Our Team
Here you can find information about the individuals in each of the teams and departments at Ridley & Hall and the areas of law within which our lawyers and solicitors specialise.
Click on the individual images to view detailed profile information.
If you know who you need to get in touch with already you can find direct contact information shown on each profile. Alternatively, you can either contact our main switchboard directly on 01484 538421 and we will guide you to the right person, or submit the inquiry form on our contact page.
Type the name to search for a member.
Adam Ali
Associate SolicitorCommercial Property
Adam joined Ridley & Hall in February 2020 as a commercial property solicitor from Kingston upon Hull and now acts for local businesses in Huddersfield and in Hull. He is based in our Huddersfield office and works alongside our commercial property lawyer and partner David Amies....
David Amies
PartnerCommercial Property
With 20 years’ experience, David joined Ridley & Hall in 2015 to head up the commercial property department.
David brings to the firm his knowledge of the local market and takes pride in offering sensible, straightforward yet commercially astute advice to his clients across an exceptionally broad range of matters....
Kavya Balram
ParalegalChild Care & Public Law
Kavya moved to the UK in 2015. She is a qualified lawyer in India.
Kavya has always wanted to progress her career in law and pursue further studies to dual qualify as a Solicitor in England and Wales. She has passed the first stage of the exams and is studying towards the second part....
Lynsey Bashforth
PartnerWills & Probate
Lynsey Bashforth is a Solicitor who joined Ridley & Hall in July 2019.
Lynsey was the sole director of Bashforth-Young Solicitor until it was acquired by Ridley & Hall in 2019. Bashforth-Young Solicitor was a boutique specialist Wills & Probate firm located in South Elmsall Pontefract. Lynsey still works out of the South Elmsall offices where she established the practice and where all services of Ridley and Hall can now be provided to the community....
Sarah Brown
Associate SolicitorChild Care & Public Law
Sarah joined Ridley & Hall in 2010 following the completion of her Law Degree. Whilst working at Ridley & Hall she studied the Legal Practice Course part time over two years, completing it in 2012....
Nicki Butterworth
Associate Personal AssistantChild Care & Public Law
Nicki is an experienced Personal Assistant who works within the Care & Public Law Team (for Child Care Director, James Cook).
Nicki’s career began in the retail sector, and it was there where she began to hone her renowned communication and customer service skills....
Sue Cash
PartnerSolicitor & Notary Public
Sue Cash is a highly experienced solicitor and notary public. She has been a partner at Ridley & Hall since October 2009. Sue was head of the private client department for several years, and now has a compliance role within the firm as well as working on special projects and doing notarial work. ...
James Cook
Director,Head of Child Care & Public Law Team
Child Care & Public Law
James Cook trained and qualified at a South Yorkshire firm where he specialised in family and immigration law. ...
Marina Cotton
ParalegalResidential Property
Marina joined our residential property team as a Property Paralegal to work alongside Alistair McKinlay at our South Elmsall office, dealing with sales, purchases, transfers of equity and remortgages. ...
Anthony Elston
Finance DirectorManagement
Anthony is a Chartered Accountant and was a partner in a national firm of accountants until 2011. He then joined a national consumer law firm as Finance Director and worked as part of the management team achieving significant growth organically and through acquisition, culminating in the sale of the firm in 2014 to a public company....
Tracey Firth
HR ManagerManagement
Tracey joined Ridley & Hall as a HR Manager in 2021. She is a Chartered member of the CIPD....
Adam Fletcher
Director,Head of Pontefract - South Elmsall Office
Residential Property
Adam is a Director & Head of our Pontefract office. Adam was appointed Managing Director in 2012-2018, having previously held the role of Technology and Business Development Partner with the firm for the previous 12 months....
Thomas Grice
SolicitorWills & Probate
Tom is a solicitor who joined Ridley & Hall in May 2021. Tom has joined Ridley & Hall from a multi discipline firm in Wakefield, having previously worked in Knaresborough and at a nationwide firm in Wakefield. Previous to this Tom undertook his Law Degree at the University of Bradford and the Legal Practice Course at BPP Law School, achieving a Distinction....
Andrew Gullett
SolicitorWills & Probate
Andrew qualified as a Solicitor in 2001 and has specialised in older client law since 2005. He is delighted to have joined our Private Client Team in Huddersfield in October 2021, having previously worked at a small firm in Wakefield...
Kate Hames
SolicitorFamily & Matrimonial
Kate joined the Family and Matrimonial Department at Ridley & Hall Solicitors in 2020.
Having graduated with a degree in Law from Northumbria University, Kate spent over 12 years working for Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service in Leeds, developing her legal knowledge and acumen within both their criminal and family law departments....
Deborah Hardy
PartnerChild Care & Public Law
Deborah has over 25 years’ experience in family law and has particular expertise in representing children, court appointed guardians, parents and extended family members in care proceedings in Leeds and surrounding areas. She joined Ridley & Hall as a Partner in 2018....
Shelley Harper
SolicitorFamily & Matrimonial
Shelley joined Ridley & Hall Solicitors in 2020 and is a Solicitor in our family department having qualified in 2018.
Shelley completed her Law Degree at Sheffield Hallam University and continued her studies at BPP University Law School in Leeds....
Emma Hopkins Jones
PartnerFamily & Matrimonial
Emma joined Ridley & Hall as a Partner in September 2020. Emma is an experienced family law specialist, practising in all areas of private family law. Emma’s expertise in financial issues on separation, and in particular cases involving unmarried couples, was recognised in the Legal 500 2017....
Natalie Hudson
Legal ExecutiveResidential Property
Natalie joined our residential property team as Chartered Legal Executive at our South Elmsall office dealing with all aspects of residential conveyancing including; sales, purchases, leases, new build sales and plot purchases, re-mortgages, transfers of equity and shared ownership....
Victoria Jones
Trainee SolicitorFamily & Matrimonial
Victoria achieved a First Class M Law (Exempting) degree at Northumbria University. Whilst at university, Victoria was a student adviser at Northumbria University’s Student Law Office, providing detailed legal advice to members of the public under solicitor supervision. Prior to commencing her final year at University, Victoria completed a short internship working with a law firm in Singapore....
Deborah Kaye
Associate SolicitorWills & Probate
Deborah Kaye joined the firm’s Private Client Team in July 2019, to contribute to the growth of that department. She brings with her a wealth of experience, having worked in this area of the law for over 20 years. Deborah previously had strong connections in the Holme Valley where she practised for many years and has welcomed the opportunity to work again in Huddersfield, having spent a few years working for a large multi-discipline firm in Bradford most recently....
Ava Krajniewski
SolicitorCommercial Property
Ava is based in our Huddersfield office and works alongside commercial property partner David Amies. Ava’s areas of work include commercial sales and purchases, new leases, lease renewals and assignments of lease. Ava also has experience with residential matters including sales, purchases and re-mortgages....
Jill Leece
PartnerCommercial Property
Jill specialises in all aspects of commercial and residential Conveyancing including property development, business lease and transactions involving agricultural land and charity land....
Adam Leece
Partner,Solicitor
Commercial Property, Residential Property
Adam takes instructions on a range of transactions including both residential and commercial sales and purchases, leases and business sales and purchases. He also has a history of working with business clients dealing with debt recovery matters frequently on the small claims track....
Clare Linden
PartnerChild Care & Public Law
Clare joined Ridley & Hall Solicitors as a Partner in 2018. Clare graduated from Durham University and completed her legal training at the College of Law in York in 2006. Clare qualified as a solicitor in 2008 when she re-located to Leeds to join the niche family law firm McAras and was made a partner in 2013 following the firm’s merger with Simpson Millar solicitors in Leeds....
Alison Mason
Head of the Residential Property Department,Partner
Residential Property
Alison Mason is Head of the Property Department and is a Licensed Conveyancer with over 20 years of experience in residential Conveyancing.
Alison joined Ridley & Hall in 1996 having previously worked for other local firms....
Alistair McKinlay
PartnerResidential Property
Alistair is a Partner in the Residential Property department, based in South Elmsall Pontefract, where he works alongside Adam Fletcher and Ashley Sowerby. He joined Ridley & Hall in February 2020 to help further develop the firm and department’s profile, having been a Partner for over 20 years at a well known Leeds practice....
Vicky Medd
PartnerFamily & Matrimonial
Vicky Medd is a family solicitor with over 20 years experience. She is an accredited specialist with Resolution and has a lot of experience of financial relief, and child disputes. Vicky was also recently involved in one of the first family arbitration cases in the country and has a lot of experience in dealing with cases as expeditiously as possible, whilst achieving the best outcomes for clients....
Afreen Mhar
SolicitorCommercial Property, Residential Property
Afreen recently joined the property team as a Residential and Commercial Property Solicitor in September 2019. After living in Norfolk since 2016, she has returned home to Huddersfield to settle back in to her community....
Laura Milburn
PartnerChild Care & Public Law
Laura has many years of legal experience and was called to the Bar in 2010. After qualifying as a Barrister, Laura cross-qualified to become a Solicitor in 2012.
Laura is a passionate advocate and has used her advocacy and negotiation skills on behalf of many clients over the years. ...
Helen Moody
SolicitorChild Care & Public Law
Helen completed her degree in law in 2009 before continuing her studies part time on the Legal Practice Course whilst working in a solicitors firm in Wakefield to gain experience.
Helen joined Ridley & Hall in January 2012 after completion of the Legal Practice Course, initially as a Legal Assistant working alongside Nigel Priestley to build up experience in the Public Law department. Helen completed her training contract at Ridley & Hall and qualified as a solicitor in October 2016....
Shad Mpande
SolicitorResidential Property
Shad specialises in all aspects of residential conveyancing, ranging from assisting first time buyers secure their first property, helping investors grow their property portfolio or assisting separating couples in transferring ownership of the property which can be a difficult time....
Jane Munden
PartnerFamily & Matrimonial
Jane Munden qualified as a Solicitor in 1994. She has well over 20 years experience in dealing with all aspects of Family Law....
Emma Pearmaine
Managing DirectorFamily & Matrimonial, Management
Emma Pearmaine is a family and matrimonial specialist. For almost 20 years, she has represented clients in divorce and children cases. She has particular niche expertise in matrimonial cases involving challenging business, pension, maintenance and other finance issues....
Hannah Pedley
Associate SolicitorWills & Probate
Hannah is an Affiliate member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and is undergoing further qualification in pursuit of attaining her full membership and becoming a recognised Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP). She has handled a variety of different matters and the feedback received from clients has always been extremely positive....
Lucy Pickles
SolicitorWills & Probate
Lucy initially joined Ridley & Hall in August 2018 as a Paralegal. Lucy has since completed her training contract and was admitted to the roll of solicitors in October 2021....
Nigel Priestley
Senior Partner, MBEChild Care & Public Law
Nigel Priestley is a Senior Partner of Ridley & Hall Solicitors and a community care and adoption specialist solicitor. He is a member of the Children’s Panel and regularly represents children and parents in care proceedings.
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Maaria Sharif
ParalegalLitigation
Maaria completed her undergraduate Law Degree at the University of Leeds shortly before commencing her legal career with Ridley & Hall in September 2021....
Michelle Silcox
SolicitorChild Care & Public Law
Michelle joined Ridley & Hall in October 2019 and was admitted to the Role of Solicitor in early November 2019.
Following redundancy from her longstanding role as Customer Service Manager at a national workwear company in 2007, Michelle took the decision to go to University and study law, something she had also hoped to do....
Ann Silver
Personal AssistantWills & Probate
Ann Silver is Personal Assistant to the firm’s Private Client Team. She joined Ridley & Hall in 1999 and over the years she has helped many hundreds of clients through the Will making process and supported many more through the distress of the death of a loved one and the Probate process...
Themer Slimane
Associate,Marketing Manager
Management
Themer joined Ridley & Hall in 2017 as a Marketing & Business Development intern. He was appointed Marketing Manager in 2018 and his role consists of managing the online and offline marketing of the firm. He works closely with the Managing Director Emma Pearmaine....
Susan Sowden
Partner,Solicitor
Residential Property
Susan joined the firm in November 2019, from a firm in South Yorkshire but having previously been with firms in West Yorkshire. She specialises in all forms of residential conveyancing including sales, purchases, remortgages, transfers of equity and sales of new build plots on small-scale property developments.
Susan also has a background in commercial property matters and Wills & Probate matters....
Ashley Sowerby
Associate SolicitorResidential Property
Ashley Sowerby joined Ridley & Hall in autumn 2016 as a Solicitor within the Property Department. She qualified as a Solicitor in 2014 after completing her Law Degree and Legal Practice Course at Leeds Metropolitan University....
Natalie Stephenson-Quayle
ParalegalChild Care & Public Law
Natalie started at Ridley & Hall in November 2019 as a care paralegal. In September 2020, Natalie integrated into the Public Law team as well, so now she works in both the Care and the Public Law teams which offers her the ability to help clients in need. This is something she has been interested in from a young age. ...
Rosie Turner
SolicitorChild Care & Public Law
Rosie primarily assists clients on a variety of issues in relation to kinship care, particularly claiming allowances and back dated payments for kinship carers from Local Authority’s. Rosie also assists clients with Special Guardianship Order applications and advice in relation to the support that is available under Special Guardianship Orders....
James Urquhart-Burton
PartnerLitigation
James is an experienced solicitor who joined the Litigation Team at Ridley and Hall as a Partner in January 2020.
James brings with him passion and understanding of the legal challenges faced by older people and their families. For a number of years now, he has advised people about their eligibility for funding for long-term care, particularly NHS Continuing Healthcare....
Kate Ward
Associate SolicitorResidential Property
Kate Ward is an associate solicitor based in our conveyancing department. Kate qualified as a solicitor in September 2008 and has over 10 years’ experience in all aspects of residential property. She has also dealt with land sales and purchases and adverse possession. ...
David Wilson
Associate SolicitorLitigation
David joined Newman & Bond (now Ridley & Hall incorporating Newman & Bond) in August 2019 as an associate solicitor in the litigation department....
Sarah Young
DirectorLitigation
Sarah Young is one of a limited number of lawyers in Yorkshire who specialise in contentious probate law, which includes advising on – amongst other matters – inheritance disputes, problems with executors and arguments involving trusts and the Court of Protection....
