Gloucestershire's law and finance sectors are thriving, with no shortage of impressive firms to seek financial and legal advice from — whether you're looking for support in family law, as a business owner or financial advice as an entrepreneur.
SoGlos teams up with Gloucester's Tayntons Solicitors to highlight just 10 outstanding people — in no particular order — who have helped to make the county's law and finance landscape such a success and celebrate their individual achievements.
Alex Lyttle — Partner and solicitor at Tayntons Solicitors
Spending his formative years in Gloucester after relocating from Northern Ireland, Alex Lyttle has over 15 years of law experience and is now a partner and solicitor in the employment and dispute resolution department at Gloucestershire's oldest law firm, Tayntons Solicitors.
Stand-out successes in his role include a contract dispute at a four-day trial at the High Court in Bristol; representing a large Bristol Christian charity at the property tribunal concerning the calculation of their rates; as well as settling a variety of other employment disputes from long term sickness to bullying and harassment claims.
Alex is highly valued at Tayntons for his proactive approach and his strong will to work collaboratively with clients, building long-lasting relationships.
David Butler — Audit partner and head of charities and not-for-profit at Bishop Fleming
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Specialising in both owner-managed businesses and not-for-profit organisations, David Butler has worked with charities for nearly 15 years and has experience in a wide range of sectors, including independent schools. He heads up the charities and not-for-profit team at Bishop Fleming, steering its strategic direction to ensure it provides clients with top notch services relevant to their specific needs.
As well as being a regular speaker at charity events and writing articles on sector issues, David is also one of the firm's Academy School partners and author of the Kreston Academy Benchmarking report — a comprehensive document used to evaluate the current financial position of academy trusts across the UK.
Judi Bonham — Managing director at WSP Solicitors
Throughout her 27-year career, Judi Bonham has dedicated herself to all aspects of family law, helping families to resolve their issues constructively — evidenced by her membership to familial lawyer network, Resolution.
As managing director at WSP Solicitors, Judi advocates for self-development professionally and personally through mentoring, training and coaching; creating a place where colleagues can bring out the best in themselves. Her contributions have helped to shape Gloucestershire's legal landscape, earning respect and trust through her unwavering dedication to her clients and colleagues.
Greg Lewis — Partner at Griffiths Marshall Advisory Group
Heading up the audit team at chartered accountancy firm, Griffiths Marshall Advisory Group, Greg Lewis has been a valued member of the team for more than 11 years.
Providing an efficient audit service to clients, Greg and his team conduct a wide variety of auditing types, identifying weaknesses in systems and providing recommendations on how to improve — with organisations on the company's roster ranging from charities to academies and UK subsidiaries for European businesses.
Always seeking ways to give back and make changes in the accounting industry, Greg participates in local networking events, including one with students at the University of Gloucestershire, as well as working towards making the move to digital tax management at Griffiths Marshall.
Kathryn King — Head of corporate and commercial at BPE Solicitors
Elected council member at The Law Society, Kathryn King progressed from a trainee position to becoming a partner at BPE Solicitors in just five years, excelling in her career as a corporate lawyer at the firm.
Now head of corporate and commercial, with a team of new starters working under her direction, she deals with a clientele that includes charities, entrepreneurs, investors and management teams from a variety of industries throughout the UK and beyond. She also recently helped to launch the BPE Start Up Hub, which provides free materials, resources and information for hopeful individuals looking to start their own business.
Lucie Hammond — Partner at Hazlewoods
Formerly a designated member of Cheltenham accountants Randall & Payne, Lucie Hammond now works at independent accountancy and business advisory firm, Hazlewoods.
As an amateur showjumper in her time, she brings her passion for equestrianism into her role, where she thrives in the rural sector — covering farming, landed estates and equestrian businesses, advising owner-managed companies, private clients and trustees. She draws upon her own knowledge and experience of the sector to offer a distinct holistic service.
Paul Mourton — Managing partner at Lodders Cheltenham
Appointed as managing partner at Lodders in January 2018, Paul Mourton has developed an excellent reputation in Gloucestershire's legal sector — and by opening and managing the firm’s office in Cheltenham, as well as overseeing its growth to date, he's firmly part of the national company's legacy, too.
Specialising in investment property transactions and large-scale property development for commercial clients, Paul deals with all manner of projects from logistic and distribution sheds, hotels, car showrooms, out of town retail schemes and business parks, medical centres, and large residential schemes — plus, adding to his stamp on the town, he's also a trustee for the Cheltonian Endowment Trust, which is associated with the governance of Cheltenham College.
Hari Pillai — Corporate finance manager at Randall & Payne
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Hari Pillai joined Randall & Payne's Cheltenham team as corporate finance manager in September 2022, relocating from a Big 4 accountancy firm — and he's been leading the buy-side aspect of the firm's corporate finance offering, as well as being a key member of its business advisory team, ever since.
His experience in mergers and acquisitions, operations consulting and developing strategy is valuable to clients from a wide range of sectors and industries, helping them to solve problems and maximise the value of their business.
Alasdair Garbutt — Partner at Willans LLP Solicitors
Working closely with clients of all sizes, from large national organisations to local individuals, Alasdair Garbutt is a partner at Cheltenham firm, Willans LLP Solicitors — where he also heads up the real estate team.
Recommended by The Legal 500 UK, Alasdair deals with all kinds of work from sales and acquisitions to landlord, tenant and property management matters. A trustee of Cheltenham Open Door, Alasdair makes it his priority to give back to the community and other charity causes, alongside acting for many third sector clients including Sue Ryder, Shelter, Macmillan Cancer Support and Marie Curie.
Victoria Hubball — Director and head of family law at Gwyn James Solicitors
Victoria Hubball holds the position of director at Gwyn James Solicitors, which has branches in the Forest of Dean, Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth, having worked her way up at the firm since joining nearly six years ago.
Victoria's area of expertise is family law and she heads up this specialist department at Gwyn James, covering care proceedings, statutory declarations, private child proceedings and special guardian advice and applications, as well as much more.
Keen to challenge herself both in and outside of the office, Victoria participates in various charity events, such as taking on half marathons and even tackling a fundraising skydive for worthy causes.
