THE TEAM
please read profiles of our team members below.
KEELEY HANMER
Director
Keeley is a Chartered Legal Executive and has worked with the firm since 2000.
She specialises in conveyancing.
HELEN KIRKHAM
Director
Helen is an experienced family law solicitor who is able to provide advice on many areas of family law. She is a member of Resolution, the country’s leading organisation of family lawyers, and she prides herself in her ability to empathise with her clients. Helen also provides assistance to the Great Dunmow CAB and is involved in providing advice to their clients at their offices on a volunteer basis.
Helen is also an accredited Resolution Family Mediator.
VIRGINIA BEVAN
Office Manager
Virginia joined the firm in 2020, and adopts the roles Office Manager and Client Care Manager. Virginia’s working history and experience is primarily in legal finance, legal compliance, and more recently office management. She has held Associateship status with the ILFM since 2007.
LEENA BLOXHAM
Legal Secretary
Leena has many years of legal experience having been employed by solicitors all her working life and joined the firm as a Legal Secretary in 2014.
CLAIRE BUTTRESS
Private Client Solicitor
Claire is an experienced Private Client solicitor who qualified in 2003. Claire joined our Wills & Probate team in 2021. Claire is able to offer advice in Wills (including the use of Will trusts to protect assets or to provide for a vulnerable beneficiary), Probate, Intestacy, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Court of Protection Matters, Trusts and Tax planning.
Claire is a full member of both STEP and Solicitors for Elderly and prides herself on her approachable manner and empathy.
SHEELAGH FOORT
Consultant
Despite having retired from client work in April 2021 and stepping down from her role as Director in September 2021, Sheelagh remains a strong part of the Foort Tayler team for the purposes of consulting and some aspects of compliance.
She is a founding partner of the firm and has specialised in Conveyancing and Wills & Probate since 1983. Sheelagh currently remains Head of the Wills & Probate department.
FIONA GALLAGHER
Legal Secretary
Fiona joined the firm in October 2013 as a Legal Secretary to Shelley Tayler in the Conveyancing Department.
KELLY GILLON
Family Department Co-ordinator
Kelly joined the firm in October 2014, and provides secretarial and administrative support to the Family Department.
SARAH HORSEMAN
Legal Executive
Sarah is an experienced Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives who joined the team in November 2014. Sarah undertakes all aspects of family law and is a trained collaborative lawyer.
Sarah is also a Resolution trained Family Mediator.
CHRISTINE KETTLEY
Family Law Solicitor
Christine joined Foort Tayler Solicitors in February 2013 as a Matrimonial Solicitor, joining Helen Kirkham in the Family Department. She qualified as a Solicitor in 2011. Prior to joining us, alongside practising in family law, Christine specialised for 4 years in Mental Health Law, representing vulnerable Client’s who had been detained under provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983.
Due to her expertise in this area, Christine was accepted as member of the Mental Health Accreditation Panel.
ALEXANDRA MCGRADY-JOHNSTON
Trainee Legal Executive
Alex is a trainee Legal Executive and has worked with the firm since 2011.
She specialises in Family Law.
CHLOE RUSSELL
Family Law Solicitor
Chloe is an experienced Family Law Solicitor who qualified in 2013, she joined the firm in 2021. Chloe has specialised in Family Law for eleven years and advises on all aspects of family law, including divorce and separation, financial issues upon separation and children matters.
LEANNE SMITH
Licensed Conveyancer
Leanne qualified as a Licensed Conveyancer in 2004, and joined our team in 2018.
She specialises is conveyancing.
SHELLEY TAYLER
Conveyancing Solictor
Shelley qualified as a solicitor in 1999 and became a partner in the firm in 2000 having spent the previous 20 years working in solicitors’ offices. She specialises in conveyancing. Whilst Shelley stepped down from her role as Director in September 2021, she remains an integral part of our Conveyancing team.
