Lorna Spear > Birketts LLP > Norwich, England > Lawyer Profile

The Ipswich office of Birketts LLP is the lynchpin of its private client practice and is home to some of its most experienced partners. The firm hired tax specialist Gavin Birchall from accountancy firm Scrutton Bland in 2023 to co-lead the group along with firm-wide head of private client Louise Long and local lead private client advisory partner Lorna Spear. Senior associates Jessica Godfrey-Withey and Rhiannon Russell as well as legal director Claire Tenwick also play key roles in the firm’s tax and estate planning work. The firm has ‘a really strong team, full of very capable and approachable people‘, who handle the full range of tax, trust, lifetime planning and Court of Protection matters.

Birketts LLP provides ‘highly professional and level-headed advice‘ on probate, inheritance tax, the duties of trustees, succession planning and much more. Complex trusts specialist Lorna Spear and up-and-coming partner Hayley Pettitt, who stands out for her advice on succession planning for families and farming businesses, lead the practice from Norwich. Pettitt ‘explains even the most complex structures clearly‘. Agriculture specialist Jack Royall is a key adviser to landed estates. Legal director Helen Cordingley frequently assists high-net-worth individuals with succession planning and the administration of trusts. Emily O’Donnell and William Cason are among the firm’s talented senior associates.