Your team up close…
We would take the opportunity to introduce you to some of our health team here at Browne Jacobson.
Like many organisations here at Browne Jacobson we have all found our diaries filling up with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype video calls and more and there are a number of downsides to this trend during lockdown (the chief complaint being the lack of access to a hairdresser!). However, we have also heard a number of clients commenting how great it has been to put faces to names and, in these strange times, spending a moment checking in with each other and chatting about life beyond the legal advice.
So with that in mind we thought we would take the opportunity to introduce you to some of our team or rather your team here at Browne Jacobson. In every issue, we will put a couple of our team under the spotlight so you can catch a glimpse of the person behind the lawyer. In our first instalment we have caught up with Joel and Sarah who were both promoted to senior associate in the firm’s most recent round of promotions.
Joel Nixon – Senior Associate, Commercial Health
Q. Which area of law do you specialise in?
A. Corporate M&A and Commercial Contracts
Q. In five words describe the work you do?
A. Buy, Sell, Negotiate, Draft, Advise
Q. What has been your career highlight to date?
A. My recent promotion is a fairly obvious one on a personal level. Client-wise though, it was acting on the sale of The Hesley Group, a specialist autism and complex needs support and care business. It was definitely a ‘burning the midnight oil’ type of transaction but it was an absolute pleasure acting for individuals that had devoted significant chunks of their lives to the growth of a brilliant business and going on a journey with them to see them rewarded accordingly. In a specialism where we are measured by our completions, and we do several a year as a result, the raised glasses in the early hours on this one stand out as the sweetest.
Q. Tell us something about yourself other probably don’t know.
A. Either that I can juggle or that I can drop the worm dance move on command – although guests at my wedding will know the latter.
Q. What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation?
A. Without a doubt it would be Wolverhampton Wanderers – I will throw in a further 20 minutes free of charge if it is to my rival-supporting Birmingham office colleagues…
Q. What’s the best way to start the day?
A. Of course it is being woken up following a rough night’s sleep at the crack of dawn by my cereal craving 4 and 2 year old sons…
Q. What mystery do you wish you knew the answer to?
A. Carrier pigeons! And, no, simply saying ‘magnetism’ is not an answer… Who was the market disruptor that stumbled across this new method of communication? Is it just the equivalent of a cat being let out at night but always finding its way home but on a much grander scale?
Q. Did you always want to be a lawyer?...
A. I always think I am lucky because I actually did, all the way back to choosing my GCSE subjects at the age of 13 based on what would get me a step closer. Graduating into the 2008 financial crisis was a bit of an obstacle but I am here in one piece at an extraordinary firm with brilliant people and doing work I love for great clients.
Sarah Stork, Senior Associate, Health Advisory & Litigation
Q. Which area of law do you specialise in?
A. I represent NHS organisations in clinical negligence disputes.
Q. In five words describe the work you do?
A. Resolve claims fairly and efficiently.
Q. What has been your career highlight to date?
A. Representing an NHS organisation in a case in the Royal Courts of Justice where the Claimant sought to recover damages significantly in excess of those usually awarded to claimants with injuries of the same nature. A judgment to the contrary could have opened the floodgates and increased the level of damages payable by the NHS. This was a successful case for our client, with Judgment being awarded at a sum lower than our client’s Part 36 offer. It was also very nice to receive positive feedback from the clients, our experts and Counsel.
Q. Tell us something about yourself others probably don’t know.
A. My best friend at school had the same name as someone famous, but then she changed it.
Q. What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation?
A. The drama between the Real Housewives cast – watching trashy TV has quickly become a ‘hobby’ during lockdown!
Q. What’s the best way to start the day?
A. Lots of coffee.
Q. What mystery do you wish you knew the answer to?
A. As a nervous flyer, I’m still amazed by (and very grateful for) the science behind how planes stay up in the air for hours on end. I appreciate that this is not a ‘mystery’ as such, but it feels like it every time I’m about to board a plane!
Q. Did you always want to be a lawyer?...
A. My 16 year old self had a dream of having a cocktail bar or a tea room… I quickly went off the first idea after working in a bar for 3 years during university. The idea of a tea room still sounds appealing though!
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