Collaborative Law

Jane Wilson , Partnership Member

Jane is joint head of the Family Team. She was educated at Colchester High School for Girls and went on to graduate from Essex University. She was admitted in 1987, and became a Partner in her then practice the following year. Since then, she has specialised in all aspects of family law.

Jane became a Partner at Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP in 2000, where she now deals primarily with high value, complex financial cases and private children issues arising from relationship breakdowns. She has developed a particular expertise in cases involving business as well as privately owned assets. She trained in London as a collaborative lawyer and is currently a member of the East Anglia Collaborative Law Group Steering Committee.

She is a long-standing member of Resolution (formerly the Solicitors Family Law Association) and a former treasurer of the Colchester Conciliation Service

Simon Osborn , Partnership Member

Simon is a solicitor with over 20 years experience in divorce and family Law. His expertise lies in high value and complex financial cases, often involving family businesses, multiple properties and pensions. He is experienced in contested cases concerning residence and contact to children. He is also experienced in disputes relating to the property and children of unmarried couples.

Simon is a member of the Law Society Family Panel at Advanced Level. He is an Accredited Resolution Specialist in Financial Provision and Children. Simon is a trained Collaborative Family Lawyer and has successfully concluded cases using this alternative to court based litigation. Simon is based at our Charter Court office which is conveniently located on the Colchester Business Park on the north side of Colchester close to the A12.

Kate Taylor , Partnership Member

Kate joined the firm in 1998 and became a Partner within the Family team one year later. She qualified in 1984 and has been practicing locally since that time. She initially specialised in Property Law until 1989 when she moved across to practising Family Law, where she has extensive experience in conducting complex financial cases and cases involving children.

Kate is the Partner in charge of Family mediation at the firm. She qualified as a family Mediator in 1991 and Commercial and Civil Mediation in 2002 and has since practised this work in conjunction with her work as a Solicitor.

She specialises in all levels of the financial aspects of divorce and is also particularly interested in the law relating to children and family breakdown. She has the following accreditations and qualifications: Resolution accredited member with specialisms in financial provision and the law relating to children; trained in the area of Collaborative Law in 2005; a member of the Law Society Mediation Panel; a member of the Panel of Mediators for the Court of Appeal Mediation Scheme; a member of the Family Mediators Association; an ADR UK trained Civil and Commercial Mediator.

Kate’s Trustee work includes being a Board member with the Family Mediators Association. She has also been a Trustee of the St. Matthews Child Contact Centre in Colchester for 10 years and was a founder member.

Nigel Humphreys , Partnership Member

Nigel was admitted as a solicitor in 1979 and has over 25 years’ experience in all areas of general litigation and advocacy, but now specialises in family and children work. He was appointed a member of the Law Society Children Panel in 1993, a Solicitors’ Family Law Association Accredited specialist in January 2000, and obtained Higher Court Advocacy rights in Civil Proceedings in January 2004. Nigel is also trained in collaborative law.

As a full time criminal prosecutor in Birmingham for 5 years he appeared daily as an advocate and has conducted many criminal trials in the magistrates’ Courts, both for the prosecution and the defence. More recently as an advocate in care proceedings he has conducted numerous contested hearings before District and Circuit judges lasting up to 5 days. He has extensive experience of financial and ancillary relief cases, including representing clients at final contested hearings. Nigel has special expertise in cohabitation property disputes, involving difficult issues of Trust and Property law.

Nigel is a regular contributor to the Legal Action Group Journal on Children and Family Law Issues, and regularly writes articles on legal issues. As a partnership member in the Family Team he is responsible for their in-house legal training programme, and has recently given an external training course in Pensions on Divorce for the Law Society. Nigel has also served for many years as a school governor.

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.