NOMINATION FOR OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER IN THE FIELD OF CHILDREN LAW ALC AWARD 2015

Nominee: Rachel Benett

Fisher Meredith

Blue Sky House

405 Kennington Road

London

SE11 4PT

DX: 37050 Kennington 3

Tel: 020 7091 2769

Fax: 020 7091 2800

Email:

Proposer: Emma Sherrington

Goodman Ray Solicitors

5 Cranwood Street

London EC1V 9GR

Tel: 0207 608 4591

Email:

I should like to nominate Rachel Benett for the 2015 ALC outstanding newcomer in the field of children law

Rachel joined Fisher Meredith as a trainee in September 2010 and was given a permanent contract on qualification two years later. She has been qualified for two and a half years.

Whilst I worked at Fisher Meredith Rachel was my trainee for one year and we continued to work closely together since her qualification and up until I left Fisher Meredith in November 2014. Right from the outset I could see that Rachel had the making of exactly the kind of solicitor our most vulnerable and our most challenging clients need in this area of law. She has the right amount of compassion, empathy and resilience to work with clients and guide them through what are often the most traumatic, life changing experiences. Rachel’s background prior to becoming a solicitor was working with vulnerable young adults in secure institutions. Her background has stood her in good stead in the work she now undertakes in this field. Rachel’s style with clients is exactly the right combination of making sure a client feels heard by her, giving realistic and well thought out advice and managing expectations where necessary. She is not afraid to advance a client’s case against the odds and see things from a client’s point of view and she has had considerable success turning a case round for a client in the approach she has taken. She is also not afraid to give difficult advice to a client where necessary. Possibly because of her growing reputation, Rachel is often referred the most vulnerable or challenging clients. She is undaunted by this. I used to sit next to Rachel at work and every day I marvelled at her unending patience and incredible communication skills with each of her clients. Reading a statement that Rachel has helped a client prepare you can really hear the client’s voice coming through and I have lost count of the number of clients who have expressed their gratitude and relief to have had her working with them on a case.

Rachel is also extremely professional with other solicitors and barristers. She handles difficult negotiations in what can sometimes be extremely high conflict cases with an ability that I believe is well beyond her years let alone her level of training. She sets the bar high in terms of how to approach case conduct. I have often been approached when at Court or elsewhere by barristers, solicitors, Guardians and Independent Social Workers alike who comment on how impressed that have been by her conduct on a particular case they have been involved in. She clearly makes an impression as the kind of solicitor we need in our field of work.

I feel that Rachel really does stand out amongst her peers and sets an excellent example of how our work should be undertaken on a professional level.

I am nominating Rachel because I really do believe she is an outstanding solicitor. For Rachel to receive this award would not only give her the recognition I believe she deserves for her incredible effort, diligence and commitment to our clients and our work, I feel she would set an excellent example to all new solicitors entering this incredibly difficult but rewarding and important area of work.

Emma Sherrington

11th September 2015