
Chris specialises in commercial litigation and insolvency. His clients are varied and many are located overseas.
His focus is to advise clients on effective dispute resolution covering a broad range of issues e.g. from shareholder disputes, contractual claims, professional negligence claims to debt/asset recovery.
Chris advises many insolvency practitioners and other clients on all aspects of insolvency-related issues, and has become an acknowledged expert in the field of "phoenix companies".
He is a member of R3 (Association of Business Recovery Professionals) and The British Institute of International and Comparative Law. He is a contributing author to "Enforcement of Money Judgments" and "Attachment of Earnings" published by Juris Publishing in the US.
David heads up the Employment team at Downs Solicitors. He specialises in acting for employers in employment disputes and is an experienced advocate in the Employment Tribunals.
He has acted for a broad range of clients such as company directors, HR managers and owner managers in a variety of sectors from the motor car industry to schools and charities. He advises on all aspects of employment law including terms and conditions of service, employment policies and procedures, termination, disciplinary and grievance procedures, employment aspects of business transfers / TUPE, redundancy and restructures, discrimination law, restrictive covenants and associated litigation, employment tribunal litigation and appeals.
David also provides in house training on employment law to HR departments and managers typically in such areas as discrimination law, disciplinary and grievance procedures and reorganisation/restructures.
He is a regular article contributor to business journals and has presented many employment law seminars and workshops.
Job Titles:
- Chartered Legal Executive
- Senior Associate
Diane has worked in the legal profession for over 25 years and qualified as a Legal Executive in 2001.
She advises on all private client matters including, wills, probate and Lasting Powers of Attorney and in particular assists clients, most of whom are elderly, to plan for their future care and financial security. She regularly sees clients in their own home or in Residential/Nursing Homes in order to guide them on their financial needs.
Diane also deals with applications to the Court of Protection for the appointment of deputies and the ongoing requirements of the Courts in relation to deputyships.
Liz qualified in March 2023 with the firm and is a Solicitor in the Employment Department. Liz advises and supports businesses, senior executives and employees. She specialises in advising on a range of issues including:
Reviewing, updating or drafting contracts of employment, consultancy agreements and staff handbooks.
Advising upon changing terms and conditions of employment.
Advising on restrictive covenants.
Grievance, disciplinary and redundancy procedures.
Resolving disputes and negotiating settlements including drafting settlement agreements/ COT3 agreements.
All aspects of termination of employment and negotiating exits.
Tribunal litigation, including but not limited to unfair dismissal, constructive dismissal, disability discrimination, sex discrimination (including pregnancy discrimination), race discrimination and unlawful deduction of wages.
Advising employees on settlement agreements, including negotiating the terms of the settlement offers to achieve a more positive outcome.
Emily is an Associate Solicitor in our Corporate team.
Before commencing her training contract with the firm, she worked as a departmental assistant within Downs in the Dispute Resolution and Corporate Commercial departments. Within the Corporate Commercial department she has assisted on numerous high value mergers and acquisitions. She also was involved in the setting up of family investment companies and general commercial work.
Floris qualified as a Solicitor in March 2016, having completed her training with the firm. Prior to joining Downs she worked as a Paralegal in the Family Department of a Surrey-based firm specialising in both public and private law children and matrimonial matters.
Floris advises in all areas of Family Law, including matrimonial and financial matters, co-habitation arrangements and disputes, separation agreements, pre-nuptial agreements and arrangements for the children.
Francesca is a Solicitor in the Dispute Resolution team.
Before completing her training contract with the firm, she worked as a departmental assistant within Downs in the Private Client department. As a trainee in the Corporate Commercial department she has supported the Corporate team with a number of M&A transactions, from assisting with the due diligence exercise through to the necessary completion arrangements. She has also advised on Companies House matters and general corporate governance.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- in 2022 As Senior Associate
Gemma has joined Downs in 2022 as Senior Associate. She has 20 + years experience in commercial property and development transactions.
She acts on a wide variety of types of property transactions including sales and purchases and leases for investors, occupiers, developers and property based security for lending institutions.
Gemma also has specialism in development projects from end to end - advice on site assembly right through to sales or lettings of the completed projects.
Heather is experienced in a wide range of contentious and non-contentious employment law/HR issues. She is proficient at delivering high quality, concise, technical employment law advice supported by practical commercially and strategically aware solutions. Heather has represented employers (across numerous sectors) and employees with specific experience in relation to serious discrimination concerns. Heather has worked both in private practice and in-house (for 2 different insurance companies) and for an HR consultancy, which enabled her to gain hands-on HR experience, and which, rather uniquely, means she can truly act as an extension of an in-house HR team.
Jenna is a Partner in our Private Client Department, based in our Godalming office. She deals with a broad range of private client matters, including drafting Wills and providing tax planning advice, Powers of Attorney, advising on the administration of estates and trusts and Court of Protection work. Jenna is a member of both the Society for Trusts and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE).
Julian specialises in all areas of corporate and commercial law with a particular focus on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and joint ventures, including shareholder and LLP agreements. He is also experienced in franchising and share option schemes.
Julian has advised on numerous acquisitions and disposals, especially in the SME sector and for family owned businesses. He also has considerable international experience.
He works with clients in a range of different industry sectors, including technology, franchising, healthcare, property development, automotive and leisure.
'Julian Harvey and his team were recommended to us in connection with the sale of our company. From the outset, their advice was always clear and succinct and given in a calm and good humoured manner. We were working to a tight timescale and the corporate team at Downs worked extremely efficiently to ensure that the deal completed smoothly and on time. During our transaction, we were also introduced to other departments who all did an equally excellent job and I have no hesitation in recommending Downs to anyone requiring legal services. ' Chris Arnot - M-Tec Limited
'From previous experience, I had a very low opinion of legal firms. However, I was recommended to Downs Solicitors LLP as a down to earth, supportive and realistic law firm who focus on the client's needs at a reasonable price. Julian and his team at Downs certainly changed my view of law firms. Julian and his colleague Magdalena Janki advised me on the sale of my company and were both always available to respond to my questions. Through every step of the way we felt that our interests were being fully protected and they achieved a very positive outcome.
Without hesitation, I would recommend Julian and Downs to anyone. Thank you to Julian and his team for the outstanding support and quality of service.' Sue Murray - Mango Marketing Limited.
'Julian Harvey and his team at Downs assisted my husband and I in the recent sale of our company. The process was lengthy and arduous at times but Julian and his team were extremely professional and courteous throughout, giving help and advice as needed. They were always available and extremely supportive. I would highly recommend them.' - Client 2020
Job Titles:
- Consultant Solicitor & Notary Public
Job Titles:
- Chartered Legal Executive
Job Titles:
- Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy [2016]
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Solicitor