We’re not stopping at Manchester – meet our Bristol Team!
The only firm in the country whose sole focus is contentious probate, IDR Law continue to grow to meet the ever-increasing demand for excellent service in this niche sector of Law. We’re opening an office in Bristol on 8th December.
You may have seen the article we published last week, introducing our Manchester team; this week we’re very happy to introduce even more new members of IDR Law, who will be working from our Bristol office.
Paris Flood, Senior Paralegal, joined us from Porter Dodson at the beginning of this month.
Why did you want to join IDR Law?
I enjoy the problem-solving element of contentious probate and helping people who are going through a really difficult time – it’s really rewarding work. I’d been working for a few years as a legal assistant in Cara’s [Hough] contentious probate team until August when I moved to another firm. Then the opportunity to work at IDR Law came up. The ethos of the firm really attracted me especially that IDR Law respects people having a home life as well as a work life.
I’m looking forward to IDR U (IDR University) starting and expanding my knowledge of contentious probate in a firm which specialises in this sector of Law. These opportunities are really rare, which makes it even more exciting. I’m also looking forward to working closely with Cara again when she joins the firm in January.
How are you finding your first few weeks at IDR Law?
Everyone’s been really welcoming. If you’ve any questions, people are more than happy to help. Everything’s going really well. I have also noticed the way IDR Law works is very streamline which ensures clients’ expectations are managed. It is great to see this in practice. It makes IDR an enjoyable place to work.
Hannah Coton-Lines will be moving from Porter Dodson, to join IDR Law as a Senior Paralegal at the start of January.
Why did you want to join IDR Law?
I currently work as a legal advisor in a private client department, which is non-litigation work. I’ve worked in contentious probate and always thought I’d go back to it, when the time was right. I have a young daughter and have been striving to get the work-life balance. The ethos and culture of IDR Law was a real draw – their flexibility – along with the fact that they’re specialists in contentious probate. I was also attracted by the opportunity to move with Cara [Hough] who I have worked with previously.
As well as working with Cara again, I’m looking forward to new challenges, being in a new firm and getting to know all the other IDR team members. I’m currently studying towards my LPC and will continue this at IDR Law and I look forward to qualifying as a solicitor in due course.
Hannah Brittain will be moving from Stone King and joining IDR Law as an ACTAPS-qualified Senior Associate in February.
Why did you want to join IDR Law?
I began my career in commercial litigation, having trained and practised in central London for 10 years working with high-net-worth clients. I also dealt with trust litigation and was involved in a number of important published trusts and estates cases. I joined Stone King in Bath in 2017 and, since joining, I have specialised in contentious trusts, probate and estate disputes. At Stone King I am a member of the Dispute Resolution Team and I sit within the private client and charity sectors, dealing predominantly with contentious probate litigation. I wanted to move into a firm who are specialists in contentious probate, to hone down on my chosen niche and work in a firm where litigation is all they do. I was drawn by the fact that IDR Law is the only firm in the country who specialise purely in contentious probate, and that it’s such an innovative firm.
I represent a number of national charities and work with legacy managers to resolve disputes over charitable legacies in wills. I’m looking forward to growing the legacy client base within IDR Law. As a senior lawyer with two young children, I’m also looking forward to working within IDR Law’s FamilyFlex arrangement. Many of my peers in a similar situation have either put their careers on hold or left law altogether due to expectations of presenteeism in a lot of traditional law firms, and it’s such a shame.
Cara Hough – ACTAPS qualified – is moving from Porter Dodson to join IDR Law as Partner in January.
Why did you decide to join IDR Law?
I’ve specialised in contentious probate since I qualified in 2011. I specialise in contentious probate because I love it. I’d go as far to say that if I won the lottery, I would do this work for free!
I joined Porter Dodson over six years ago and developed and headed up their contentious probate team. I was drawn to IDR Law because of their new way of working – no presenteeism. Martin has developed an innovative way of running the business. I like the FamilyFlex arrangement – that I’ll be accountable but will be trusted to do my job without being constantly in the office.
I’m looking forward to helping develop an industry-leading firm, to getting out there and having the time and opportunity to develop the business, to make waves, to keep IDR Law going in the direction Martin wants it to go and be able to balance this with seeing my family. It’ll be the first time I will be working with a team of people who specialise in contentious probate and have done for years. To have that fountain of knowledge running throughout the firm is really exciting. In all previous firms I have been the team leader, the one with the knowledge to pass on and the responsibility to train the team. Now there will be many of us – it’s a very exciting opportunity.
I’d like to add that I’m also looking forward to baking mince pies, decorating my house for Christmas and spending lots of time with my 7-year-old son over the coming month and a half – I finished at Porter Dodson last week, but Martin has kindly agreed to wait for me to join IDR Law in January!
At IDR Law we’re proud of offering a first-class service to all our clients and referrers and are continuing to grow our firm – watch out for another IDR Law hub opening soon!
IDR Law is an approachable, boutique firm and the only one in the country dealing solely with inheritance dispute resolution. If you’re a law firm, or an individual who feels they would benefit from our expertise, get in touch here, email us at [email protected] or call on 01423 637050.