With the announcement of seven new starters, law firm Frettens now boasts more than 100 staff.

The new group includes a new partner, a second cohort of law graduates and more.

Sarah Heath, an established name in commercial law, becomes the third partner in the firm’s Commercial Property Department, joining from a large local firm.

Sarah Heath

Oonagh McKinney, who heads up the department, said: “It’s great to have another partner on board in commercial property, especially one with such a great reputation.

“Sarah will not only be a great help to the team in Ringwood and assist us in dealing with the increasing number of commercial property clients instructing Frettens, but will also play an important role in working with the leadership team.”

Meanwhile, Justin Mears, Bethany Pinner and Sevil Yildrim, who all joined in September, mark Frettens’ second cohort of trainees.

Justine Mears, Bethany Pinner and Sevil Yildrim

Sevil and Justine will both work towards completing their LPC and qualifying as solicitors over the coming years, while Bethany is beginning the first year of Frettens’ Graduate Scheme ahead of moving on to the SQEs.

Sevil has started out in the Wills & Tax Team, Justine joined the Conveyancing Department and Bethany will spend the year in the Family Team.

Anthony Eaton

The fifth fresh Frettens face is Dispute Resolution Solicitor Anthony Eaton, who brings experience from two local firms including a large regional competitor where he advised in a broad range of contentious matters.

Anthony has experience in professional negligence & misrepresentation claims, contentious probate, property issues, such as boundary disputes, and more.

When asked about his short time at Frettens so far, Anthony said: “I am delighted to have started at Frettens. I have had a very warm welcome from everyone at the firm and am excited to start work for my new clients.”

Michelle Hayter, who heads up the dispute department, said: “We’re thrilled to have Anthony join us at Frettens. He is not only another set of hands to help us deal with the amount of work we have, but also an experienced lawyer.

“Anthony has hit the ground running and he is looking forward to continuing to develop his skills and expand his client base whilst working as part of a team.

“He has a promising career ahead of him and we’re certainly excited to see him flourish and reach new heights at Frettens.”

Anne Spicer

Paralegal Anne Spicer has joined Frettens’ Commercial Property team, where she’ll be supporting Sarah Heath.

Anne has previous experience as a Licensed Conveyancer, but decided to take a step back into a support role in 2021.

Anne said: “Having worked for over ten years in my last employment, I was a little apprehensive about learning a new IT system and meeting new colleagues.

“Of course, I needn’t have been concerned as everyone has been very friendly and welcoming and have answered my numerous ‘how do I’ questions to help me settle in and to get to grips with the new system.

“I love the bright, refreshing colours Frettens have adopted and the information and articles on the website made them stand out as a great place to work.”

Francesca Dixon

Last, but not least, Legal Secretary Francesca Dixon has joined Frettens’ team in Christchurch, where she’ll be supporting the firm’s Employment and Insolvency teams.

She hopes to develop her skills and broaden her understanding with a view to becoming a Legal Executive one day.

Francesca said: “I am very exciting to be starting here at Frettens. I received a very warm welcome, with an introduction and tour within my first few days, which really helped me settle in and begin to learn the names of all the staff and who to turn to if I needed help.

“I wanted to join Frettens as the firm allows me to progress within this industry, with training opportunities to suit my personal career path.”

“The last couple of years have been a productive period for recruitment at the firm, but these last few weeks has been particularly busy.” said Managing Partner Matthew Fretten.

“It’s my pleasure to welcome all seven of our ‘September starters’ to the firm, and I’m glad to see that they are all settling in well.

“Sarah, Anne and Francesca will all play pivotal roles in maintaining the current growth of the commercial side of the firm; while the others will be essential support for our busy personal services.

“Passing one hundred team members is definitely a landmark moment for us, and there’s plenty more to come.”

• https://www.frettens.co.uk/