The Head of Conveyancing at South Worcestershire law firm Quality Solicitors Parkinson Wright has been crowned Worcestershire Law Society’s Solicitor of the Year 2022.
Sarah Phillips, Residential Property Partner at the firm, was announced as the winner of the Awards’ highly contested Solicitor of the Year award by judge Kate Bould, who is managing director of bespoke property search firm Index West Midlands, sponsor of the Awards for the sixth consecutive year.
All finalists and winners in the 2022 Worcestershire Law Society Awards were unveiled at a prestigious black-tie dinner at Bromsgrove’s Grafton Manor on Friday 10 September 2021.
Experienced in buying and selling freehold and leasehold properties for private individuals, companies and investors, Sarah joined Quality Solicitors Parkinson Wright – one of the largest and best-known law firms in Worcestershire – in 2010.
Presenting Sarah with her Award at the ceremony, Kate Bould said: “Whilst each of the finalists in the headline Solicitor of the Year category are all highly skilled legal professionals, it was crystal clear to all the judges that Sarah is an exceptional, highly experienced and expert residential property conveyancing specialist, who leads the Quality Solicitors Parkinson Wright Conveyancing team in the delivery of high-quality legal advice to every single client. She is a very worthy winner of this Award, beating off very stiff competition from the category’s other finalists and all entrants.”
Judging this year’s Awards with Kate Bould were Andrew Chandler (Partner, MFG), Priya Tromans (Barrister, ST Ives Chambers), Bill Davies (Head of Law, University of Worcester), and Charlotte Perry (Partner, QSPW), who said:
“Sarah stood out to the judging panel for her commitment to her clients, her firm, and her peers. Conveyancing through the pandemic has been a key area of the law that has had most challenges and Sarah’s enthusiasm was remarkable. I know that Sarah wanted to win this award not just for herself and the whole firm, but also as recognition of all conveyancers in Worcestershire who have worked together to provide an outstanding service in the most challenging of times.”
Kate added: “The Worcestershire Law Society Awards are the county’s only initiative to recognise the very best local lawyers. Index West Midlands is proud to support and sponsor them again in 2022, and personally, it is an honour to be part of the judging panel and meet so many amazing lawyers and legal teams. Congratulations to Sarah, and every one of the finalists.”
Index West Midlands also sponsored the Administrator of the Year Award, and the firm’s Lydia Woodall, Team Leader, announced the Awards’ finalists and overall winner at the ceremony – Zoe Atkinson of Harrison Clark Rickerbys (HCR).
Charlotte Perry said: “Zoe’s contribution to her law firm is what shone through to the Judging panel.
“Zoe was appointed Wellbeing Ambassador for the Worcester office, a voluntary role in which her role really impressed the judging panel and her enthusiastic contributions. Furthermore, she takes an active role in the IT team that has evolved as the needs of the firm have changed with its growth and as the systems and technology have developed. Zoe also has a key role in the planning and delivery of numerous training sessions to staff across all HCR’s eleven offices.”
Of the Awards, President of Worcestershire Law Society Andrew Chandler, said: ”The Worcestershire Law Society enjoyed a great night at Grafton Manor, celebrating the very best of Worcestershire’s legal talent. This year, the judging panel found the quality of those shortlisted to be exceptionally high, which made the selection of the winners all the harder. The winners, those shortlisted and nominated, are all richly deserving of our congratulations and recognition for their achievements”
He added: “My special thanks on behalf of the Worcestershire Law Society to Kate Bould, managing director of Index West Midlands, for her continued support of Worcestershire Law Society and for the company’s renewed sponsorship of the evening and awards.”
Index Property Information West Midlands’ technology portfolio helps clients reduce risk, maximise compliance, and increase the speed and efficiency of every process and transaction, to cover every step of the conveyancing journey:
- Onboarding
- AML including ‘Safe Harbour’
- Ongoing Monitoring & Compliance Checks
- Source of Funds
- Completion Solutions
- Lender Checks
- Stamp Duty
- AP1s
For more information, visit: https://www.indexpi.co.uk/regions/west-midlands/or contact westmidlands@indexpi.co.uk.
Index West Midlands is the number one provider of conveyancing searches, reports and workflow solutions to the local and regional property industry. Its property search and report portfolio covers environmental risk factors, HS2, utility and telecommunications reports. The firm works closely with the region’s Local Authorities, Law Societies, commercial and residential property lawyers and conveyancing solicitors, and is a trusted partner of the Law Society for CQS.
