News
Essex law firm staff celebrate 20 years' service
- Posted:
- 17 January 2022
- Time to read:
- 4 mins
This year not only marks Birkett Long’s 200th anniversary but also 20 years’ service at the firm for a number of their staff.
One of the staff to celebrate this year is Corinne Dardis. Corinne started her career in the firm’s Admin team where she got to know everyone in the Colchester office as a float support during her first 6 months with the business. Corinne worked in the Wills, Trusts and Probate team and then supported the Dispute Resolution team specifically in debt recovery for almost 10 years. Subsequently, she worked in the Quality and Compliance team for 7 years before finally moving into her current role as a Team Assistant in the Residential Conveyancing team, which she absolutely loves!
Corinne has the breadth of experience of working across a number of the firm’s departments and notes that her career has changed so much from when she started. She said: "There is always something new to learn along the way, as well as meeting new challenges."
Corinne has seen 4 Managing Partners during her time at Birkett Long and has watched the firm go from strength to strength. When Corinne first joined, the Halstead office was still open and she has seen the firm expand into its Chelmsford and Basildon bases.
Corinne said: “Birkett Long really looks after its staff and if anything, the past couple of years have shown us the care that the business has provided during this unprecedented time. I have many memories over the past 20 years, from when I first started to where I am now, but I think my favourite thing is the people here. There are a couple of people that I would like to thank that took me under their wing when I first started and they are Emma Harper and Nicky Halls. We always check in once a week when they are passing.”
Nicky Halls is another member of staff celebrating 20 years’ service this year.
Nicky started working at Birkett Long when a Partner she used to work with at another firm moved to Birkett Long and she came to work with him. She initially started out on a freelance basis and then eventually came to work at the office, firstly part-time and then full-time.
Nicky said of the last 20 years: “Birkett Long has expanded greatly over the last 20 years and has moved with the times and progressed. First and foremost, it is the people that I like most about Birkett Long and the very friendly and caring environment…Here’s to the next 20 years!”
Tracey Dickens is Partner and Head of the Commercial and Corporate Finance Team and is delighted to be celebrating 20 years’ service. Tracey joined the business with 2 years’ post qualification experience as a general commercial lawyer, having dealt with a variety of matters in her previous firm from employment to commercial property, acquisitions and sales, and professional partnerships. She had always wanted to focus on commercial corporate work and therefore jumped at the chance of joining Birkett Long in its Commercial and Corporate Finance team. When she started, Tracey remembers thinking “I will wake up one day and I will have been here 10 years” she was so certain that Birkett Long was the right firm for her. Tracey made Partner within 5 years and became team leader shortly after.
Tracey’s favourite memory of her time at the firm is becoming a Partner and getting to contribute to the firm by becoming a training principal and bringing in new stars of the future.
Tracey feels that Birkett Long has enabled her to grow as a lawyer, forever supporting her training, and supporting her to continually develop her specialist subjects including franchising and intellectual property.
Reflecting on the last 20 years, Tracey remembers how the firm transitioned from a traditional look to a bright new look that worked alongside the growth of the firm’s regional teams and how the firm expanded into wider service offerings for commercial clients with the introduction of BLHR and BL Intellectual Property.
Tracey said when asked what she likes about working at Birkett Long: “The people and the clients we attract and work alongside. Everyone in the firm is always doing their very best for our clients, be they external or internal. Our people result in long-lasting client relationships where we get to join our clients on their business and personal journeys. So many of us are involved with our community as trustees and board members of a variety of organisations, it being so important to us all to be an active part of our community. I like being able to develop my practice as a specialist lawyer advising GP practices and being supported to try different things, accepting that we will not succeed with all initiatives, but that we can always learn something from trying.”
In addition to Corinne, Nicky and Tracey, the firm is celebrating the 20 year anniversaries of another six of their staff this year.