The team

• Directors

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    Rachel Stow - Managing Director

    Rachel is the Managing Director of Thorneycroft Solicitors and is responsible for the running of the firm and the setting and delivery of its strategy to ensure it remains a market leader in personal law and litigation. She is currently focused on how best to capitalise on the opportunities that will be created by the legislative changes that are reshaping the legal market.

    She is a leading and respected member of the legal community and has driven the firm into a new era of working, challenging the more traditional work methods by embracing technological advances to ensure that the firms' clients receive outstanding service in the ways which suit them best.

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    Robert Thorneycroft - Director

    Founder of the firm in 1990, and now Senior Partner, Robert specialises in property and personal injury related matters.  Robert qualified at Chester Law College and was admitted as a solicitor in 1982. Keen to explore the opportunities that Alternative Business Structures bring to the legal sector, he also enjoys dealing with clients on a day to day basis.  

    Robert's five children ensure that he has a busy life away from work, particularly through his involvement in local junior sport. With the time that is left he has a keen interest in boats of all types.

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    Michael J Coghlan - Director

    Michael qualified in 1993, and joined Thorneycroft Solicitors in 1996, specialising in Personal Injury litigation. He is still a full time fee-earner, in addition to providing a second opinion upon the more complex cases within the firm when required, and helping to formulate litigation policy.

    He is also keen to develop his growing Clinical Negligence Caseload, helping people who have been let down by the medical profession to find redress where possible.
    
    Michael and his wife Louise have two daughters. When he is not spending time with the girls, he likes to play golf and football when possible, as well as the odd game of squash.

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    Mark Belfield - Director

    Mark joined Thorneycroft Solicitors in 1998 and became a Director in 2011. Still a full time fee earner in the area of Personal Injury litigation, Mark manages a Personal Injury litigation team, inputting into more involved cases and advising on direction and policy resulting from legislative changes.

    In addition to this, Mark is also the founding Managing Director of Complete Costs, the costing division of the group, where his role is to ensure that Complete Costs remain at the forefront of industry.

    Outside of work Mark enjoys spending time with his wife Jane and their 2 children. A keen runner, Mark has also taken part in a number of 10k runs raising money for local charities. Any remaining spare time is spent following his local football team – Stockport County.

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• Management Team

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    Adrian J Bennett - Business Manager

    Adrian joined Thorneycroft Solicitors in the year 2000 as Business Manager and is responsible for business development and marketing strategy, as well as maintaining relationships with existing clients.

    Adrian's role is pivotal to maintaining the firm's competitive position in the industry and he works closely with the directors to identify and proactively promote key products and services.

    Furthermore, he is working hard to identify and collaborate with referrers in order to continue the firm's success once the Jackson Reforms and Referral Fee ban come into effect.

    Away from work Adrian is a keen Manchester City supporter and his hobbies revolve around the world of boating and motorsport.

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    Judith Copley - Practice Manager

    Following university Judith first followed a career as a Maths teacher. She studied accountancy whilst her children were young and joined Thorneycroft Solicitors in 1994. After continuing with both professions for a number of years, and as the firm grew in size, Judith became full time practice manager.

    Outside work Judith's interests include walking, reading and campanology.

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    Peter Reeves - IT Manager

    Peter joined Thorneycroft Solicitors in February 2007 as IT Manager having previously worked for an accident claims company.

    Peter is responsible for all of our IT requirements which include not only our computers and networks, but also our claims management systems, our client and supplier databases as well as a wide range of Management Reports.

    Outside of work Peter is a Formula 1 fanatic and also a collector of Japanese and Ethnographic works of art.

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    Judith Stanway - Compliance Officer

    After qualifying from Chester College of Law in 1991 with an LLB Hons, Judith spent over a decade in Private Practice as a litigation solicitor doing primarily personal injury before joining The Solicitors Regulation Authority. She undertook compliance visits to firms to advise on steps to remedy breaches and how to achieve best practice.

    In her spare time Judith enjoys baking and taking long walks with her dog.

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• Personal Injury Team

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    Kim Cockburn - Associate Solicitor

    Kim has had nearly 20 years of experience of dealing with personal injury claims and has been part of the Thorneycroft Solicitors team for the last 14 years.

    Specialising in Road Traffic Accident claims, accidents at work and public liability claims; Kim also devotes her time as work experience coordinator for the firm and has built up strong links with local schools and colleges.

    In her spare time Kim enjoys spending time with her family and watching her favourite football team, Manchester City.

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    Susan Phelps - Associate Solicitor

    Prior to joining Thorneycroft Solicitors in 1998, Susan had studied at Leeds University. Susan's chosen areas of specialisation include RTAs, as well as cases which involve issues relating to employers liability.

    Susan's interests include foreign travel and during the past few years destinations have included The Maldives, Mexico and Mauritius.

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  • 

    Niccie Woods - Legal Executive

    Nicola joined Thorneycroft Solicitors in 1998 in order to pursue her ambition of a career in law. Nicola qualified as a Legal Executive in 2004.

    In addition to studying law Nicola also undertook a Diploma in NEBS Management and whilst studying the courses concurrently received an award for outstanding achievement. She is also a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).

    Nicola has previously lectured first year ILEX students in Civil Litigation at Stockport College.

    Nicola specialises in personal injury including RTA's, Employer's liability, public liability and fatal accidents.

    Nicola regularly attends specialist courses as part of her on-going development programme.

    Away from work Nicola enjoys spending time with her family and enjoys walking both in the UK and abroad. She also enjoys traveling and has spent time in France, America and New Zealand.

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    Usha Nayee - Associate Solicitor

    Usha started working for Thorneycroft Solicitors in 2000. Prior to this, Usha worked for the Ministry of Defence dealing with military commercial contracts, and also has experience within the insurance industry having worked at Royal & Sun Alliance Head Office in Horsham.

    Usha has extensive knowledge of running a mixture of Claimant Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence cases with particular specialism in dealing with Fatality Claims.

    In her spare time, Usha enjoys going to the gym, travelling, going to concerts/shows, and has recently taken up running.

    Usha is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), and is also fluent in Gujarati.

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  • 

    David Cain - Litigation Executive

     

    David has been with Thorneycroft Solicitors since February 2003, having previously spent seven years with a couple of Manchester-based firms, gaining a broad range of personal injury litigation experience.  Prior to that, he spent four years as a special police constable whilst at university.  As a motorcyclist himself, David has a particular interest in motorcycle accident claims.
    
    Away from the workplace, David has two young daughters and when not spending time with his family, he likes to turn his hand to the occasional DIY project if time permits.  As a self-confessed petrol head, he also likes to keep an eye on motor sports.  More recently, he has taken up sea fishing and kayaking and is even trying to get to grips with doing both at the same time.

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    Hazel Madden - Litigation Executive

    Hazel is an accredited Senior Litigator with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and a member of the Institute of Legal Executives and Motor Accident Solicitors Society.

    Hazel specialises in personal injury litigation including road traffic accidents, public and employers liability cases. Hazel joined the firm in February 2011 having worked for several years at another leading law firm in the region gaining extensive litigation experience including work on a Parliamentary Inquiry. Hazel also regularly appears on local radio station Silk FM on behalf of Thorneycroft Solicitors on the Legal Eagles programme.

    Outside of work Hazel enjoys good food, reading, theatre and music.

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  • Tracy Mould - Legal Executive

    Tracy joined Thorneycroft Solicitors in 1999 where she began to pursue her career in law. Initially she specialised in Residential Conveyancing and Family Law, whilst studying with the Institute of Legal Executives.

    After completing her exams Tracy focused on Civil Litigation and Personal Injury, and qualified as a Legal Executive in 2010.

    In her spare time Tracy enjoys reading, travel, dining out and spending time with her family, especially her young daughter.

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• Private Client Team

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    Sharon Farrow - Wills and Probate Solicitor

    Sharon has been with the firm for eight years, having studied at Westminster University where she gained a 2.1 LLB (Hons) Law Degree. Sharon specialises in Wills, Probate and property transactions.

    Most of Sharon's spare time is spent with her two small children, but she enjoys travelling, horse riding and skiiing when she gets the chance.

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    Mark Bestley - Employment Solicitor

    Mark heads up the employment law team at Thorneycroft Solicitors and has over 30 years experience as a specialist in this area. A member of the Employment Law Association, Mark has undertaken extensive Employment Tribunal advocacy and provides clients with no-nonsense, straightforward advice across all areas of employment law including contractual matters, disciplinary and grievance procedures and redundancy processes.

    Well known in the local business community, Mark is also a board member of Macclesfield Chamber of Commerce and is also involved with Make it Macclesfield as a member of its Governance and Finance Committee.

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    Chris Bowen LLB (Hons) - Family Solicitor

    Chris Bowen qualified as a Solicitor in 1982 after training in Manchester. He began his qualified career in Buxton before moving to practice for many years in Macclesfield. After a stint working in West Yorkshire, he has returned to the area and joined Thorneycroft Solicitors to head up the family law team.

    Chris specialises in family law which includes divorce, matrimonial finance, disputes between cohabitees, disputes about children, and extends to pre-nuptial and cohabitation agreements etc.

    Chris has substantial experience in this field and is an accredited member of the Law Society Family Law Panel and a member of Resolution (Solicitors' Family Law Association). He is also trained as a Collaborative Family Lawyer and encourages his clients to deal with family disputes outside the court process.

    Chris is married with 3 grown up children as well as one grandchild. Like many men, he is fascinated by anything to do with gadgets, machinery, technology and engineering. He also enjoys walking as well as reading a good crime novel as and when he has time!

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    Karl Lewis - Property Solicitor

    Karl Lewis joined our property department in February 2012. As well as handling Residential and Leasehold Conveyancing work he also deals with Commercial Property and non-contentious Landlord and Tenant matters.

    After graduating from Staffordshire University School of Law in 2000 Karl went on to do his legal practice course and was admitted as a Solicitor in 2004.

    Karl likes to keep fit and follows a variety of leisure activities – karate, mountaineering, running and outdoor pursuits.

    Karl is married and has a two year old daughter.

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