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
Holly Davis
Trainee Legal Executive
Commercial Property
Residential Conveyancing
01372 750100 Email HollyHolly is a Trainee Legal Executive and a graduate of CILEx, specialising in Contract Law, Company & Partnership Law and Criminal Law & Litigation. Her goal is to achieve Fellowship and become a Chartered Legal Executive and has experience in conveyancing, corporate law and litigation.
In her free time Holly enjoys running, travelling, learning Spanish and spending time with her family and friends. She also participates in hiking and running events to challenge herself and to raise money for different charities.
Nicole Cheel-Jennings
Probate Executive
Power of Attorney, Wills, Trusts & Estate
020 8290 3980 Email Nicole
Nicole joined the Wellers team in March 2018. With over 15 years of experience, Nicole is a specialist who excels in advising clients in matters of Wills, probate and Lasting Powers of Attorney. Nicole specialises in advising on complex Wills for clients who have multifaceted estates. She is also currently working to formalise her immense experience through the CILEX qualification.
Outside of work, Nicole enjoys spending time with her family and friends.”
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.
Sara is a commercial and residential conveyancing secretary, assisting John McLarney in our Bromley office
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.
Ingrid McCleave
Consultant
Power of Attorney, Wills, Trusts & Estate
Wellers Wealth Tax and Law
020 3909 8576 Email IngridIngrid is a Consultant working with our Wellers Wealth team and a partner with DMH Stallard, providing private client and tax advisory advice. She brings with her extensive experience and knowledge of taxation and trust law. Wellers Wealth provides an invaluable service to business owners/directors and high net worth individuals and their advisers.
After completing her LLB (Hons) in Business Law at Guildhall University where she studied company law, taxation and related subjects, Ingrid studied at the Inns of Court School of Law and was called to the Bar in 1995, specialising in European Competition Law and International Trade.
Ingrid’s first position was at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Edinburgh where she worked as a corporate tax senior in the Corporate Tax and Life Insurance Tax Department of the Financial Services Division as a tax advisor for large banks and insurance companies. This involved working as part of a team of three looking at tax planning strategies for multi-national insurance companies, leading often to international corporate restructuring for tax purposes. Ingrid was initially recruited to prepare a report to be disclosed during a tax investigation by the Revenue involving the tax treatment under the pre anti avoidance legislation of a box option, which was the underlying investment for the insurance companies guaranteed income bond.
Ingrid was then asked to join Arthur Andersen (the 4th largest accountancy firm worldwide at the time) where she managed the tax compliance for a portfolio of clients which included a number of investment companies and a Japanese bank with branches in England.
During her period at Arthur Andersen she co-wrote the Tax Guide to Europe, an internal publication that was sent to Andersen’s clients. This involved writing a chapter on each European country, summarising the corporate tax, income tax, indirect tax and capital taxes of each country.
Ingrid then transferred to Treasury within Andersen’s (due to her prior experience of derivative instruments) where she worked as part of a team designing derivative products which banks and insurance companies used as the underlying investments for the products they sold their clients.
Ingrid then moved to Numerica (the 15th largest UK accountancy firm at the time) as a Tax Manager focusing on owner managed businesses. There she was Head of Corporate Tax Planning and Stamp Duty. She also continued working in International Tax drafting reports for overseas clients with business interest in the UK. This involved proactive tax planning on behalf of the individual and the company, often involving international relocation and restructuring.
In 2004 Ingrid converted to become a solicitor and has worked predominantly in law firms after a short spell lecturing Law at Brighton University. During her career as a solicitor Ingrid has worked as a Senior Associate and Head of Tax and Private Client in a Legal 500 firm in Central London.
Ingrid regularly lectures on Trust and Taxation and Business Succession courses for the Society of Will Writers and The Association of Accountants as well as to a number of group of financial advisers.
Ingrid initially studied piano and composition at Trinity College of Music in London and then went on to teach piano and woodwind at Eastbourne College and until recently, whilst living in Edinburgh, Ingrid gave regular piano recitals at the Edinburgh Society for Musicians.
Tegen Whitford
Trainee Solicitor
Corporate Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Personal Litigation & Dispute Resolution
01732 457575 Email TegenTegen is a Trainee Solicitor currently undertaking her first seat within the Private Client department under the supervision of Ingrid McCleave. Tegen started at Wellers Law Group in October 2021 as a Paralegal within the Litigation department but has since progressed to a Trainee Solicitor in November 2022 and will qualify in May 2023.
Tegen assists Ingrid with the day-to-day running of files, drafting Inheritance Tax Forms, Wills, Lasting Power of Attorney’s, Deeds of Variation and regularly attends Ingrid at client meetings. She is continuously learning in this seat and enjoys complex matters. She is focused on understanding the client’s wants and needs to be able to progress matters in a timely manner.
Tegen studied at The University of Brighton and graduated in 2017 achieving a 2:1 in Law with Criminology, she then started studying her LPC and Masters at the University of Law Guildford whilst working full time as a Paralegal. She graduated in 2020 with a High Commendation.
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
Craig Batko
Senior Solicitor
Corporate Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Personal Litigation & Dispute Resolution
01372 750 102 Email CraigPlease be aware that Craig's name has recently been used on a fax phishing exercise, primarily targeting firms in the USA. If you have received a fax purporting to be from Craig, please ignore it. It is not from Wellers Law Group.
Craig qualified as a solicitor in 2001 and was a partner at his previous firm. He joined the litigation department at Wellers Hedleys at their Butler House offices in Great Bookham in September 2018.
Craig largely specialises in property related disputes and property litigation, particularly commercial and residential landlord and tenant disputes, business tenancy renewals and oppositions under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, dilapidation claims, possession claims, the acquisition and protection of rights over land such as prescriptive easements, other disputes relating to easements, the enforcement and discharge of freehold covenants, adverse possession, disputes over boundaries, trespass and nuisance. Craig appears in the County Court for possession claims and other chambers advocacy.
Craig’s other practice areas include trusts of land and co-ownership disputes under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, contractual disputes, consumer law, licensing, debt recovery, judgment enforcement proceedings and some insolvency work.
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