Diane is an accomplished and experienced family law solicitor, based in our Bromley office and able to help clients across London and the South East.
Diane qualified as a solicitor in January 2010 and she has 11 years’ experience in all aspects of family law including Private Law Children Act matters, cases involving domestic abuse, the separation process, divorce, financial and property disputes.
As a member of Resolution, Diane is committed to her work in family law and in particular the constructive resolution of family disputes. Her experiences have enabled her to develop her skills as a solicitor which she combines with a friendly and approachable style.
Lorraine Toal
Head of Department
Partner
Divorce
Family
Immigration
Personal Litigation & Dispute Resolution
+44 (0)208 290 7956 (DDI) Please email mePartner, senior solicitor, head of family and litigation, collaborative lawyer, family law accredited specialist
Family Law
Lorraine is Head of the Family Law and Immigration Law Departments at Wellers Law Group. She has many years’ experience in Family law having qualified in 2004 and previously been responsible for developing the Family department of a well-known firm in Surrey where she was made a Partner and assisted in the opening of a second office in West Sussex.
In search of a “new challenge” and wishing to work closer to home, Lorraine joined Wellers as Head of Department. She has much experience of the following: cohabitation; separation; divorce; civil partnerships; children; finances (ancillary relief) and consent orders and is a member of Resolution, which aims to aid the constructive resolution of matrimonial disputes. Lorraine is also a trained collaborative lawyer where couples prefer to resolve matrimonial issues among themselves with the help of trained professionals without going to court. She is also a Law Society accredited Specialist in Family Law.
Immigration Law
Lorraine’s role as head of the Immigration Law department she covers all the key areas for both personal and corporate immigration advice, covering all types of visas (including those for Skilled Workers, Healthcare Workers, Students and family members), Indefinite Leave to Remain, naturalisation, passport applications and Home Office appeals.
In her spare time, Lorraine is a keen supporter of Crystal Palace Football Club and she says that as a result she “has a very good sense of humour”!
Reported Cases
Lorraine represented the son who was an intervenor in his father and step-mother’s divorce where the step-mother accused the father of dissipating assets prior to their divorce. The title/reference to the case is:
Lorraine represented the wife in a much talked about case before Mr Justice Moor whereby the wife argued that she should be entitled to more than 50% of the matrimonial asset pot due to the Husband’s alleged wanton dissipation of assets. The title/reference to the case is:
MAP v MFP [2015] EWHC 627 (Fam)
“You have been a big part of my life over the last year and you have kept me going! Again, grateful thanks…”.––Julie
“Family Law Solicitor Lorraine Toal helped me through a difficult divorce, she kept me informed at all times and was a comfort during a time of stress. Her advice on all matters was accurate and I felt I was in good hands”
Testimonial
I really appreciate all of your advice and that I could speak with you so candidly without pretence. Your support has been invaluable to me over the past two years.
The service that we received from Family Law Solicitor Lorraine Toal, was exceptional. She kept us informed at all times, contacted us promptly in all instances, her advice and recommendations to the various circumstances was helpful and reliable. She conducted the matter efficiently and swiftly
I have had the pleasure of being represented by Wellers Family law and particularly Lorraine and Quang… I have always found them only interested in acting on my behalf and know the law inside out which has resulted yet again in achieving the desired result.
Divorces and child cases are often very emotional and the games that get played are often more a distraction than fact but these guys wade through the smoke and mirrors to present facts of the case. Believe in how they approach things and you will get the desired results.
––Delroy Robinson & Maureen Braithwaite
Levina is a Private Client solicitor working from our Butler House office
Levina qualified as a Solicitor in November 2018 and specialises in advising on Wills, Lasting Power of Attorneys and administering estates. Levina also has experience working in contested probate cases.
Levina is very friendly and approachable. She likes to partner up with charities to raise money for a good cause. She supports charities like Cancer Research UK and Amnesty International UK. For Cancer Research UK, she has helped raise £2.4 million through writing free Wills for individuals who left charitable legacies in their Wills.
Outside of work, Levina likes to travel and spends time with her family and her dog.
Paul Martin
Partner
Business
Charity
Chinese Investment
International
Legal services for Chinese clients
020 7481 6381 Email PaulPartner - Commercial & Charity Law
Paul is Head of the firm’s Charity Department. He joined the firm in 1978 and has specialised in Charity Law for over 30 years.
Paul travels widely and has a client base of both national and international not-for-profit organisations. He has had considerable experience in representing various overseas foundations in their activities in the UK, as well as UK charities in their work in Africa, Central Asia, South East Asia, Australia, USA and the Middle East.
Paul’s specialisation is designing and implementing innovative enabling structures for not-for-profits and charities.
Paul is the Author of Faith, Hope & Charity, the A to Z of governing a charitable organisation (see link to video below). He is a director of two international charities.
Paul’s favourite client is a rather well-known purple dinosaur who, Paul says, tended to sing his instructions rather than send e-mails!
In his free time he has renovated a French farmhouse and enjoys gardening – but only if he can eat the resulting produce!
Testimonial
"Paul Martin has been the external legal advisor to The Langley Park School for Boys Academy Trust during the school's £35 million redevelopment project. During this period his advice has been on diverse issues including property law, development contracts, negotiations for easements and rights-of-way, Charity formation and administration in joint venture and management agreements. In addition, Paul's colleagues at Wellers have advised on litigation and employment issues.
We have been impressed with the excellent and personal service that has come from the firm, and have been pleased to have their complete service at our disposal during this exciting yet demanding time of change for the school."
- The Langley Park School fopr Boys Academy Trust
Sunita is a Property solicitor working from our Bookham High Street office.
Sunita has practised in residential property for 19 years having qualified in 1996 and is able to assist with new builds, lease extensions, sales and purchases of freehold and leasehold properties and shared ownership transactions. She can also able to address exclusivity agreements, transfers of part, remortgages, equity releases and legal charges.
Over the course of her career Sunita has overseen several thousands of transactions across these areas of law.
Nina Rajani
Partner
Senior Solicitor
Commercial Property
Residential Conveyancing
020 7481 6387 Email NinaSenior Solicitor - Commercial Property
Nina deals with all aspects of commercial property and investment property. This includes advice on identifying and acquiring both commercial and residential portfolios as well as locating and dealing with the legal aspects of high value residential property sale and purchase.
Nina works closely with clients to the following services:
- Acquisitions and disposals of freehold and leasehold commercial and residential premises and mixed use developments.
- Landlord and tenant issues.
- Portfolio management.
- Site assembly and development.
- Real estate finance.
Nina advises a wide variety of clients including the following:
- Property developers
- Investors, including overseas investors
- Retailers
- Hotels; restaurants and public houses
- High net worth individuals
Nina says – “It is immensely satisfying to work with a client to discuss their objectives and then get to work to ensure that these objectives are met.”
Nina specialises in employment law. She qualified in 2007 and advises clients on a broad range of contentious and non-contentious matters
Nina advises clients in a variety of sectors. She primarily advises individuals in non-contentious matters (for example advising on Executive Service Agreements and Settlement Agreements including in connection with high level negotiated exits) and a number of contentious matters (for example contractual disputes, unfair dismissals, TUPE matters, and discrimination claims).
She also assists SME clients with day-to-day HR queries, dealing with business-wide projects such as restructuring, redundancies and advising on contractual issues such as bonus arrangements and restrictive covenants. She also regularly advises on settlement negotiations.
Testimonial
I'd like to take the opportunity to say a huge thank you to you for your assistance in resolving the matter in my favour. Your calm, professional yet determined approach assured me that I had the best person and firm representing me, with the right experience to ensure I left with the best package possible. Wish you all the best for the future and will certainly recommend you to friends and family.
Nina was recommended to me by a friend who suggested I needed a “good lawyer” based on the inefficient exit process from my previous employer.
From the outset nothing was too much trouble and put me at ease in what was a challenging time. Nina was both pragmatic and professional and was able to fully negotiate my release from my contract, providing me with reputational protection in the market place and also ensure that there was clarity on both sides as to the restrictive covenants in place. The negotiation of these was done expediently and provided me clear guidance on how I could engage moving forward with new opportunities and gave me the confidence that my career had not been damaged by my former employer.
Chiamaka is a property solicitor working for the residential property team in Sevenoaks.
Joseph Reeves
Partner
Solicitor
Corporate Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Personal Litigation & Dispute Resolution
020 7481 6383 email JoeJoe is a civil and commercial litigator covering a wide range of practice areas including commercial and contract litigation, property disputes including landlord and tenant litigation, banking and corporate disputes, professional negligence and debt recovery.
Having qualified in 2010, Joe was previously a Partner in a West End Practice and most recently spent time working on a large scale regulatory matter in Dubai.
Joe’s experience includes:-
Property
- Advising clients facing a possession claim brought by an institutional landlord in respect of premises in Holland Park, including negotiating settlement of the claim
- Representing a landlord with an extensive London property portfolio in proceedings brought by a Local Authority under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
- Representing a landlord in a claim for interim rent under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
- Advising a commercial landlord in a £220,000 dilapidations claim against Kwikfit
- Advising a commercial landlord in a possession claim over premises let under an expired licence
- General advice and representation in relation to boundary and right of way disputes, forfeiture, rent recovery, dilapidations and service charge disputes
Contract and Commercial
- Advising borrowers and personal guarantors in a dispute involving the construction of a private loan agreement, including advising on the enforceability of a penalty clause under the agreement
- Advising a commercial landlord in a dispute with Npower, including advising on the construction and commencement of an energy supply agreement
- Successfully securing summary judgment in respect of a contractual claim for a deposit following a buyer’s failure to complete
- Advising on banking disputes including a set-aside application against HSBC in relation to non-enforceability of a personal guarantee
- Successfully securing compensation for a commercial entity in a claim against RBS resulting from the mis-sale of an Interest Rate Hedging Product (SWAP)
- General debt recovery on behalf of commercial clients including professional service providers and SMEs
Civil
- Successfully acting for an executor and beneficiary in relation to a probate dispute concerning disclosure of estate information, including substantial recovery of costs
- Advising a beneficiary in an inheritance dispute including successful mediation and settlement of the claim
- Advising intended beneficiaries in a professional negligence claim against solicitors following failure to finalise a testator’s will
- Advising a client in respect of a claim in professional negligence against solicitors, arising from complex trust litigation
- Advising a restaurateur in a professional negligence claim against solicitors following failure to advise on the presence of a planning restriction on commercial premises in Victoria
University
- Queen Mary University of London, LLB Law
- College of Law, London Moorgate