Partners

Martin Gillibrand is a nationally acknowledged expert in the field of Agricultural and Farming Law and heads that specialist branch within the firm. He trained with the international City of London based corporate firm Allen & Overy, joining OSG in 1974.  His client services concentrate on all areas of Agricultural Property, Practices and Tax Planning, as well as Wills and Probate and all aspects of Property and Trust law.  

He is a member of the Agricultural Law Association and Secretary of the Moorland Association, which lobbies for the interests of upland property owners. An expert on rural affairs, he enjoys the countryside, shooting and gardening.

David Gillibrand also trained at Allen & Overy - spending 3 years in major commercial litigation casework - before joining OSG in 1982, where he spent a number of years developing his Property and Commercial law expertise. For the past 12 years he has concentrated on litigation full time and is Head of Litigation Services, dealing with a very broad range of Dispute Resolution services, including in the residential, commercial and agricultural property fields, company and commercial disputes and those involving all areas of Employment Law (both advice and representation), Clinical Negligence, Personal Injury and debt actions.
 
He is a long time member of the Law Society's Professional Negligence Panel. In his spare time he enjoys walking and shooting, but also playing tennis and bridge.

Robin Breay has had a wealth of experience gained locally over 30 years in the practice areas of Property and Conveyancing, and deals with all related matters for the firm. He has a particular interest in problems facing elderly clients, Estate Planning and those relating to the Administration of Estates.

Gill Gardner has a background in corporate finance and non-contentious commercial matters (those not involving court action) at Cameron Markby (now CMS Cameron McKenna) in the City of London.  Having joined our team in 1992 she is our company and commercial law expert. Gill has recently completed the New York Marathon so has plenty of stamina! 

Jenny Gemmell joined the firm in 2006. She was previously a senior partner in the Commercial Property department in one of the North West’s largest commercial law firms. She specialises in dealing with the property aspects of corporate transactions, secured lending, commercial property sales and acquisitions, property investment and landlord and tenant work.

Outside work, she is a keen cyclist, walker and swimmer and she also enjoys the theatre, cinema and literature.

Alison Kinder rapidly rose to become one of our partners in 1999 after training with the firm and qualifying in 1993. She specialises in both Residential and Commercial property sales and purchases and is an expert in Property Development and Landlord & Tenant Law. Outside work she is keen on keeping fit and enjoying the outdoors as well as unusual antique collecting and cooking.

David Park qualified with our firm and in recent years has helped to make Employment Law a growth practice area. He advises both employers and employees and regularly represents clients in Employment Tribunal cases, as well as providing expertise in non-contentious matters, such as work contracts and general practices, and lecturing regularly on the subject. He advises small and medium sized business on a range of commercial matters.

Emma Briggs joined in 1999, following some years spent practising in Bradford, and is the head of OSG's Family and Matrimonial law department.  She has quickly developed a strong reputation for the speedy and sensitive handling of disputes in these areas. She is a member of the Law Society's Family Panel, an accredited specialist in ancillary relief (division of assets after separation) and private children work (that is Residence, Contact and applications involving children), and a member of the Solicitors Family Law Association (SFLA).

Other Fee Earners

Simon Noble joined the firm after working for 6 years at a firm in Morecambe. Simon specialises in Wills, Probate, Court of Protection, Enduring Powers of Attorney and Administration of Estates. Simon is a keen diver having dived the German High Seas fleet in Scapa Flow, the major wrecks in the Red Sea and around Sardinia. He trekked to Everest base camp in October 2006 to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust.  Simon is currently a student member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and is studying for full membership.

Sarah Cross is a solicitor specialising in the areas of Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury. Sarah ensures a speedy, efficient approach in the handling of our clients' claims and seeks to always maintain a competitive edge in negotiating the best settlement.

Pamela Cockram mixed a full-time working life at OSG with ongoing part-time study in order to complete her qualifications and since 1992 has worked as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX), mainly in residential conveyancing but also utilising considerable experience in property development.

Clare Love is a private client solicitor who deals with inheritance tax, probate, wills, trust and estate planning, including work with agricultural property and succession. Clare qualified with the firm in 2003, and is a member of the Agricultural Law Association. She has also qualified as a TEP (Trust and Estate Practitioner) and is a fully fledged member of STEP.

Warwick Alabaster recently transferred from a law firm in Leicester where he practiced general commercial litigation. Warwick qualified in 2004 and presently deals with general dispute resolution services. Areas of practice include debt recovery; property litigation; building and construction; insolvency; and disputes surrounding contract, partnership, director and shareholder.  In his spare time he enjoys countryside pursuits such as shooting and fishing and other than that – classic motorcycles.

Andrew Kidd is a private client solicitor based at our Bentham office.  Andrew qualified in 2005 and is currently studying for full membership of STEP.  In his spare time Andrew enjoys running and ran the 2007 London Marathon supporting RNID. 

Sarah Miller qualified as a solicitor with the firm in 2005 and is based at our Kirkby Lonsdale office. Sarah’s work includes Wills, Probate, Property and advising the elderly client.

Hayley Housley is a Legal Executive specialising in Wills, Inheritance Tax Planning, Administration of Estates, Enduring Power of Attorney and Receivership Applications.

Joanne Friend qualified as a solicitor in 2006 and joined the firm in 2007.  Joanne works in the Family and Matrimonial Law department dealing with all types of cases including divorce, ancillary relief (division of assets after separation), private children work (residence, contact and other applications involving children) and injunctions.

John Myers qualified with the firm in 2007 and works in the Agricultural department.

Tim Labrum is a trainee solicitor in the Agricultural department.

Sarah Grandfield is a trainee solicitor in the Commercial department.