Member Article

Two new appointments as Clarion continues to strengthen busy family team

Siobhan Jeffels and Sarah Manning are the latest lawyers to join Clarion’s nine-strong family law practice.

Having worked in family law for over 20 years, Siobhan joins Clarion as a legal director. She has spent the last 10 years as a family solicitor for a North East-based family law firm. Described by The Legal 500 as a ‘rising star’ and ‘exceptional in her field’, she helps clients through all areas of family law including divorce and separation, civil partnerships, pre-nuptial and cohabitation agreements, finance and child support. Siobhan is experienced in handling more complex financial matrimonial issues, for example, farming cases. She has acted for high net worth individuals, land-owners and SME business owners.

Siobhan is Resolution accredited, making her the fourth member in Clarion’s family team who has that specialist accreditation.

Sarah Manning joins the Clarion team as a senior associate mediator having worked in a niche family and employment practice in Leeds for the last three years. She has over 13 years’ experience in family law and qualified as a mediator in 2012. Sarah assists individuals in all aspects of private family law matters, including pre-nups and post-nups, children disputes and finance disputes. She has experience of dealing with mid to high net worth clients on cases of a complex nature, including those involving overseas assets. Sarah is a board member of the Family Mediation Association which raises awareness of mediation within the legal sector and the general public.

Justine Osmotherley, partner and head of Clarion’s family practice, commented: “The family team has seen three years of exceptional growth with the practice consistently beating targets as demand for our services has increased, based on the strength of our reputation. The recruitment of these two talented lawyers helps grow our technical expertise.

“Siobhan has an impressive track record of handling complex matrimonial cases and with her experience in the farming sector, she will further boost our specialist agricultural offering. Sarah also brings a wealth of experience with her and, as an accredited mediator, her skills fit well with our commitment to amicable dispute resolution whenever possible. Having built such a cohesive team that shares a common approach to providing outstanding client care, it is also great to find like-minded people who fit with the Clarion ethos.”

Sioban said: “Clarion is well known for its positive culture, for example, it offers flexible working for parents, and it seems like a great place to work with a highly engaged and client-focused team. The family practice is renowned as one of the best in the North and I’m excited to play my part in its continued success.”

Sarah adds: “I pride myself on dealing with cases amicably and doing everything I can to keep matters constructive and non-confrontational. This approach seems to chime with the Clarion team and I am really looking forward to being part of a full services firm where all of a client’s needs can be met under one roof.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Emma Kilmurray .