Alex O’Sullivan is a Senior Associate Solicitor in our Chandlers Ford office who joined Dutton Gregory in 2022. Alex specialises in tax planning, trusts, estate administration and drafting of wills and powers of attorney. He has a wealth of experience dealing with a wide range of private client matters, in particular high net worth estates including those with foreign property. He also deals with Court of Protection applications.
Amanda Sieff is a freelance Communication Skills Consultant training professional people at all levels of management. She specialises in Presentation skills, Personal impact, Assertiveness, Handling the media and Meetings management. She has extensive experience of designing and delivering training to many high profile organisations including City and national law firms.
Charlie Swan has extensive experience of the legal sector having previously practised as a lawyer with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP before switching careers to become a trainer and a coach. Charlie has also worked in the training department at Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP as an in-house trainer. Over the last two years, Charlie has been involved in workshops with a number of law firms on topics such as communication skills, assertiveness, time management, negotiation, presentation skills and building effective working relationships. Charlie is also a professionally trained actor.
Chris Taylor is CPD Training (UK)’s Head of Litigation Training. He has been a practising litigation and dispute resolution solicitor since 1999. Chris spent 10 years at the leading commercial litigation firms of Addleshaw Goddard and Eversheds, where he acted for major corporate clients in a wide range of commercial and company disputes. Chris later became a partner of Optima Legal and for 4 years was head of their residential recoveries department. He was responsible for a staff of over 60 and an annual turnover of over £3million. He then moved to DrydensFairfax Solicitors as Head of Secured Litigation. He continues to practise as a consultant solicitor.
David Gilroy is the Managing Director at Conscious Solutions, the UK’s leading provider of websites & digital marketing to law firms. He is one of the company’s founders & has personally worked with over 300 law firms on digital marketing strategies, website design, email marketing, lead conversion, social media, SEO, PPC and CRM. He’s an engaging and challenging presenter at legal marketing & in-house seminars all over the UK & internationally.
David Potts is a UK qualified Chartered Accountant. Previously with BDO (audit manager in Private Business Department) having completed training with six partner practice ‘Gilberts’ in St Albans. He has helped deliver national partner training programmes to improve practice profitability. David joined BPP as tutor on the accountancy professional examination courses (ACA, ACCA, CIMA and AAT). He progressed to be in charge of all post-qualification training for accountants and solicitors (including The Law Society’s Professional Skills Course). He then moved on to The College of Law with responsibility for all the College’s Professional Development financial training.
Derek Austin is the Head of the Commercial Property Department and a partner in Dutton Gregory LLP. He deals with commercial freehold and leasehold transactions, strategic land acquisition, site assembly, infrastructure and development facilitation agreements and portfolio refinance work, acting as a trusted adviser to individuals and corporate clients from the UK and abroad.
Doug Robinson is a director of Kinch Robinson Limited. He is a Chartered Accountant who has worked exclusively in the field of professional development since 2003. He designs and delivers courses and coaching sessions on subjects including financial and business skills, financial management for lawyers, effective written communication, presentation skills, project management, personal organisation and client care. Doug’s clients include top twenty law firms and local law societies. He is an independent consultant to the University of Law where he teaches PSC Financial and Business Skills, Management Course Stage One and a range of other financial and management courses aimed specifically at lawyers in practice. His financial and management knowledge was gained from eleven years’ post qualification experience in a range of commercial organisations from manufacturing and construction to film and television.
Emily Taylor has specialised in Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning since she qualified as a solicitor in 2007. In addition to her client work, Emily has over a decade’s experience of leading, managing and growing Private Client Teams at Partner level, and is greatly respected for her knowledge of complex, high net worth estate administration. She deals with Court of Protection matters across the UK, is a Court Appointed Deputy, passionate Dementia Champion and proud mother of three.
Emma Thompson attended Reading University between 2001-2004. She went on to study LPC at College of Law, London. She worked in a London law firm for a year before commencing her Training Contract with Thackray Williams. In 2012 Emma was made a Partner in the Employment Law Team. In January 2015 Emma became head of the Employment Law Team.
James Walsh is a barrister (9 Bedford Row), and a Professor of Legal Education. He has trained and assessed advocates around the world, from St Helena to Albania, in both criminal and civil law contexts. He assesses advocates for the CPS. He runs simulated court exercises for the Home Office (Digital Forensics), the NHS (medical professionals who treat sexual offence victims) and police Detectives for many forces. He has been a moot judge alongside Lord Neuberger and Lord Philips, judging and coaching advocates from universities including Oxford, Cambridge, UCL and Kings.
John Trimbos is an experienced trainer specialising in skills and management training. He has worked in the civil service and in four top City law firms; he has also been a lecturer at the Oxford Institute of Legal Practice. John holds an MA Honours degree in law from the University of Oxford. He was admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales in 1988 and is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Jon Whettingsteel is a partner and family solicitor at Dutton Gregory Solicitors. As well as being deputy head of the family department he is involved in a number of committees in the firm, including the wellbeing and social teams – looking after staff wellbeing and mental health and arranging social events. He is a trained physical and mental health first aider and also a member of the firm’s culture committee, being involved in developing and sharing the firm’s culture and values. He is a member of the green committee – looking at how to make a more environmentally sustainable business.
Kate Spiro has over 17 years experience as a communication skills consultant with expertise in presentation, meetings and pitching skills, handling the media, personal impact, assertiveness and influencing. Training internationally and at all levels of management, Kate has worked across a variety of industry sectors and organisations including high profile City law firms.
Lydia Button is an Employment Solicitor at Thackray Williams where she completed her training in employment and corporate commercial seats. She qualified as a solicitor in April 2025. She advises individuals on workplace disputes, their rights, settlement agreements and represent them in Employment Tribunal proceedings. She also advises commercial clients on day-to-day employment matters and assists with settlement agreements, offering clear and practical guidance in every situation.
Marc Powell has been a professional actor, founded a highly successful IT company in the 90’s and has studied psychology. He founded Emailogic in 1999 and has spent over 20 years helping businesses use IT more effectively through focusing on changing individual human behaviour. Marc helps organisations to move forwards with effective ways of communicating remotely, cutting stress and increasing productivity. For the past 12 years Marc has focused on how to design and deliver successful virtual training. He teaches trainers, training teams and consultants how to achieve the same results and learning outcomes in a remote virtual environment as they are used to doing face to face.
Neil Moses is a senior Training Consultant and experienced Executive Coach with outstanding management, coaching, counselling and training expertise. Neil has been described as a ‘charismatic and powerful facilitator who really makes a difference’. A key focus of Neil’s work is leadership and management development programmes and stand alone modules at all levels. He also undertakes a range of coaching assignments for managers and directors, and up to and including executive teams.
Nick Williams is a partner in the London Corporate team at DMH Stallard LLP. He provides corporate and commercial advice to UK and international public and private companies and financial advisory firms. His expertise includes mergers and acquisitions, public takeovers, corporate finance, flotations (Official List/LSE Main Market, AIM and AQSE Growth Market), fundraisings on and off market, joint ventures, corporate governance and funds.
Nicola Jones owns and runs a multiple award-winning learning & development consultancy. She designs & facilitates blended learning to help people develop human skills for a digital age. She has a particular interest in the future of legal services.
PCA Law has a unique background and a singular goal – the long term behavioural change of your lawyers using The Communication of Choice. We want to help impact your bottom line. Our understanding of neuroscience and the latest personal communications techniques means we passionately believe we can do just that through the PSC Outcome-based Communication model.
Revelation Training’s courses are based around key delegate and organisational needs, the main three being financial understanding, commercial awareness and business. They can provide courses that cover a specific area of finance (eg international accounting standards), a course that meets a particular need (eg working within budgetary constraints) or a course to ensure that delegates see “the big picture.”
Robert Mowbray is a partner in the 48 partner chartered accountancy firm of MacIntyre Hudson. Over the last 12 years he has devoted an increasing proportion of his time to the development and presentation of financial and management training courses for solicitors. He has worked with many of the largest firms in the City and across the UK as well as working abroad with some of the larger international firms. He has written a book entitled “Maximising the Profitability of Law Firms” and is an Industrial Fellow of the Business School of Kingston University. In July 2001 Robert was awarded the ‘Trainer of the Year’ award by the Legal Education and Training Group.
Sarah Godfrey has over 32 year’s experience in the insurance industry and 16 year’s as a business trainer delivering technical, leadership and soft skills training. She is a member of the Learning and Performance Institute and a Certified Online Learning facilitator, regularly delivering interactive training webinars.
Sarah Sams has over 20 years experience in residential conveyancing, Sarah is the Head of Residential Property at Dutton Gregory Solicitors heading up teams across the country. Prior to taking up this role Sarah had been specialising in shared ownership for the previous 14 years. Having initially worked for a regional law firm, who acted for several registered providers, she has seen transactions from both sides and understand how the process works from a registered provider’s point of view as well.
Simon Coath has extensive lecturing/training experience with emphasis upon legal skills, ethics, and management and personal development. He delivers in-house training programmes and consultancy services for most of the leading London Law firms and presently delivers PSC services for many City Law firms. He Specialises in advocacy skills training and has developed an approach that sets his training courses apart from that of his competitors. Prior to starting his Consultancy Simon was a litigation Partner at Oswald Hickson, Collier & Co and took principle responsibility for the handling of many of the landmark Lloyd’s cases during the 90’s. Prior to joining Oswald Hickson, Collier & Co. he worked as a partner at Horrocks & Co. in the City.
Sharon Knight has a solid background in human resources in both the hotel and retail sectors. She has held senior management positions of single and large operations and at regional level. She has run her own fitness business and now coaches and trains in many areas of personal and professional development within a variety of customer focussed environments. With over 20 years experience, Sharon is a naturally motivating and inspiring trainer and coach. Specialising in ‘people skills for business’. She is an expert in Presentation and Communications Skills resulting in substantially raised levels of Personal Impact.
Trevor Hellawell is a solicitor and legal training and management consultant working with major law firms, local law societies, many legal training providers and other clients. Until going freelance in 1999 he was a full-time lecturer with the University of Law, ending his career as a Principal Lecturer at the York Branch. Until recently returning to the freelance arena, he was Head of Law Programmes at BPP. Throughout his career, he has lectured extensively on Money Laundering, Cybercrime and Fraud, the SRA Accounts Rules, Professional Conduct, Management skills such as Client Care, Time Management and Appraisals, Financial Services matters as well as mainstream academic law subjects. He was formerly a member of the Law Society’s Planning and Environmental Law Committee and is the author of the Environmental Law Handbook, now in its seventh edition.