header-logo header-logo

11 October 2020
Categories: Movers & Shakers , Profession
printer mail-detail

Birketts—Rachel Frost-Smith

Firm appoints award-winning senior associate

Law firm Birketts has announced the appointment of award-winning senior associate, Rachel Frost-Smith.

Most recently recognised as Lawyer of the Year 2020 at the Cambridgeshire Law society awards, Rachel first qualified as a solicitor in 1990. She worked at a Magic Circle City law firm advising multi-national companies on corporate tax before moving to Asia to work for one of the ‘big four’ accounting firms in Hong Kong.

After a successful career advising banks and global companies on cross-border structures and starting a family, Rachel returned to the UK and requalified as a family lawyer and solicitor-advocate for Higher Courts Civil Proceedings. Rachel is also a member of Resolution and an accredited specialist in private children law, and private children law advocacy. She joins Birketts from a highly-regarded national law firm’s family law division.

Speaking of her appointment, Rachel said: ‘My background in multi-national corporations has given me the keen eye needed to effectively deal with the financial implications of divorce and pre-nuptial agreements and I am delighted to join Birketts’ successful family law team. Birketts has an excellent reputation for clear legal advice and quality client service, so to be a part of a firm as respected as this is very exciting. Family law demands imaginative solutions to complex problems, and the challenge of ensuring the best outcome for all those involved in every case is one I relish.’

Head of family law at Birketts, Oliver Gravell, said: ‘I am thrilled to welcome Rachel to the family law team and I am sure she will serve our clients with the legal acumen and emotional tact required for our clients, no matter their circumstances.

‘Rachel’s experience as a solicitor-advocate is another welcome addition to the team. Giving clients the extra reassurances and continuity they need in typically fraught and emotional circumstances can never be overlooked and I am confident she will be invaluable in this respect.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Laytons ETL—Maximilian Kraitt

Laytons ETL—Maximilian Kraitt

Commercial firm strengthens real estate disputes team with associate hire

Switalskis—three appointments

Switalskis—three appointments

Firm appoints three directors to board

Browne Jacobson—seven promotions

Browne Jacobson—seven promotions

Six promoted to partner and one to legal director across UK and Ireland offices

NEWS

From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed

Momentum is building behind proposals to restrict children’s access to social media—but the legal and practical challenges are formidable. In NLJ this week, Nick Smallwood of Mills & Reeve examines global moves, including Australia’s under-16 ban and the UK's consultation
Reforms designed to rebalance landlord-tenant relations may instead penalise leaseholders themselves. In this week's NLJ, Mike Somekh of The Freehold Collective warns that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 risks creating an ‘underclass’ of resident-controlled freehold companies
Timing is everything—and the Court of Appeal has delivered clarity on when proceedings are ‘brought’. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains that a claim is issued for limitation purposes when the claim form is delivered to the court, even if fees are underpaid
The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
back-to-top-scroll