Member Article

North West law firm appoints new Court of Protection lead

North West law firm Jackson Lees has appointed a new Head of Court of Protection as the department continues to grow.

Joanne McNally has stepped into the role, taking the helm from Jane MacGregor who set up the department in 2007.

Joanne started her legal career over 20 years ago as a secretary at Lees and Partners (which would later become Jackson Lees). She did this whilst studying for her law degree and later qualified as a Solicitor, practising as a commercial and residential property solicitor before moving into Court of Protection in 2010.

As the new Head of Court of Protection, Joanne heads up a team of 21 including solicitors, executives, trainees and paralegals across the firm’s Liverpool office.

In addition to her new role, Joanne is a Director of the Jackson Lees Trust Corporation, which is a body set up to ensure continuity, availability and professionalism for those accessing the firm’s Court of Protection services. Launched in 2019, the Trust Corporation can act as executor, attorney, trustee or property and financial affairs deputy.

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

Joanne, who has been Deputy Head since 2019, said: “I first became passionate about Court of Protection work during my time in property law when I was instructed to purchase properties on behalf of Court of Protection clients.

“Learning about the work undertaken by the Court of Protection department made me want to be part of a team that could make such a positive difference to people’s lives.

“So, to now be taking on the role as Head of Court of Protection is incredibly exciting and I’m thrilled to be leading such a dedicated, hard-working team who are passionate about what we do. Having worked closely with Jane since joining the department, I’ve been able to develop the skills I need to not only take the department through to its next chapter, but also help our incredible team to grow their talent and fulfil their own potential.”

Joanne will be joined by Danielle Carter as Deputy Head of Department. Speaking of her appointment, Joanne said:

“I am extremely excited to be supported in my role by the newly appointed Deputy Head of Department Danielle Carter, who has years of specialist knowledge of Court of Protection work and who is also dedicated to making a positive difference to the lives of our clients and their families through the work we do. Danielle and I are both experienced in expert witness work preparing statements for professional deputyship costs and I am thrilled to have her supporting me in continuing this offering also.”

Esther Leach, Managing Director at Jackson Lees, said: “We’re extremely grateful to, and proud of, Jane for building our Court of Protection department from scratch and paving the way for the creation of the Trust Corporation, which has led to a much more efficient and streamlined service for our clients.

“Now, we are looking forward to Joanne taking the reins and developing the team even further. Together with Danielle as Deputy head, I am confident that the department is in very good hands and will continue to go from strength to strength.”

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 .