Tendring Outreach

Rachel Earnshaw , Solicitor

Rachel Earnshaw is a qualified solicitor with five years experience in Family Law. Her expertise lies in all areas of family law, but she is particularly interested in child care proceedings and has been appointed to the Law Society's Children Panel, as well as the Law regarding Civil Partnerships which relates to same sex couples. As part of the Family Law team Rachel advises and assists clients in connection with divorce, dissolution, ancillary relief, cohabitee disputes, arrangements concerning children, and also assists parents in child care cases involving the Social Services Department as a Children Panel member she is also able to represent the children in these proceedings. She also enjoys working close to the local community as part of our Tendring Outreach project. Rachel has also retained links with Staffordshire University, where she studied, by acting as a Practitioner Mentor for students and those joining the profession. Rachel is based in our Norfolk House offices, which are closely situated to the Court.

Natasha Cooper , Solicitor

Natasha is a qualified Solicitor working as part of our Family team. Natasha undertakes all aspects of family work however her expertise lies in matters relating to children, care work, and child protection. She has a particular interest in providing legal advice to vulnerable groups in the local community and this is developed by supplying legal advice through our Tendring Outreach project. Natasha began her enthusiasm in Family work whilst she was completing her training contract. She also has a keen interest in the areas of litigation and advocacy.

Charlotte Knappett , Solicitor

Charlotte is a qualified solicitor who works in our Family Department. She practices all aspects of family law including divorce, ancillary relief, private children work , injunction and disputes between cohabitants. She is also qualified to give advice on housing law.

Charlotte is part of our Tendring Outreach community project where she gives legal advice to people living in the vicinity of Clacton and Harwich. She particularly gets satisfaction from this work as she believes in the concept that law should be available for all people. Charlotte is a founder member of Future Lawyers of Colchester (F.L.O.C.) which is a support group where newly qualified local lawyers can share their experiences and offer support to one another

Glenn Craig , Solicitor

Glenn is an experienced legal adviser who has recently qualified as a solicitor. Before joining Fisher Jones Greenwood on 1st April 2005 he worked for Edwards Duthie Solicitors; a very busy legal aid practice based in East London. Before this Glenn has worked as a specialist for the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, based at Witham, Essex and has worked as a specialist benefits adviser with the Social Services department at the London Borough of Barnet. After completing his legal studies Glenn worked as a Parliamentary Assistant to a London based MP. Glenn’s experience includes:

Preventing eviction, including representation at Possession proceedings; Help with benefit problems
Representation to secure release from detention under the Mental Health Act; Taking or threatening High Court action to enforce individual rights to welfare payments, housing or care services from Government or Local Government.

Chris Ellis

Chris became interested in housing law while volunteering for Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity, while he studied philosophy at the University of Essex. After graduating with a PhD in philosophy, he went on to work at as an administrator for Shelter. He returned to academia for a time, teaching philosophy at the Universities of Kent and Essex, before returning to work for Shelter at the Essex and Suffolk Housing Aid Centre in Colchester as a Housing Caseworker. He then worked for Shelter’s publishing and editorial section as a legal writer, where he worked on a number of publications aimed at young people with housing problems and professionals who advise them, Shelter’s Advice Online, Shelter Legal, and edited Housing Matters, Shelter’s bimonthly bulletin for Housing advice workers.

Chris is particularly interested in housing issues affecting young people, and works closely with FJG’s Lawyers for Young People. He is developing expertise in other areas of social welfare law, and hopes to study for the CPE in the near future.

Chris Graves , Partnership Member

Chris is Joint Head of the Family Team, a Solicitor Advocate with over thirty years experience in Family Law.

His advocacy experience ranges from Social Security Tribunals to General Courts Martial, including the High Court in a number of cases. He was recently accorded Higher Court advocacy rights of audience in all levels of civil proceedings up to the House of Lords.

Chris is a member of the Law Society's Children Panel, accredited specialist with Resolution in Children Law and Adoption, and a qualified Collaborative lawyer.

He has long held a reputation in Legal Aid, having pioneered Duty Solicitor schemes in East Anglia, founding member of the Legal Action Group and Legal Aid Practitioners Group . He is a member of the LAPG National Committee and lifelong supporter of Liberty. Having chaired Legal Aid Appeal Committees in Eastern Region for many years, he was recently appointed an Independent Legal Aid Adjudicator by the Legal Services Commission.

Chris also has an interest in Landlord/Tenant law, and the world of 'Buy to Let'. He has overall responsibility for the Housing Team and deals personally with preparation of tenancy agreements and possession proceedings for landlords.

He has held a number of public posts including Colchester Borough Councillor, Chairman of Colchester Quaker Housing Association and Chairman of Governors of Colchester County High School. He has served on governing bodies or legal advisor of many local charities and recently as President of Suffolk and North Essex Law Society.

Nigel Humphreys , Partnership Member

Nigel is a member of the Law Society Children Panel, a solicitor advocate with Higher Court Advocacy rights and a Solicitors Family Law Association Accredited Specialist.

Yvonne Spencer , Partnership Member

Solicitor Advocate Yvonne Spencer specialises in all aspects of public law, judicial review, human rights and education law. Yvonne advises and represents commercial clients including schools, colleges, universities, local authorities, associations and charities, care home providers, and nursery and early years providers.

Yvonne also provides public law services for professionals who wish to challenge decisions made by The Secretary of State or bodies such as Ofsted, or CSCI e.g. failed inspections, listings on List 99, POVA and POCA. As a solicitor advocate she appears on behalf of clients in The Care Standards Tribunal, The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal, and all the higher courts including the High Court and Court of Appeal, thus providing a seamless service for the firm’s clients.

In June 2004 Yvonne was named as the Law Society Gazette’s ‘Lawyer in the News’, when she appeared in the High Court for the Muslim schoolgirl Shabina Begum. Yvonne has a Masters degree in Human Rights, and is Hon. Secretary of the Solicitors’ Association of Higher Court Advocates (SAHCA); a Director of the Education Law Association (ELAS); and a Governor at the Royal Hospital School, Suffolk.

Her recent publications include ‘The Education Law Handbook’, Butterworth’s ‘Education Law Manual’, and ‘Education Law Update – law made simple’. Before joining the firm, Yvonne was Deputy Director of the Children’s Legal Centre at the University of Essex.