We are very pleased to announce that Faizal Essat was named the Chartered Legal Executive of the Year at the Leicestershire Law Society Awards ceremony on Friday, 16th May 2025 at Athena.
Vickki Ridgway, Chartered Legal Executive received the Highly Commended Legal Executive award and says, “I am very humbled to have been nominated for this award, but to be recognised as highly commended is an absolute honour.
We are very pleased to announce that Summerfield Browne Solicitors have been approved by the SRA as a Recognised Training Provider. We are also delighted to announce that we have also offered Charlotte Jaques a Training Contract.
We are very pleased to welcome Charlotte to Summerfield Browne. Charlotte has experience in a wide range of professional and personal disputes, including boundary disputes and disputes with neighbours and/or relating to Property, contractual disputes, repossession of residential Property (acting for both landlords and tenants), debt claims/CCJ's, complaints, consumer disputes, contentious probate and much more.
We are very pleased to welcome back Zainab Zaeem to Summerfield Browne Solicitors. Zainab is an award-winning Solicitor and has several years of experience in handling all matters in relation to litigation and employment law. She has experience in dealing with all court processes to include small claims, fast track and multi-track actions and employment tribunals covering a wide spectrum of work including, but not limited to, commercial contract disputes, debt collecting, professional negligence claims for both Claimant and Defendant, unfair dismissal, breach of contract, and discrimination matters.
This month we are very pleased to announce that Elizabeth Deakin joined us in July 2024. Elizabeth has extensive experience as a Legal PA and Medical Secretary. She also worked in the charity sector for a number of years.
In her spare time, Elizabeth enjoys walking her Beagle, photography, the countryside, archery and shooting.
This month we have been recruiting for a couple of positions for our ever growing litigation team in Leicester.
The vacancies are for an experienced Litigation Paralegal and a Legal Administrator.
If you are interested in applying or you know someone who might be please get in contact.
We are very pleased to announce that Andrea Evans and Siobhan Minshull have been promoted to Associate Directors in May.
Andrea Evans has been with Summerfield Browne since March 2023, she is an experienced Solicitor. She is skilled in Dispute Resolution, Employment Law, Landlord/Tenant Matters, Contract negotiation and drafting, Private Client work and Litigation
Siobhan Minshull has worked as a consultant with Summerfield Browne since November 2022, she is a qualified lawyer with 10 years PQE. She has worked in the legal industry for 18 years gaining extensive civil and commercial litigation experience whilst also leading a team.
We are very pleased to announce that Hannah Ives has recently joined Summerfield Browne Solicitors. Hannah has over 20 years’ experience as a corporate and commercial solicitor and has worked in both private practice and in house.
A number of Consultant Solicitors joined us in March.
Rob Rocker, A Senior Consultant Solicitor with over 40 years’ experience in Personal Injury, Employment and Contentious Probate.
Neil Hobden is a very experienced family law solicitor who specialises in high value and complex cases. He has enjoyed personal rankings in the Legal 500, Chambers and Citywealth directories for more than twenty years.
Marcus Blick has many years experience dealing with a wide range of Commercial Property matters.
Mark Hessel is a highly experience commercial litigator with over 20 years’ experience
In February we were very pleased to welcome Asad Rana to Summerfield Browne Solicitors as a Consultant Solicitor.
Asad Rana qualified as a solicitor in 2005. He is experienced in Commercial Leases, Dispute Resolution, Employment and Charity Law.ck of text.
We are very pleased to welcome Rajesh Virdee and Daniel Millican to Summerfield Browne Solicitors this month.
Raj qualified as a solicitor in 2006 and specialises in Civil Litigation, including Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury.
Daniel is from a farming and construction family, Daniel has in excess of 20 years legal and judicial experience including 10 years experience as a solicitor to the senior courts. Daniel began his legal career on the youth justice panel for Devon County Council as a panel member and later panel chair in the Youth Justice Courts.
We are celebrating our 10-year anniversary this month. The 10 years have gone so fast, and we are now looking to our next 10 years.
We are very pleased to welcome Jonathan Wernick to Summerfield Browne Solicitors this month.
Jonathan is a Commercial Litigation Paralegal. He assists Fee Earners on a range of commercial and civil litigation cases including contractual disputes, professional negligence, construction litigation, property disputes, insolvency/directors and shareholder disputes.
We are delighted to share with you that Penelope Summerfield has a new role as Practice Manager at Summerfield Browne Solicitors
We are very pleased to welcome Hina Thakrar to the team at Summerfield Browne Solicitors as Consultant Senior Consultant.
Hina is an accomplished solicitor practicing for 15 years, during which time she has headed up both Housing Disrepair and Personal Injury departments.
Hina is able to deal with all aspects of Housing Disrepair matters against social landlords and supporting tenants with low to high value claims. Hina is passionate about creating safer living standards for her clients.
We attended the Harborough Innovation Centre Big Business Event. A great networking event with some good informative presenters. A very enjoyable day and made some great connections.
We have relaunched our website this month.
Our new website is now much easier to navigate and provides helpful information on the services we provide
We are very pleased to welcome Vickki Ridgway to the team at Summerfield Browne Solicitors as Consultant Senior Chartered Legal Executive.
Vickki is a Chartered Legal Executive regulated by the Royal Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, with over 24 years’ experience in personal injury and clinical negligence law.
We are very pleased to welcome Mick Judge to the team at Summerfield Browne Solicitors as Business Development Manager.
Mick has a wide range of skills and knowledge across numerous business sectors including start-up support, innovation and business centres, educational services, property, as well as land and new homes.
All at Summerfield Browne Solicitors would like to wish you a Happy New Year for 2022
December was a busy and exciting month in the run up to Christmas as we welcomed 2 new Consultants to the Summerfield Browne team.
Lynn Emery joins us as a Consultant Solicitor and specialises in Wills and Probate.
Simon Morgan joins the Commercial Property team. Simon is particularly experienced in dealing with country houses, farms and estates and welcomes agricultural and equine work.
We are very pleased to welcome Holly Williams to the team.
Having worked in the retail market for many years, Holly decided she needed a change of career and was particularly interested in the law.
She has recently successfully completed a course with the Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs which has given her an introduction to the legal profession. Holly intends to continue with her legal education paying particular attention to Civil and Commercial Litigation.
Christian Browne, Director and Associate Solicitor, Zainab Zaeem-Sattar attended the Leicester Comedy Festival Brochure Launch Lunchtime Reception at The Big Difference in Leicester’s historic City Centre – a few minutes’ walk from our Leicester Office.
We would like to thank De Montfort University for the invitation to attend which allowed our colleagues to network, and enjoy lunchtime loaded with nibbles and laughter.
Tessa Rhodes, Director attended the Unique Business Networking event at Del Villagio in Birmingham.
Summerfield Browne were honoured to host the Phoenix Business Networking Lunch at St Pauls House in Birmingham. The event was attended by business people from the city and beyond who had the opportunity for some informal networking followed by a delicious lunch. Thank you for Jamil Shabir of Bootcamp Media for allowing us to show case our services, to Leonie Martin of St Pauls House for hosting the event and to Edwin Ladd for the wonderful photographs.
Tessa Rhodes, Director and Zainab Zaeem-Sattar, Associate Solicitor from Summerfield Browne Solicitors attended the Leicestershire Law Society event on Friday 17th September. It was the first face to face meeting since the pandemic. Zainab received her NQ Solicitors award, well done Zainab.
Tessa Rhodes, Director also attended the Leicestershire Business Network Group which was held at the Sonrisa in Leicester.
We are very pleased to welcome Agnieszka Kobisz to the team at Summerfield Browne Solicitors. Agnieszka is a dual-qualified lawyer, a solicitor in England and Wales and a trail advocate in Poland.
All at Summerfield Browne Solicitors wish you a Happy New Year.
As a result of the Government announcement on Monday 4th January, we are and will remain open for business and are committed to providing our clients with the best advice in this challenging time we find ourselves in.
Most of our staff are working from home but can be contacted as normal by telephone and email.
We have staff ready to deal with all issues arising from the outbreak of Covid-19/ Coronavirus and the impact it is having on you individually or to your business
The purchase of our new premises in Leicester, 10 Peacock Lane, LE1 5PX, completed in October. We moved into the premises in July this year. It is a large historic building with lots of original features and it is located directly opposite Leicester Cathedral. We are delighted to be celebrating this important milestone in our growth strategy
As a result of the Government announcement on Saturday 31st October, we are and will remain open for business and are committed to providing our clients with the best advice in this challenging time we find ourselves in.
All our staff have returned to work and can be contacted as normal by telephone and email.
We have staff ready to deal with all issues arising from the outbreak of Covid-19/ Coronavirus and the impact it is having on you individually or to your business
The summer has seen an increase in the number of enquiries we are receiving. Some of the enquiries are due to the effects of Covid, such as, contract disputes, employment and debt related matters. However, we are still seeing a high number of litigation cases such as neighbour disputes, building disputes and harassment matters.
Two new members of staff have joined Summerfield Browne Solicitors in the last 2 months. Emma Bush, Solicitor has joined our Market Harborough team and Amir Choudhary, Solicitor as joined our Leicester office.
Emma specialises in all aspects of Civil and Commercial Litigation, Dispute Resolution and Employment matters. Emma was awarded the Junior Solicitor of the year award by Leicestershire Law Society in 2019, recognising her legal prowess and commitment to community development
Amir has experience of acting for individuals and companies in all aspects of Civil and Commercial Litigation matters which include debt recovery, commercial and contractual disputes, landlord & tenant issues, contentious probate, and settlement agreements.
July has been an interesting and busy month for Summerfield Browne Solicitors. Leicester went into lockdown, our Market Harborough staff returned to the office and we also moved premises in Leicester.
We had committed to moving our office in Leicester, at the beginning of July, prior to the lockdown announcement. One of the main considerations for moving offices, was that of the welfare of our staff. The building in Museum Square was shared with other businesses and our offices were a modern layout, comprising of 2 open plan offices. Our new premises is a much older building and is made up of individual offices. So, each member of the team, now has their own office, with plenty of space, so we can ensure their safety during the Corona Virus pandemic. It also has a wonderful view over the Leicester Cathedral. Apart from some initial IT issues we are now all set and have started a phased return to work, for our Leicester based staff.
Our Market Harborough staff returned to the office at the beginning of July and it has been great to have them back.
We have been extremely busy with new enquiries, mostly boundary disputes, employment, and contract disputes.
This month we have seen an increase in enquiries with issues arising from the Covid- 19 pandemic such as debt recovery, contract disputes, settlement agreements and travel refunds.
We have also seen a surge in the number of boundary disputes.
Some of our staff have returned to our offices in the latter part of the month but the Leicester office is operating with essential staff only, until the extended lockdown measures are lifted. However we are still open for business and are committed to providing our clients with the best advice in this challenging time we find ourselves in.
May has been a busy month for Summerfield Browne Solicitors, we have had a number of success stories for our clients. We have also had plenty of new clients coming on board this month.
It has been business as normal for our court hearings, which have been conducted via Skype and over the telephone, as the courts embrace working remotely.
Most of our staff are still working from home but we are busy preparing our offices for our staff safe return, in the coming weeks.
With the Covid-19/ Coronavirus we had to move fast to ensure we remained open for business as normal. We are committed to providing our clients with the best advice in this challenging time we find ourselves in.
Our staff are working remotely in line with Government guidelines and can be contacted as normal by telephone and email.
The courts remain open and it is business as usual for existing clients and ourselves.
We are seeing a raise in enquiries for employment advice and Breach of Contract matters. We have staff ready to deal with all issues arising from the outbreak of Covid-19/ Coronavirus and the impact it is having on you individually or to your business.
Keep safe and don’t hesitate to contact us
We have been busy recruiting the last few months and are happy to welcome 3 new team members to our Leicester Office.
Zainab Zaeem-Sattar joined the firm in November 2019, having qualified as a solicitor in April 2019. She specialises in all aspects of Litigation, Dispute Resolution, Employment and Immigration matters.
Charles Sinclair is a Paralegal and specialises in Litigation. He joined us in January 2020 from a top 50 firm of solicitors. Charles has a degree in Economics and Law. He has experience managing Litigation cases and preparing legal court documents.
Jaswant Jat is a Chartered Legal Executive who also joined us in January 2020. He specialises in all aspects of civil and commercial litigation matters.
We are also very pleased to announce that our Head of Litigation, Tessa Rhodes has become a Director at Summerfield Browne Solicitors
It’s been a busy summer at our offices with both new and existing cases. There have been numerous success stories for our clients which have included several County Court Judgements being set aside and a neighbour dispute being resolved in which the small claims court also awarded our client damages and costs. Contract disputes and unpaid invoice matters have also concluded, of which one matter reached the attentions of a national newspaper following the contract being rescinded.
Outside of the courts we have also had a success for our client following a copy right Infringement made by a European distributor. An agreement was reached without the recourse of the courts. After challenging the rejection of an insurance claim the insurers overturned their decision and our clients claim was successful.
With several hearings already listed in the forthcoming months and an abundance of new clients, reflecting the diversity of the services offered, Summerfield Browne continues to grow and is in the process of further expanding the team in order to continue to meet our client’s needs.
Our Tessa Rhodes is currently acting for the buyers of a new build property which cost £1.8m to buy. The developers refused to return to the property after completion to carry out the remaining snagging issues. It transpires that after 2 years of living in the property, substantial building defects have come to light and on investigating the cost of the remedial work that is required, they are looking at a bill of between £280,00-£300,000. The developer is refusing to acknowledge any correspondence relating to this matter and therefore our client is left with no alternative but to issue proceedings against them to recover the cost of the required repairs.
We will report further as the case progresses
2019 looks to be an exciting year for our growing team and we are pleased to welcome Stacey Mills, who joins our team in the Leicester office.
Stacey has many years of experience in litigation dealing with fast track and multi-track actions.
Stacey is looking forward to the challenge to use her knowledge and experience to help grow our Litigation team.
We would like to welcome Tessa Rhodes to our Leicester Office. Tessa has many years of experience in litigation, dealing with all small claims, fast track and multi track actions covering commercial contract disputes and debt collection for both Claimant and Defendants.
Tessa has worked for a large city firm for many years and has gained considerable litigtaion experience .
Tessa is looking to use her knowledge and experience to help grow our team in the Leicester office.
April has been a busy month putting together the final touches to our GDPR implementation. We found the Information Commissioner’s Officer (ICO) guidance, also the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and Law Society’s guidance extremely helpful and easy to follow.
We have created two new Data Protection Policies one which will be published on our website, for new customers and clients, the second will be included in our staff handbook and is for internal use. We have also created new privacy notices to ensure we are being transparent and upfront about the data we hold and how we use it.
We have implemented a new Data Protection procedures which ensures we are ready to handle any clients individual rights requests and or if we ever had a data breach.
Over the next couple of weeks we will be engaged in Training our Staff and Consultants, to ensure they are up to date and know what is required from them.
We have found the process although time consuming very interesting and we are confident we are now compliant and have the processes in place to continue to review and monitor our compliance.
We would like to welcome Marek Torac to our Leicester Office. Marek has over 2 years experience as an Immigration and Civil law paralegal and was previously employed by the largest Legal Aid provider in the UK. Marek has experience in conducting Judicial Review claims against the Government departments and successfully claimed damages in unlawful detention claims.
Marek will be dealing with Civil & Commercial litigation and Private Immigration matters.
Whilst working at Summerfield Browne Solicitors, Marek is due to complete LPC and MSc in Business, Law and Management in June 2018.
New Year, new start. Summerfield Browne Solicitors continue to expand and this month is no different. Emma Prescott joined us on 8th January 2018 and is employed as a Solicitor in our litigation team. Emma is a lawyer with several years post-qualification litigation experience having successfully completed the Solicitors Regulation Authority Management Course. Emma has been recommended as a leading lawyer in the Legal 500 for managing a: 'leading social housing tenant team’, ‘very knowledgeable Department Head Emma' Summerfield Browne Managing Director Christian Browne commented that “this is a fantastic appointment. We believe that Emma’s appointment will significantly strengthen our litigation offering.
We would also like to welcome Laura Everson as a paralegal in supporting our Senior Solicitor Tom Lathom. Laura has over 8 years’ experience as a Criminal Law paralegal and was previously employed by one of the busiest Criminal Law practices in Northampton as Assistant Manager of the Crown Court department. Laura has considerable experience of fully preparing matters for court hearings. Laura fully prepared the clients matters for the Barristers that she regularly instructed from London chambers.
Laura has dealt with numerous matters over the years, however one of Laura’s career highlights was representing an ex professional footballer who was charged with serious offences alleged to have been committed in a private members club. After many months of hard work, which included locating numerous important witnesses, Laura’s client was acquitted of all the charges.
Chris Browne, Manging Director of Summerfield Browne has joined Lexis Nexis as a Q&A Panel Author for the Life Sciences Sector.
November and December have been very busy with new and existing client enquiries. We have entered into a referral agreement with 1 to 1 Legal this month. 1 to 1 Legal were established in the UK in 1999 and cover everything from personal injury to conveyancing, divorce, wills and business law.
2017 has been another excellent year for Summerfield Browne Solicitors, and we are all looking forward to 2018 with great excitement, so that we can continue to represent our clients best interests.
Summerfield Browne Solicitors has recently been added to Law Firms website and directory www.lawfirms.co.uk
It has been the season for recruitment and expansion at Summerfield Browne Solicitors, and we now welcome Yasmin Tahir as a solicitor in our litigation team. Yasmin has very varied litigation experience including advising on employment law and also personal injury claims. Most recently Yasmin was a personal injury solicitor with a leading nationwide practice where she advised insurance companies on PI claims. Summerfield Browne Managing Director Christian Browne commented that “this is a fantastic appointment. We believe that Yasmin’s appointment will significantly strengthen our litigation offering. Yasmin will be advising on a wide range of litigation matters including PI, employment, commercial and property litigation matters”.
We are pleased to welcome Monica Colacicco to our practice. Monica is an Italian qualified lawyer with extensive experience of commercial and civil litigation in the Italian Courts. Summerfield Browne Managing Director Christian Browne stated “we believe this a very exciting appointment for us. We hope to be able to extend our service offering to Italian businesses and individuals who are looking for English Law advice and/ or are looking to do business in the UK. Monica has extensive experience of advising on commercial contracts and also litigation in Italy and we hope that she can apply that experience in developing a successful career at Summerfield Browne“.
Summerfield Browne are continuing with their expansion plans and have now opened a new office at 5 Museum Square, Leicester. Managing Director, Christian Browne said “it was a very exciting development which would enable us to provide legal services to the East Midlands commercial centres of Leicester, Nottingham and Derby. He said that “it would also enable us to recruit experienced commercial solicitors from each of these cities which would be a very exciting development in the evolution of the firm”.
Summerfield Browne Solicitors are pleased to announce to appointment of Penelope Summerfield as Operations & HR Officer. Penelope will be responsible for recruitment, HR and compliance matters.
Managing Director Christian Browne commented “It is fantastic that we have managed to recruit Penelope who joins us with excellent regulatory compliance experience. Penelope was Head of Compliance at the Chartered Management Institute and we look forward to Penelope using those skills to deal with SRA regulatory compliance matters for us. Penelope will also oversee HR and in particular recruitment. As Summerfield Browne seeks to expand it is key that we are able to attract and recruit suitable individuals who have first class experience”.
Summerfield Browne Solicitors announce that Kalpna Mistry has joined as a solicitor in the commercial department of the practice. Kalpna joins us from Harborough District Council where she had a wide remit, and included advising on planning, commercial property and general commercial legal matters.
Managing Director Christian Browne commented “We are very pleased to announce that Kalpna Mistry has joined our commercial team. She has excellent experience having trained and worked with leading regional legal practises. Kalpna will be dealing with commercial property, planning and general commercial legal matters”.
We are pleased to welcome Tom Lathom, who has joined us as a litigation and dispute resolution solicitor. Tom advises on wide variety of litigation matters including property disputes, boundary disputes, general commercial litigation and contentious probate matters.
Managing Director Christian Browne commented that “We are very pleased to welcome Tom Lathom to our litigation and dispute resolution team. Tom has worked for some of the leading commercial law firms in Leicester and has excellent experience in advising on a wide variety of litigation matters”.
We are pleased to announce the appointment of two further senior consultant solicitors. We have appointed Razina Akhtar as a senior consultant solicitor in our Commercial Property team and we have also appointed Rachel Seymour as a senior consultant solicitor in our Employment and Litigation teams.
Managing Director Christian Browne commented that "Both Razina and Rachel have worked for leading regional law firms and have first rate experience of advising clients in their respective practice areas. Their appointment shows the commitment at Summerfield Browne to ensuring our client's receive excellent legal advice from solicitors who are at the top of their game".
Summerfield Browne advised shareholder in connection with the buy back of shares by a company in the online retail sector.
Summerfield Browne advised on an MBO in the energy sector.
Summerfield Browne advised on a corporate re-organisation for a regional software company. Summerfield Browne also advised on a corporate re-organisation for an international software company.
Summerfield Browne advised on a corporate re-organisation for a regional software company. Summerfield Browne also advised on a corporate re-organisation for an international software company.
Summerfield Browne Solicitors have appointed Martin Gregory as a senior consultant solicitor. Martin advises on property law including commercial property matters.
Summerfield Browne appointed Janet Evans as Office Administrator. Janet's responsibilities include practice finance, management and SRA regulatory matters.
Carolyn Henshilwood has been appointed marketing consultant to the practice.
Summerfield Browne successfully acted for an international biotech company in defending a patent infringement claim.
Summerfield Browne successfully acted for a large regional textiles manufacturer based in Northamptonshire in its claim for trade mark infringement and passing off which was settled by the Defendant company.
Christian Browne of Summerfield Browne Solicitors successfully represented and defended in Court, a leading boiler warranty/ repair insurance company based in London, in a Data Protection Act 1998 claim by the Information Commissioner's Office.
