Thatcham & Newbury: Gardner Leader continues to grow with new hires

Just months after announcing several new team hires and promotions, award-winning law firm, Gardner Leader, welcomes a further two solicitors to expand its rapidly growing inheritance protection and litigation teams.

Richard Mead joins the Thatcham office as an associate and will be the fourth solicitor to be recruited into the inheritance protection team in just six months, while Katie Dyson joins the firm’s team of 15 litigation lawyers as a solicitor based in Newbury. Both solicitors live in Newbury.

Mead brings 30 years in inheritance law and specialist knowledge in estate planning work, advising clients on how to protect and transfer their wealth. He is also particularly skilled in drawing up wills including setting up and registering powers of attorney, advising on trusts and lifetime gifts, and offering ways to reduce inheritance tax, care fees and to protect vulnerable beneficiaries. He is a member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP) and part of the private client section of the Law Society.

Commenting on his appointment, Mead said: “I’m delighted to be joining a firm that has an excellent reputation for the quality of its services and for its unique approach in bringing clients reassurance and peace of mind.”

Dyson added: “Gardner Leader is a wonderful firm. It has such a strong standing in the local community whilst also acting on complex commercial disputes. I’m really looking forward to working and learning from a team of such forward-thinking lawyers who are renowned for being experts in their fields.”

Prior to joining Gardner Leader, Dyson was part of the banking litigation team at CMS Cameron McKenna and the financial markets litigation team at Simmons & Simmons. She is a member of the Women in Banking and Finance UK organisation and, in her new position at Gardner Leader, she will be handling complex commercial disputes including contractual claims, civil fraud and arbitration.