James Baker
James specialises in all areas of private client law including Estate Planning and Administration, Wills, Trusts and Lasting Powers of Attorney.
After graduating from University College London with a degree in History, James studied Law at the College of Law in London and qualified as a Solicitor at top Private Client firm Charles Russell in 2008.
He then subsequently set up and managed CGA Legal Services which was one of the first Alternative Business Structure law firms to practice in England and Wales.
He joined the Meadows Ryan team in May 2019. He enjoys finding solutions for every individual’s needs and circumstances. James has extensive experience in dealing with the complex issues of lifetime and succession planning for both UK and overseas clients.
As the firm now offers clients the registration of wills with “Certainty, the National Wills Register”, James has found an increase in the number of clients looking to update their wills. In his spare time, James enjoys travelling, film and tennis.
Colin Davies
Colin specialises in management and compliance matters relating to UK Trusts which includes working with Trustees and beneficiaries in order to ensure the correct reporting matters are dealt with and reported to H M Revenue & Customs. He is an agent for HMRC and acts as a consultant for the Trust Register Service. He ensures trust transactions are recorded in accounts in order to ensure the Trustees have an accurate record of the historic financial position in terms of the tax paid and indeed distributions made to beneficiaries.
Colin also assists Personal Representatives dealing with complex estate matters in terms of the SA900 tax returns and any outstanding lifetime personal tax returns. Part of this role also includes the preparation of clear and precise estate accounts. He also deals with personal annual tax returns for individuals.
In his spare time he enjoys running, swimming and cycling and participates in regular Duathlon competitions.
Gabrielle Dell LLB TEP
gabrielledell@meadowsryan.com
Gabrielle heads the Private Client team here at Meadows Ryan. She is a very experienced Private Client solicitor, and her work includes will drafting, probate, inheritance tax planning, the creation and administration of trusts, preparation of Lasting Powers of Attorney, as well as some related residential property work.
Gabrielle is a member of the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners (“STEP”) and is an experienced seminar speaker. She has considerable expertise in elderly client law, and speaks Italian.
In her spare time, she pursues her equine passion.
Lizzy Mills
Lizzy Mills is the newest member of the team, having joined Meadows Ryan in October 2019.
Lizzy graduated from the University of Bristol in 2001 with a degree in Classics then, after a year travelling, went to the College of Law in London. She then trained at Mishcon de Reya in London and qualified as a solicitor in 2004. She worked in the Real Estate Department there before taking a career break to have her two daughters, during which time she also founded an interior design consultancy.
On returning to law, Lizzy now specialises in Private Client work including wills, lasting powers of attorney and probate matters.
Lizzy maintains her passion for interior design and loves spending time with her family and walking her dog; a fox red Labrador called Ruben.
Karen White
Karen has a wealth of experience in the legal profession having first joined McNamara Ryan over twenty-three years ago. Karen works very closely with Gabrielle and assists with wills, trusts, probate work and Lasting Powers of Attorney. She is very well known to the long and established clients of the firm and has particular experience of drafting probate papers (IHT400/IHT205) cost-effectively.
Karen is finding that there has been an increase in enquiries for Lasting Powers of Attorneys (LPAs). Our simple checklist allows clients to instruct us very easily rather than having to complete the LPA forms themselves via the internet. Karen believes people also appreciate that our fees for LPAs include one of the team acting as Certificate Provider (rather than their GP for example), as well as providing a certified copy of the document in each case.
Karen is a keen sports fan with an interest in tennis and goes to Wimbledon if she is lucky to obtain tickets! Karen also likes to spend her leisure time walking with her husband, going to the gym and spending time with her family and friends.