The Partners & Staff

Kerry Joels – Partner – Family Law, Residential Landlord & Tenant and Motoring Offences
kjoels@johnwelchandstammers.co.uk
Kerry is head of the Family Law Department. She qualified in 1985 as a solicitor, joined JWS in 1993 and became a partner in January 1997. Kerry specialises in all aspects of general Family Law including Divorce, Contact and Residence of children and Cohabitation and Civil Partnerships.

Gareth Alty – Partner – Commercial and Domestic Property
galty@johnwelchandstammers.co.uk
Gareth is head of the Property Department. He qualified as a solicitor in 1989, joined JWS in 1999 and became a partner in January 2000. His experience includes commercial property, domestic property, business sales and purchases, leases, licensing and tenancy agreements.

Bernadette Summers – Practice Manager
bsummers@johnwelchandstammers.co.uk
Berni joined JWS in 1995 with a management background and qualified in business and legal accounts in 1997. She manages and runs all administrative departments of JWS including Accounts, ICT, HR, Marketing and Compliance, allowing the Partners to concentrate on their various aspects of the law so as to provide a more efficient service to their clients. Berni also assists in the Wills and Probate Department.

Lewis Thomas – Solicitor – Commercial & Domestic Property
lthomas@johnwelchandstammers.co.uk
Lewis qualified as a solicitor in 1984 and joined JWS in February 2010. He has over 20 years’ experience in commercial property including property investment acquisitions and disposals, acting for landlords or tenants, property finance and business sales and purchases. He also deals with domestic sales and purchases and general conveyancing transactions.

Clare Bennell – Legal Executive – Domestic Property
cbennell@johnwelchandstammers.co.uk
Claire joined JWS in 2002 and worked as a secretary in the Property Department until July 2006 when she began her training to become a Legal Executive. Her caseload includes freehold residential sales and purchases and remortgages.

Russell Jinks – Solicitor – Civil Litigation/Employment
rjinks@johnwelchandstammers.co.uk
Russell qualified as a solicitor in 1981 and practiced in South London (including running his own legal practice) until moving to Oxfordshire in 2001.  Russell joined JWS in 2011 and handles all types of civil disputes including commercial or contractual disputes, property or landlord and tenant disputes, contentious probate and personal injury claims.  Russell also deals with all areas of employment law and regularly uses alternative dispute resolution such as mediation as a cost effective alternative to court proceedings.

Christian Evans – Legal Executive – Wills and Probate
cevans@johnwelchandstammers.co.uk
Christian has recently joined JWS, he obtained his Legal Practice Certificate in 2005 and is currently working towards becoming a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.  Christian has been dealing with Wills, Trusts, Inheritance Tax planning, Court of Protection, Powers of Attorney and Probate Administration since 2006.