Essex law firm announces qualification of three Chartered Legal Executives

Essex law firm announces qualification of three Chartered Legal Executives

Birkett Long is proud to announce that Leah Woodnott, Chloe Walker and Katie Hayden have qualified as Chartered Legal Executives into the firm’s Wills, Trusts and Probate team.

Leah Woodnott

Leah joined Birkett Long in August 2014 and qualified as a Float legal secretary. Her training gave her the ability to work in all the legal and financial teams at Birkett Long across all three offices. Leah was also responsible for training new trainees in the Quality and Float Secretary team. In September 2016, she moved into a legal support assistant role within the Court of Protection and Inheritance Disputes team and in December 2018, joined the Wills, Trusts and Probate team as a paralegal.

Having studied towards her Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) qualification for the last six years she is extremely pleased that she has qualified as a Chartered Legal Executive.  

Leah said: “Studying whilst working full-time has been challenging at times, and I am proud of what I have achieved.”

Leah enjoys dealing with wills, trusts and probate as it means helping clients at key points in their life, such as updating their will or helping them deal with the administration of a loved one’s estate. She always likes to take her time getting to know the individual and their story.  

Leah admits that studying whilst working was hard but said: “I have always felt supported by my colleagues and they’ve been happy to provide advice as well as keep me motivated! Now I’m looking forward to the next chapter of my career.”

Chloe Walker

Chloe joined Birkett Long's admin team in September 2014 as a trainee float secretary and became a secretary in the Commercial Real Estate team in January 2016 and a paralegal in February 2017. In December 2018 she moved to the Wills, Trusts and Probate team.

Chloe has been studying with CILEX since December 2015 whilst working full time. 

The Wills, Trusts and Probate team appealed to her as she enjoys the interaction with clients and finds it very rewarding to offer them clarity and help at challenging times. 

Chloe particularly appreciates the friendly atmosphere at Birkett Long and the support she’s received from her colleagues. 

Chloe said: “The hard work I’ve put into my studies has paid off and I have finally qualified as a Chartered Legal Executive. I feel both proud and full of enthusiasm for the next chapter in my career.”

Katie Hayden

Katie studied A-Level law at sixth form college and went onto study law at the University of Exeter, achieving first class honours. Her first paralegal job was within the Private Client department so she likes to think she fell into the Wills, Trusts and Probate team and never left! Katie loves the varied caseload and working so closely with clients. 

Katie's route to qualification was fairly unusual for a law graduate as she completed the Graduate Fast Track Diploma with CILEX, starting at Birkett Long in 2018 as a paralegal. Katie is now a Fellow of CILEX. 

Katie said: “I feel quite emotional about qualifying. It’s been a really tough journey but I am relieved to have made it to this point in my career. I have such a lovely, supportive team at Birkett Long and I know they have contributed to my success. The firm really does have a ‘family feel’ and I consider myself very lucky to call Birkett Long my place of work. I look forward to beginning the next chapter as I continue to develop my skills and knowledge as a Chartered Legal Executive.”