David Gray Solicitors LLP > Newcastle upon Tyne, England > Firm Profile

‘From day one I felt the team took me under their wing and were personal, caring, guiding, caring and patient to say some. Just an all-round comfortable experience.’

‘Brian Hegarty were the best people I could have ever been teamed up with and will be forever in debt to those individuals on everything they have done for me. Caring, supportive, patient. Just all round excellent.’

‘A multi-talented team that is very attentive, courteous and professional.’

‘Having only worked with Janice Hall I was more than impressed with her outstanding ability to present a sound argument against the CPS. She is very confident and quick thinking with her questioning in a court room environment. Her relaxed and calm approach greatly puts her clients at ease and instills confidence in her ability.’

‘Elspeth Thomson is a very experienced children law specialist who has many years of running complex cases. She leads the whole firm and passes her knowledge and experience to many of the excellent lawyers in the family team. Lesley Monkhouse gives excellent client care and a lot of attention to detail: she gets great results for clients. Anna Curphey has a lovely warm manner which is great for building rapport with clients. Anna is a safe pair of hand who always goes the extra mile.’

‘Anna Curphey was my Solicitor, and the person I spoke to primarily about anything that occurred during my case. She was honest and open with me from the start of the court proceedings. She was clear, concise and able to listen to my concerns, as well help me decide the best actions for myself and my son. Anna remained professional at all times and really made my first experience with court, and solicitors a positive one (even though circumstances were anything but positive).’

‘This is a special practice that works directly, quickly and concisely. The have a skilled set of Lawyers that in my opinion are second to none in the North East. The level of knowledge is superb, they are respectful of your situation but are very direct in giving you an opinion and strategy which is exactly what you need.’

‘Lesley Monkhouse, I could not have asked for a better person to take my case. Lesley’s knowledge of family Law is unapparelled, you cannot get anything past her without her questioning the motive and she is so supportive and reads people so well, this enabled her to recognise my situation and support my cause to the best of her ability as she believed in me and my case. At times Lesley had to be very direct with me and this was to aid me and my case as I wanted to go a different way but her knowledge and skills and honesty had me place my trust in her from the get go. My case was very complex and everything Lesley does is to make sure the outcome is right for her clients. Lesley is outstanding.

‘They are a firm I would recommend to anyone. Print in their responses, careful and temperate in the face of confrontation. Lesley Monkhouse has sound judgment and a good work ethic’

‘My experience has always been one of confidence that the right outcomes will be achieved for the child/children concerned, owing to the robustness of legal advice provided and the strong conduct of the solicitors in Court. Helpful written summaries are always provided from the solicitors to me and usually relate to important case milestones and any relevant information received during the course of proceedings; this is not always mirrored with other solicitors I instruct. The solicitor will analyse the information received, for instance lengthy toxicology reports and provide me with a summary of pertinent points which is always helpful and as aforementioned is not always replicated outside of this firm.’

‘The Family Law Team at David Gray Solicitors has had a strong, continuous and good leadership. The stability in the partner’s group is an asset and makes the firm reliable with difficult cases in family law. All partners are knowledgeable and give good advice being very clear about their roles. Their expertise and up to date knowledge of case law is always beneficial. The team at David Gray is supported by an extremely good administrative staff. Hence, clients are always kept informed and as soon as the information is received by the firm so there is no delay.’

‘I regularly work with Lucy Mead, Elspeth Thomson and Lesley Monkhouse at the firm. I have found them friendly, caring, supportive and protective (of me as a client). They are really well versed in family law. They are well respected by all the Judges at Newcastle Family Court. They all adhere to timetables and provide good court attendance notes.’