SLS committee members
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David has been a committee member of the Surrey Law Society for some years and was President in 2004-2005. He is currently Chairman of the Surrey Law Society Conveyancing and Land Law Committee. David has specialised in property for some 34 years, having qualified in 1979 after working in the City of London when he acted for large property companies and estate developers.
Throughout most of his career he has worked locally in Surrey dealing with both residential and commercial property, including licensed premises and undertaking secured funding work for corporate clients. He is a keen amateur photographer and rifle shooter and his main claim to fame is the case which he personally brought against the Home Office following the handgun ban, which ended up in the House of Lords (he won!)
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David is currently Senior Vice President of the Surrey Law Society and he chairs the Quo Vadis sub-committee. He studied Law with French at De Montfort University (LLB, LPC & Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française) and he spent one year at L'Université de Savoie studying French law. David is an Associate Solicitor in the Private Client department of Gowen & Stevens LLP in Sutton and is keen to promote Private Client work. David has been a keen linguist, speaking French, Italian and some Spanish but those skills are becoming rustier by the day. David enjoys sport and is actively involved in his local church.
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Samantha has been a committee member since 2005. She was Chair of Young Surrey Lawyers and is the past Treasurer for the Young Solicitors Group (now called Junior Law Division). Samantha is a member of Resolution and a volunteer adviser for Surrey Law Centre, Godalming CAB and the National Centre for Domestic Violence.
Samantha gave birth to her first child in September 2009 and is now an involved member of the National Childbirth Trust (NCT). She was, until recently, Marketing Secretary for Young Surrey Resolution and Governor for Wey House School in Bramley.
She is a local girl having attended Guildford County School and she remains living in Surrey. She qualified in April 2005 and practices family law with rhw solicitors LLP in Guildford.
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John is a High Street general practitioner. Partner with Palmers in Kingston upon Thames. 30 years service to local law societies, being in turn Secretary and President of both the former Mid Surrey Law Society and then the Surrey Law Society. Former Law Society Intervention Agent. Gets involved in most things to do with Kingston and Law in Surrey as well as singing in seven London choirs and playing cricket for Teddington.
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Robert is a past President of the Society and was appointed Honorary Secretary in 2007 following the untimely death of his illustrious predecessor, Chris Davies. He is a personal injury specialist and Senior and Managing Member of Gray Hooper Holt LLP in Redhill.
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Mike joined The College of Law on qualification in 1978 and has taught for the College, in Guildford and in London, ever since. He became a member of the West Surrey Law Society Committee in1992 and of the Surrey Law Society Committee on its formation the following year. He has served two terms as President and is now Treasurer. Mike is involved in several charities including the Surrey Welfare Rights Unit of which he is Chair.
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Marek Bednarczyk has been a committee member since 2000. He is a partner with Hart Brown Solicitors and specialises in personal injury and clinical negligence. He is currently a member of the Law Society’s Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Panels and the AvMA Panel. He has worked in the past for many years on the Legal Services Commission Funding Review Committee (formerly the Appeals Committee). He qualified as a solicitor in 1991.
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Kieran qualified in July 2006, and is now a solicitor in the Private Client department of Russell-Cooke LLP in Kingston upon Thames where he specialises in all aspects of private client work. Kieran is a STEP Committee member (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) and Student Liaison Officer for STEP Surrey Branch. Kieran studied at the University of Durham and completed his LPC at the College of Law in Guilford. Before qualifying as a solicitor Kieran was employed by BP, working within their in-house legal department. Prior to a career in law, Kieran was employed as a consultant in Frankfurt and London.
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Simon qualified in 2003 as a solicitor having previously worked for 10 years at Lloyds TSB. He practises at Cockburns Solicitors in Guildford dealing with all aspects of private client work with an emphasis on tax and trust law. Simon studied Law and Russian at the University of Surrey spending time in Moscow studying Russian and working in a Moscow law firm. For over 20 years, Simon has been a church organist, playing for services near and far, including Brussels and Moscow.
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Win Cummins was admitted as a solicitor in 1980 A Property lawyer she has worked both "in house" for 2 large property developers and the BBC, and private practice. She left Nabarro Nathanson and joined Mackrell Turner Garrett in 2000 and became a partner in 2001. Win is head of the Real Estate Practice Group with Mackrell International one of the oldest international legal associations. One of the newest members of the SLS Committee, she is eager to contribute positively to the Society.
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Graham Guerin has been a solicitor since 1979. For many years he was Senior Partner of Hooper Holt & Co in Redhill. He now works for the merged firm of Gray Hooper Holt LLP. For most of his career Graham has specialised in criminal law, but also practised in many other areas inclduing general civil litigation, child care work and personal injury.
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Charles Pfister first joined West Surrey Law Society in the early 1980s and was president of the WSLS in 1990. He was involved with the merger to develop the present Surrey Law Society. Charles is on the Commercial Sub Committee and was also involved in the development of the recruitment service Employers4lawyers. He is also the society’s Public Relations officer and Parliamentary Liaison officer. Charles has practised law in Guildford for the last 35 years and is the senior partner of awb Partnership in Guildford specialising in commercial property.
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Ken Seakens is a committee member and former President of SLS. He presently serves on the Quo Vadis and Financial sub-committees, the Surrey committee of Solicitors for the Elderly and the E-Conveyancing Taskforce of the Law Society. Admitted in 1971, he has been a sole general practitioner since 1980 in Virginia Water.
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Tom's background is in science but he re-trained and qualified as a solicitor, specialising in family law. He has been a member of Resolution (formerly the Solicitors Family Law Association) for several years and deals with matters relating to children, divorce and financial applications, as well as separation for both married and unmarried clients, advising on cohabitation and preparing separation agreements. Tom is a qualified Resolution accredited specialist in the areas of advanced financial provision and private children law. He is also a Collaborative Practitioner and is committed to these principles to resolve family law disputes.
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Matthew is a commercial property Solicitor with TWM Solicitors, operating out of their Guildford office. He has been a committee member since 2001, and sits on the Conveyancing and Quo Vadis Committees. Outside work and Society commitments, he is keen motor racing driver and motorcyclist.
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Sarah was co-opted onto the South East Surrey Law Society Committee as Hon Treasurer (although she is not numerate!) as long ago as 1981, becoming President of The South East Surrey Law Society in 1993 prior to the merger of the Surrey Law Societies. After a spell sitting on the main Committee of The Surrey Law Society she now sits only on the Social Sub-Committee. Sarah is a senior partner at Downs of Dorking and Godalming, specialising in Residential Conveyancing. She is also a Notary Public and Clerk to the General Commissioners of Income Tax for several Divisions in Surrey, South London and Sussex.
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Paul Marsh
Council Member of The Law Society of England & Wales
01306 880110
Paul was first elected to The Law Society of England & Wales Council in 1987 and then re-elected in 1999. He is currently immediate Past President of The Law Society. Paul was first elected to the then Mid-Surrey Law Society Committee in 1974 and was President of that Society in 1984. He played a leading role in bringing the three Surrey Law Societies together. He is a past Chairman of the Solicitors Indemnity Fund and member of the HM Land Registry Rules Committee and is chairman the E-Conveyancing Task Force. He is a consultant at Surrey law firm Downs Solicitors LLP and specialises in property work.
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Jenny Gracie
Council Member of The Law Society of England & Wales
020 8949 5349
Jenny was admitted as a solicitor in 1993 and spent seven years (four as a partner) in a medium-sized practice in Surrey, where she focused on family law. Jenny was then one of two founding partners of a specialist family law firm in Surrey, where she remained for 8½ years.
In 2005, Jenny joined the committee of Clarity, an international association promoting plain legal language. This led to her current work as a solicitor simplifying complex legal information and training solicitors on how to avoid using complex legal terms. In the same year, Jenny was elected as a member of The Law Society's Council to represent solicitors in Surrey. Jenny is also a member of The Law Society's Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee.
News
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22nd July 2010
Surrey Lawyer Magazine - Summer 2010
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16th July 2010
Message from new Law Society President Linda Lee
Events
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26th August 2010
Young Surrey Resolution 'Meet your Match' BBQ - 26 August 2010
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8th October 2010
SLS Annual Gala Dinner Friday 8th October 2010
