Key Personnel

Peter has been a partner at Ashton Morton Slack since 1975 and has a wealth of experience in the criminal courts. Most of Peter's time is spent representing clients charged with a wide range of offences from minor motoring matters to the most serious of charges. Peter also prosecutes for the Department for Work and Pensions, the Environment Agency, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, The Department for Trade and Industry and the Child Support Agency, as well as sitting as a Recorder in the Crown Court 4 or 5 weeks a year.

"I love the variety in my job and, along with all my colleagues in the Criminal Department, I hope to provide an unrivalled service to all my clients and to ensure that they feel that we have their interests at heart and will do all we can to achieve the best possible result for them."

Tim qualified in 1989 at DLA Sheffield.  He joined Ashton Morton Slack in 1991 and became a partner in 2007. 

Tim has wide ranging expertise in commercial litigation, specialising in landlord and tenant matters, contractual disputes, property litigation and contested probate litigation.  He enjoys the challenge of achieving good results for clients in situations often fraught with great anxiety, supporting them at every stage of the process. 

Recent successes have included the resolution of a highly complex dispute between an American manufacturing company and its UK representatives.   

Tim is married with young twins and a son, whom he is hoping will grow to share his great love of cricket and rugby and perhaps emulate Tim's achievements in playing rugby at Twickenham and excelling as an all rounder at his cricket club. 

He qualified in 1975 and was a partner in one of the founding firms of Ashton Morton Slack. The partnership acquired a practice which Robert managed for 17 years during which time he practised in Litigation and Commercial work. In 1995 he returned to Ashton Morton Slack's main offices to run the Civil Litigation Team.

As well as managing the work of the Dispute Resolution Team, Robert specialises in more complex cases which come to the firm and personally handles the larger value cases.

His experience includes appearances in the Commercial Court with insurance fraud claims, in the Court of Appeal in pension disputes and Freezing Orders, and successful applications for a Worldwide Freezing Order in multi-million pound disputes.

Robert has special interest in professional negligence, insurance claims, contested probate pensions, equine law, construction, landlord and tenant.

In addition, Robert is a fully accredited Commercial Mediator and a member of the Association of Northern Mediators. His ADR experience includes breach of contract (insurance), construction disputes and general contractual disputes.

Robert retired in May 2010 and is now a consultant to the firm whilst enjoying spending more time with his family and friends.

Tricia qualified in 1979 after training with Wake Smith and joined what was later to become The Law Partnership, as a Partner, in 1988.

She has always concentrated on Private Client practice and at present is the Head of the Wills and Probate and Residential Property departments.

She has, for many years, specialised in assisting the parents of those with learning difficulties in writing their Wills, in view of the complicated area of Law involved.

Tricia says ‘I enjoy the satisfaction of helping my clients move into their dream home, the camaraderie of dealing with other solicitors and sometimes the cut and thrust of a legal argument along the way'

Tricia has a son who is working in Australia and a daughter at University. She takes part in many sports in her free time including badminton, golf and tennis.  She also has a taste for good food and wine, as well as enjoying holidays in the sun. 

Michael Doherty is one of the most competent litigators in Sheffield and is an Associate Solicitor in the firm's Dispute Resolution department. Although Michael only qualified as a Solicitor in March 2007, he actually benefits from over 8 years knowledge and experience in the profession.

Post qualification, Michael quickly established himself as a formidable litigator with a reputation throughout the city for achieving results.

He specialises in both commercial and general civil litigation and has particular expertise in the following areas:  

• Contractual disputes
• Professional negligence
• Injunctive relief
• Equity and trust litigation
• Insolvency litigation
• Property litigation (including boundary disputes)
• Actions against the Police
• Consumer law

Michael also conducts debt collection work and uses his wealth of experience and refined judgment to great effect here.

Michael is a keen sportsman and enjoys most sports but has a particular interest in rugby and golf. Michael has also become a father recently and loves spending quality time with his family and friends.

Mark qualified in 1984 at the Sheffield firm of Stouts, which later merged with The Law Partnership.  He joined Ashton Morton Slack as a partner in May 2000 when the firm merged with The Law Partnership. 

Mark brought to the firm a wealth of experience and expertise in Serious Fraud matters.  He has worked for some 13 years in this field, for a number of years in gold and precious metals cases, and for the past several years his time has been spent almost exclusively on defence work in VAT fraud cases brought by HM Revenue & Customs.  He is an acknowledged leader in this area of law and has a superb record of client acquittals.

Mark is fascinated by the forensic investigative nature of this work - it plays perfectly to his strengths which include a prodigious memory, coupled with numeracy and stringent attention to detail.  He derives great satisfaction from achieving an acquittal at the end of a long and complex investigation, whether at trial or as the result of a successful finding of abuse of process. 

When not working Mark brings an equally fierce competitive fervour to his rally driving.  He holds a UK National Grade A rally licence and, ably supported by his team, competes successfully with his Opel Manta 400 and Subaru Impreza N10.  Both cars have impressive provenance, having been owned in the past by the legendary McRae rallying family.

Lesley Graves is a nationally respected specialist in high value catastrophic injury claims and has a wealth of experience and proven track record in her field.
She has over 16 years legal experience and works with Ashton Morton Slack to further develop the team's expertise, particularly in cases involving brain and spinal injuries.

She shares the AMS ethos of working closely with clients, ensuring all their needs are met and that they receive compensation to provide the high quality of care and rehabilitation they need for the rest of their lives.

Lesley trained and practiced as a qualified solicitor at Pannone, progressed to Partner and Head of Catastrophic Injury at Donns Solicitors Department before moving to a partnership within Alexander Harris and Irwin Mitchell in Manchester.  During this time she was appointed as a panel specialist to two national support associations; Headway, the charity supporting survivors of brain injury and SIA, the Spinal Injuries Association.  With Ashton Morton Slack she is well placed to build upon these foundations and help more victims of serious injury.

Her reputation within the profession has been reflected in the Legal 500, the guide to the legal profession, which in 2006 reported "Lesley...is a respected brain and spinal injury specialist and has been involved in a number of highly publicised cases" and previously as a "catastrophic and military injury expert".

David is a leading expert in serious fraud.  He joined the highly rated fraud and business related crime team as a consultant in January 2009.

David qualified in 1992 at John Gorna and Co. He then worked at two niche corporate and commercial firms before joining what is now known as DLA Piper where he was part of the commercial regulatory group.  After 3 1/2 years David moved to Russell Jones and Walker where he set up and managed the North West regulation investigation team.

In 2002, David set up his own firm, which he built up to 21 fee-earners and 3 support staff, the niche practice solely specialised in regulatory work.  David sold the firm in 2005.  Described by Chambers in 2007 as follows; 

"David Hanman Associates earns a mention as one of the most ‘brilliant and busy' smaller firms in this area.  Despite a stellar reputation for income tax, revenue and customs cases, the group also branches out into SFO, DTI and police fraud cases.  David Hanman commands respect and admiration from all sides for ‘building up from scratch a practice awash with good quality work.'  In addition, many peers highlighted him as ‘likeable' and ‘someone who we'd have no hesitation referring to'."

Acting for both companies and individuals David has a range of experience dealing with regulatory work, defending claims brought by Serious Fraud Office and HMRC. In addition, he has experience in dealing with cases involving DBERR (formerly the DTI), Inland Revenue and the Police Commercial Fraud Squads. In addition David boasts expertise in law surrounding direct taxation.

John qualified in 1975 and was a partner in one of the founding firms of Ashton Morton Slack. John is a member of the Law Society Personal Injury Panel, and a member of The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers. He has extensive claims experience in all areas of personal injury law. He is an experienced advocate and committed believer in the need to provide top quality client care as well as a legal expertise of the highest standard. John has special responsibility for the Clinical Negligence Team and has particular interests in training and developing the skills, legal knowledge base for the continued success and expansion of the Personal Injury Department.

"During my 30 years in practice I have seen many changes in the in way personal injury claims are handled. Two objectives remain as important today as they have always done: firstly, the need to deal with the client as an individual whose special requirements must be understood and secondly, to provide a top quality legal service that delivers results. Despite modern commercial pressures I am proud that the firm remains resolute in retaining and delivering these objectives."

Zoe qualified as a specialist clinical negligence solicitor in 1999 after training at leading niche clinical negligence practice Alexander Harris. Until 2007, Zoe was an associate at Alexander Harris and latterly Irwin Mitchell (incorporating Alexander Harris) where she led a team of clinical negligence specialists. She gained a national reputation by representing breast cancer patients who were wrongly diagnosed at Trafford General Hospital.  She also gained a national reputation in managing high value birth injury claims.

Zoe is a member of the Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel. Zoe's specialist areas are catastrophic clinical negligence claims including birth injury claims, brain injuries and serious spinal injuries.  She has lectured to students (medical and legal professionals) taking the MA in Healthcare Law and Ethics, delivered joint seminars with the Medical Protection Society to neurosurgeons on issues of informed consent and has numerous settled cases reported in publications such as Current Law and Clinical Risk.  Zoe has also represented patient groups seeking to instigate fitness to practise hearings against surgeons etc through the General Medical Council.

Zoe is past President of the Trafford Law Society.

Zoe joined Ashton Morton Slack in 2007 as a Consultant and became a Partner in 2008.  The change from consultant to partnership follows the firm's move to create a leading catastrophic injury team and the decision to bring Zoe on board on a full time basis within the strategic management of the firm. 

As a strategic partner at the firm,  Zoe was invited to join the Board of LawNet - the UKs largest independent network of law firms.  Zoe is also a member of the Sheffield Cares Strategic Leadership Team comprising of senior management in Sheffield and acts as a business mentor for technology companies seeking advice and financial investment through Connect Yorkshire.

Maintaining her interest in medical issues, Zoe is the Sheffield Ambassador for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.  This follows her previous role on the Foundation's North West Business Development Group.

Max read English and History at Rugby School before going on to qualify as a solicitor in 1991 at the London firm Lovell White Durrant.  He joined Ashton Morton Slack in 1994 and became a Partner in 1998. 

He is the Partner in charge of the Business Department and his particular areas of expertise are in acquisitions and mergers, share sales/purchases and all aspects of company law.  Max also advises on partnerships and trading contracts.  He has a wide range of experience in insolvency law including the administration process, receivership, liquidation and bankruptcy. He is listed as a recommended solicitor on the Panel of the British Dental Association and regularly acts on behalf of dentists who are purchasing or selling their practice. 

Max's other principal sphere of expertise is employment law, where he provides employers and employees with advice on contracts, redundancy procedures, compromise agreements, industrial relations and all other aspects of this field. 

Recent major projects include the acquisition of a group of 9 caravan parks at a cost of some £43m and the restructuring of a major nursing home group. 

Max is married with a young son and daughter and enjoys skiing, walking, a great love of food and wine, a wide ranging interest in music as well as being an ardent supporter of Welsh rugby. 

 

Helen qualified in 1979 at the Sheffield firm of Bingley Dyson & Furey.  She joined Ashton Morton Slack in 1999 and became a partner in 2007.

Helen is one of the partners responsible for the firm's commercial property practice.  Her wide ranging expertise covers the sale and purchase of retail and industrial properties, leisure developments such as caravan parks, development land, blocks of flats, agricultural land and properties and buy-to-let properties.  She also provides advice on landlord and tenant matters, tenancy agreements, neighbour disputes including rights of way, restriction of light and boundary issues.  

She particularly enjoys the broad spectrum of her work and the opportunities it provides for creative problem solving.

Helen is married with two sons and is a keen walker with her husband and dog in the Peak District. She also greatly enjoys overseas travel, particularly to France and Portugal and is a food and wine lover.

Richard undertook his training contract with Eversheds in Leeds, qualified in 1998 and spent a further four years there as a commercial contracts lawyer.  He joined Walker Morris in 2004 from O2 (UK) Limited where he was in-house legal counsel involved in a broad range of retail and telecommunications property related matters. 

After spending a further year working for a large property development and investment company as the Group Property Lawyer, he returned to Walker Morris in Leeds until 2008 when he joined Ashton Morton Slack as a Partner.  He now deals with a wide range of commercial property work for a broad client base.

Richard is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development and has recently been recognised by the Good Lawyer Guide for outstanding legal practice.

Ann is a Partner and head of the family and children team and has been a dedicated family solicitor for eleven years. She is a specialist accredited member of Resolution, the Family Lawyers association; the areas she specialised in are Private Children Law and Domestic Abuse.

Ann is a participating member of St. Andrews Child Contact Centre Committee in Sheffield. Ann and the rest of the team are assisting Business in the Community with the Right to Read project, focused on improving child literacy levels in the local community.

Rachel Roebuck joined Ashton Morton Slack as Head of the Children Team in 2007 and became a Partner in the firm in May 2010.

After qualifiying in 1988, she became an associate solicitor, then Equity Partner in another Sheffield based firm for 12 years, during which time she pursued her keen interest in Family Law and developed her expertise in Children Act matters.

She is a member of the Law Society Children Panel and Resolution and the Solicitor's Regulation Authority. She sits as a part-time District Judge on the North Eastern circuit in Civil and Family Law and is Chair Person on the Training Sub Committee of the Local Family Justice Panel.  In addition she is also an Accredited Specialist in the areas of Private Law Children matters and Advocacy in Ancillary Relief Proceedings.     

Rachel can advise and assist clients on a wide range of subjects including;

• Child Care Proceedings
• Problems with Social Services
• Contact and Residence Disputes
• Parental Responsibility Issues
• Child Abduction
• Adoption  

Edward Williams has significant experience as a conveyancing and relocation expert. He qualified in 1997 and is now Head of Relocation and manages the contract with Cartus Relocation - one of the largest relocation companies in the UK. Ed and his team work with Government departments and other companies moving their employees around the country.

Stephen qualified as a solicitor in 1973 and has specialised in property work ever since. Whilst head of the property department, Steve specialises in relocation work, acting for employers and employees of all types of businesses and government departments moving around the country and beyond:

"I also get involved in international work, helping to smooth the process for businesses and their employees by handling legal requirements and documentation. This is a very specialised area of work, and I am delighted to be Ashton Morton Slack's resident expert, and one of very few lawyers in UK specialising in this work! As a firm, we've developed a very strong reputation in this area now, which was recently recognised by a special partnering award from Cartus Limited, the premier provider of global relocation services."

Mike Woffenden took his Law degree at Cambridge University; trained at a leading Private Client firm in Lincoln's Inn, London and returned to his home town of Sheffield to practice. He joined Ashton Morton Slack LLP as Head of Probate Trust and Tax in 1980, a position he held for 29 years, before partially retiring at 60 in 2009.

He now works as a Consultant in his old department and enjoys it immensely. He especially likes the continuity in helping clients with their family assets over the generations, saying, "I am now acting for the children of some of my original clients which is both rewarding and satisfying for a family solicitor." 

Mike has also recently been recognised by the Good Lawyer Guide for outstanding legal practice.