About the executive committee

An executive committee is responsible for developing the future strategy of the Private Client Section (formerly Probate Section) and enhancing services already offered to members.

Private Client Section executive committee minutes and agendas are available on the Corporate Business section of the Law Society website. The Section's is governed by a constitution.

Committee members include: Jan Atkinson; Gregory Baker; Helen Clarke; Tony Collinson; Fiona Heald; Jennifer Humphreys; Simon Leney; Duncan Mitchell-Innes; Katherine Neal; Adrian O’Loughlin; Alberto Perez Cedillo; Linda Pratt; John Riddett; Gary Rycroft; Richard Smithies; Helen Starkie and Patricia Wass (Chair).

Jan Atkinson is a partner at Osbornes in north London. She heads its private client department and specialises in wills, estate administration, tax planning and Inheritance Act claims. She is a contributor to the Sweet and Maxwell loose-leaf Cohabitation, having co-written the chapter on inheritance and succession. She is also on the executive committee of the London Central branch of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Gregory Baker is a partner and head of the trusts and probate department at Hegarty LLP.

Helen Clarke is a solicitor and represents the Private Client Section on the Law Society Council. She is Chair of the Law Society Wills and Equity Committee and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). She lectures regularly to solicitors on topics including wills, probate and elderly clients.

Tony Collinson is a senior partner in Whiteside and Knowles in Lancashire. He was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Judicature in 1973.

Fiona Heald has been a private client solicitor since qualification in 1993. Her experience has all been on the High Street in three firms of various sizes, all of which are in Hampshire. She now works for a niche firm where she is one of just two partners.

Jennifer Humphreys is a relatively junior member of the profession, having qualified as a solicitor in September 2005. She is involved with the Junior Lawyers Division of the Law Society.

Simon Leney was admitted as a solicitor in 1977 and has worked in private practice since that time. He has specialised in private client work since 1980, and was the first chairman of Sussex branch STEP.

Duncan Mitchell-Innes is a private client solicitor at William Sturges & Co in London, specialising in probate, tax, trusts and wills.

Katherine Neal specialises in all aspects of private client work including wills, lifetime tax planning, domicile issues and administering estates. She has a particular interest in encouraging young and aspiring solicitors to consider private client work as a future career.

Adrian O’Loughlin is principal of the private client department at TWM Solicitors LLP and specialises in inheritance tax planning and trusts. He is a notary public and has lectured for the College of Law. He is also a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Alberto Perez Cedillo set up his own firm five years ago in Lincolns Inn, London, after practicing as a dually qualified Spanish lawyer and English solicitor in London based English firms for 20 years in London. He is the President of the British Spanish Law Association (BSLA) and Council Member of the International Bar Association.

Linda Pratt is director of Ridings Law Solicitors, which specialises in providing comprehensive legal advice on all matters concerning the older and elderly client and their families. A founding member of Solicitors for the Elderly, she lectures nationally on management, probate, client care and exempt financial services.

John Riddett is a notary solicitor at Blocks in Ipswich, Suffolk. He has worked almost entirely in the non-contentious sector, in particular, advice to the elderly. He is a member of the Receivers' Panel and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Gary Rycroft is a partner with Joseph A Jones & Co, which is a two partner firm of Solicitors in Lancaster dealing exclusively with private client work.

Richard Smithies is a partner in a small general high street practice in West Yorkshire. He deals with a wide spectrum of work with a bias towards elderly client issues. He was a founder member of Solicitors for the Elderly and was Chair of Age Concern Calderdale. He currently Chairs the Bearder Charity and is the owner of cpd4lawyers, which provides live online Internet training to lawyers. He is also a non-executive director of Funeral Planning Services Limited.

Helen Starkie is a former partner and head of wealth management at Moore Blatch, now practising as a sole practitioner in Bath, Somerset.

Patricia Wass (Chair) is a consultant with Foot Anstey in Plymouth and is a senior solicitor in their private client department. She has more than 20 years’ experience in wills, probate and trust work and all aspects of estate planning and frequently gives inheritance tax seminars. She is a member of the Plymouth Law Society and is Chair of the West of England branch of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).