Member Article

Lodders strengthens legal advice for elderly and vulnerable

Wills, trusts, estates and probate legal specialist Jessica Beddows has joined Warwickshire law firm Lodders as a Senior Associate in the private client team.

With over ten years’ experience specialising in advising and assisting elderly and vulnerable clients, Jessica will work alongside partner and head of Lodders’ Care & Capacity team, Sofia Tayton, and Martin Green, head of Lodders’ top ranking, 20-strong private client team.

Jessica joins from South West law firm Harrison Clark Rickerbys where she had been head of the firm’s probate team in Worcester since July 2015, and had previously assisted with managing the team after joining the firm in 2012. Previously, she was at Birmingham firm The Wilkes Partnership for seven years, where she completed her training and qualified into its private client team.

Jessica has particular experience of advising older and vulnerable clients, assisting them with financial management, health and welfare concerns, and a range of Court of Protection matters. She is a specialist in advising young adults and parents of children with learning disabilities on important future-planning through trusts and wills, as well as advising on care and financial assessments and healthcare funding from the NHS.

A member of Solicitors for the Elderly, the Law Society’s Private Client Section, STEP, and the STEP Mental Capacity Special Interest Group, Jessica holds the STEP Advanced Certificate in Advising Vulnerable Clients. She volunteers for an organisation providing friendship and support for people with learning disabilities, is a Dementia Friend, and has delivered seminars on behalf of charity Mencap.

Commenting on the new position at Lodders, Jessica said: “Lodders has a really great reputation for its private client work, which is a major focus for the firm, and the team, one of the largest in the area, has consistently received recognition for its excellent advice and client service in both the Legal 500 and Chambers Directory. There is a real synergy between my expertise and the firm’s specialisms; the blend of these skills and commitment present a great professional opportunity for me alongside a further strengthening of an already leading care and capacity and private client practice at the firm.”

Senior partner Martin Green added: “Jessica is highly experienced in advising elderly and vulnerable individuals, their families and carers, and represents a skilful addition to our private client and care and capacity teams. There is growing need for this area of specialist advice and help and Jessica’s appointment reflects the firm’s commitment to responding with the very best advice and legal know-how.”

“Lodders is dedicated to addressing and easing the needs and concerns of the most vulnerable, the elderly, and those who care for them,” adds Sofia Tayton, a leading expert in care and capacity law and specialist in Care Funding, Mental Capacity, Court of Protection and Powers of Attorney, “and Jessica’s expertise in all these areas, combined with her unique skills in working with children and young adults with learning disabilities, is further evidence of this.”

Celebrating its 230th anniversary this year, Lodders has 25 partners, a portfolio of sector and market specific legal teams, over 120 fee earners and support staff across its office network, and has recorded year-on-year growth in recent years. For more information, visit: www.lodders.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Lodders Solicitors LLP .