Birkett Long

Essex firm Birkett Long has announced the promotions of three trainees to fully qualified solicitors, all three having climbed the ranks within the firm.

Jess Elwell, Molly Frankham and Rachel Leech all started out as paralegals, before undertaking training seats over a period of 18 months, and finally qualifying as solicitors together.

Jess (pictured, right) will be joining the wills, trusts and probate team within the firm’s Chelmsford office, the same team in which she began as a paralegal. Commenting on her chosen area of specialisation, Jess said: ‘Many of the clients I work with are going through a bereavement, and being able to make this difficult time a little bit easier is something I value about my role. Because of the personal nature of this work I get to spend a lot of time working closely with families.’

Molly (left), who will be based in the firm’s Colchester office and will practise in the firm’s dispute resolution department, said: ‘I really enjoy the variety of litigation and dispute resolution; every single thing that I do is different.’

Rachel (centre) will also be based in the Colchester office, working as part of the Court of Protection and inheritance disputes team. She commented: ‘Being in the Court of Protection and inheritance disputes team will mean I have a varied workload and can assist people in many ways: for example, helping people who have not received reasonable financial provision under a will or the intestacy rules, making a claim against an estate where the will is invalid, deputyship applications so people can deal with a loved one’s affairs if they have lost capacity, and providing advice where executors, attorneys or deputies have abused their position.’