Rupert Thorne
Rupert read law at Oxford and spent two decades in commercial work before making partner. He advises businesses on contracts, company matters, IP and data, employment and disputes, and private clients on property, wills and family matters. He writes short emails, tells clients plainly what to do, and signs off “RT”. He prefers plain English to Latin, and is, by general agreement, the other side’s least favourite person.
Miriam Okafor‐Hale
Miriam joined the firm as a trainee in 1998 and has spent her career on commercial disputes: shareholder fall-outs, failed supply contracts and professional negligence claims. She was elected senior partner in 2021, a role she shares with Rupert Thorne, and chairs the firm’s pro bono committee. She swims in the harbour all year.
Rhodri Pryce
Rhodri opened the Cardiff office in 2011. He acts for housing associations and charities on governance, mergers and regulatory matters, in English and in Welsh. He runs the firm day to day and insists the management accounts fit on one page.
Helen Marchbank
Helen acts for landowners, developers and occupiers on acquisitions, development agreements and landlord and tenant work across the South West. She leads the firm’s work on building-safety remediation for leaseholders and freeholders.
Priya Raman
Priya leads the London corporate team: acquisitions, disposals, investment rounds and, increasingly, transfers to employee ownership. She spent the early part of her career in-house at a manufacturing group, which she says taught her what a client actually reads.
Catherine Anstey
Catherine handles commercial litigation and arbitration, with a focus on construction and engineering disputes. She prefers to settle early and prepares every case as if it won’t.
Thomas Bell
Thomas advises on wills, trusts, estate administration, lasting powers of attorney and Court of Protection matters. He is the grandson of the firm’s co-founder, Gerald Bell, and joined from another firm in 2012 “to see whether the stories were true”.
Samuel Ashdown
Samuel advises employers on contracts, restructures, disciplinary and grievance processes, and tribunal claims, and acts for senior executives on exit terms. He spends Saturdays refereeing under-twelves rugby.
Fiona Gillespie
Fiona handles divorce, financial settlements, arrangements for children, and pre- and post-nuptial agreements. She is a trained mediator and is known for telling clients the likely outcome in the first meeting.
Owen Treharne
Owen advises on agricultural tenancies, farm partnerships, succession planning, and the sale and division of landed estates in Wales and the Welsh borders. He grew up on a hill farm in Carmarthenshire.
Daniel Whitcombe
Daniel handles commercial contracts, supply and distribution agreements, and company secretarial work for owner-managed businesses. Clients who don’t yet know what kind of lawyer they need usually start with him.