Latimer Hinks, the leading local law firm, described by leading legal directory Chambers UK as a “well-respected regional practice which advises on a number of specialist agricultural areas of law” and as a “widely recognised and well-known specialist practice” and “able to provide expertise in partnership agreements, inheritance tax and succession planning issues, mine and mineral rights and renewable energy projects”, has launched the Farms & Estates Team to meet the growing demand for its services.
The Farms & Estates Team is led by Latimer Hinks’ Chief Executive, Anne Elliott, who is supported by a cohort of specialists in private and agricultural law. Neil Stevenson, Nicola Neilson, Adam Wood, Martin Williamson, Rosanne Tweddle and Tim Haggie, all provide a bespoke service aimed at property work relevant to farmers and landowners, whilst Anne Elliott and Elizabeth Armstrong cover the private/tax elements of the relevant work areas.
The new-look team will offer a dedicated service dealing with legal issues facing the ever-evolving rural business community, including land use and business diversification, and the use of renewable and alternative energy, standing alongside traditional services including tenancy work, sales and purchases, succession planning, partnership agreements and wills, trusts and tax.
Anne Elliott, Chief Executive at Latimer Hinks, said: “We have launched the specialist Farms & Estates Team in response to the changing needs of our rurally-based clients. The aim is to provide clients with a full and extensive service, tailored to the needs of the farming community and landowners. By bringing together expertise from a range of law specialisms, which all relate to rural affairs, we are able to offer a holistic approach to any legal issues that may arise.”
Each member of the Farms & Estates Team is an expert within his/her field and several are members of recognised professional organisations, including the Country Land and Business Association, the Agricultural Law Association, the Tenant Farmers Association and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, which means they are able to provide clients with a level of expertise usually associated with a much larger firm.
Latimer Hinks has welcomed the return of agricultural law specialist, Rosanne Tweddle, with whom many clients have already worked during her previous tenure at the law firm.
Rosanne, who is a regional committee member of the Agricultural Law Association, said: “It’s fantastic to return to my roots at such an exciting time for Latimer Hinks. I’m looking forward to catching up with my former clients and getting to meet and know new ones.
“I come from a farming background and I’m very much still involved in the community. I am a farmer’s daughter and my husband is an organic dairy farmer, so I know all too well the everyday workings of farming life and the changing and challenging issues facing the agricultural industry.”