Partner Article

Clarke Willmott's Stuart celebrates 40 years with firm

A partner specialising in private client work is celebrating 40 years at a national law firm.

Stuart Thorne first joined Clarke Willmott LLP as a trainee solicitor in 1977 and now leads the Taunton team along with partners David Maddock and Emma Pope, supported by a team of ten solicitors and paralegals.

A partner since 1984, Stuart specialises in private client work with a focus on Wills, trusts and estates. Stuart is an expert in lifetime tax planning and succession issues, with a particular interest in inheritance tax for farmers and landed estates and other privately owned businesses.

Educated at Kings College, Taunton and Southampton University Stuart is also a Notary Public having obtained his Diploma in Notarial Studies at Cambridge University in 2007.

Stuart said: “Over the last 40 years, I’ve seen a transformation of the legal profession, with solicitors embracing greater specialisation and, in common with other professions, becoming subject to increased regulation.

“Businesses have progressed from closed off individual offices to flexible, open plan work spaces. Dusty legal books have been replaced by online precedents, and business development is driven by networking events, rather than a liquid lunch.

“Despite all the changes, one thing that has remained the same throughout my time with Clarke Willmott is the fact that we regard private client work and agriculture as absolutely central to our offering in Taunton and that we have always put our clients in the forefront of everything that we do.”

Clarke Willmott’s roots originate in the West Country with the firm’s first office opening there in 1888. Today it is a national firm, with offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton and Taunton.

For more information visit www.clarkewillmott.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clarke Willmott .