Member Article

Trio of board appointments at North West law firm strengthens Court of Protection offering

A North West law firm has boosted its capacity to further support clients with its latest Trust Corporation expansion.

Jackson Lees, which has offices across Liverpool, Manchester and Wirral, has appointed three new directors to the Jackson Lees Trust Corporation, a body set up to ensure continuity, availability and professionalism for those accessing the firm’s private client services, including Court of Protection services.

Danielle Carter, Chris Stone and Heather Horsewood have joined the board of directors, taking its total to nine members.

Launched in 2019 the Trust Corporation can act as executor, attorney, trustee or property and financial affairs deputy.

The Jackson Lees Trust Corporation means that the Court of Protection team are able to support clients with an increasingly streamlined and more flexible service moving away from the previous reliance on the practice of Head of Department and former panel deputy Jane MacGregor holding deputyship appointments in her personal name.

The Trust Corporation gives clients better continuity and increased efficiency from the team and brings a combined knowledge of 45 years of deputyship work experience between Jane MacGregor, Joanne McNally and the newly appointed Danielle Carter.

Joanne McNally is a Director of the Trust Corporation and Deputy Head of the Court of Protection department at Jackson Lees. Joanne said: “Client outcomes and improving their experience is always at the top of our agenda, so setting up the Trust Corporation was a massive step for the business as a whole. It maintains continuity of service for clients as a result of more people being available to make decisions and sign documents without reliance on one individual which can cause delays should that individual be unavailable for short periods through holiday or sickness or indeed wish to retire.”

“I am extremely proud of the department that I manage. Our legal teams are dedicated and passionate about looking after the affairs of individuals who cannot make important decisions for themselves, ensuring their best interests are at the heart of everything we do. It has been really exciting seeing the benefits that the Trust Corporation has brought for our clients. It has been equally exciting to appoint new members to the board meaning that there are more specialised decision makers working on behalf of our clients and being entrusted with making and supporting such decisions.”

Joining Jane and Joanne on the board is Danielle Carter who is a Court of Protection Solicitor, and Wills, Trusts and Probate solicitors Heather Horsewood and Chris Stone. Other existing members are solicitors Esther Leach, Sally Johnson, Andrew Holroyd and Haley Farrell.

Esther Leach, Managing Director at the Jackson Lees Group, said: “We are really excited to have Danielle, Chris and Heather join the Jackson Lees Trust Corporation Board of Directors. As experts in their fields and with years of experience assisting clients, they each bring something incredibly valuable to their new roles. There has been an increased demand for the Court of Protection department’s services in recent years, so it’s essential that we are equipped with the appropriate resource to offer an efficient, robust service to our clients.

“Having an entire body that can take responsibility for the affairs of those who do not have the mental capacity to make these decisions themselves means that the overall offering is massively improved.

“Looking forward, we’re confident that we can continue to expand the Trust Corporation further, bringing in more experts from the fields of Court of Protection and Wills, Trusts and Probate.”

Jackson Lees is an award-winning solicitors which provides a full-service legal solution to private and commercial clients. With over 300 committed employees spanning over four offices, the Jackson Lees Group has a wide range of expertise to support legal needs.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Robson .