Sole Practitioners Group
Penny Raby
Chairwoman and Head of Conference
Penny has been a SP specialising in family law for 20 years, working with her husband Mike a Forensic Accountant on divorce cases involving business and complex asset and income tracing and Inheritance Act disputes. She won Worcestershire Family Lawyer of the Year award in 2014 and was nominated for the National Family Law Magazine Family Law Firm of the Year for 2015. She has appeared on radio and television and, with Mike, has toured their networking pantomime ‘Snow White and the Seven Small Business People ‘ internationally, including a notable performance at the 2016 SPG Conference in Prague!
Tel: 01386 555 114
Email: pennyraby@harmony-house.co.uk
Penny Raby & Co, Harmony House, 7-9 Church Street, Pershore, Worcestershire WR10 1DT
Joanna Connolly
Vice-Chairwoman
Joanna Connolly specialises in the areas of Consumer Credit, Contentious Probate, and Insolvency. Joanna is a solicitor with Higher Rights of Audience who is qualified to represent clients as an Advocate in the higher courts in England and Wales. She was previously Head of Consumer Credit Litigation at MSB Solicitors and has had extensive litigation experience both at County Court and High Court level. Joanna had conduct of the lead Consumer Credit Act High Court case Carey v HSBC Bank Plc [2009] EWHC 3417 (QB) as well as cases in the Court of Appeal.
Tel: 0330 053 9340
Email: enquiries@joannaconnollysolicitors.co.uk
Joanna Connolly Solicitors,
33 Cheadle Avenue,
Liverpool L13 3AE
Kem Masinbo-Amobi
Honorary Treasurer
Kem qualified as a solicitor in November 2002 under the tutelage of Mr Martin Mears (former President of the Law Society). Kem has over sixteen years commercial experience gained in a variety of demanding and challenging environments. Kem’s employment history includes time spent at some of the most prestigious legal firms in Suffolk and Norfolk. A keen gardener, Kem has completed the RHS Level 2 Certificate in Horticulture and her other hobbies include reading, travelling and cooking in true “Nigella” fashion.
Tel: 01473 760 046
Email: kem@kmasolicitors.co.uk
KMA Solicitors,
Saracens House
25 St Margaret’s Green,
Ipswich, Suffolk
IP4 2BN
Clive Sutton
Honorary Secretary & Council Member
Clive specialises in litigation covering most aspects of private and commercial work and has been a sole practitioner in Lymington in Hampshire since leaving a partnership in 1998. His other interests are as Chairman of his local Amenity Society in Lymington and Trustee of the New Forest Centre Museum in Lyndhurst. In the past he has served as Chairman of the local Citizens Advice Bureau and Churchwarden and in the early 70s as a Resident Magistrate in the Seychelles.
Clive has been an SPG committee member since 2000 and served as Chairman, and then as Hon Secretary and Chair of the Insurance Subcommittee from 2006. He was on the Law Society Council Membership Committee for 10 years and since 2017 has been the SPG Nominated Law Society Council Member, serving now on the Councils Scrutiny and Performance Committee.
Tel: 01590 672 595
Email: solicitor@clive-sutton.co.uk
Clive Sutton Solicitor,
3 The Old Print Works
85b High Street,
Lymington,
Hants SO41 9AN
Sushila Abraham
Solicitor
Sushila has lived in Surbiton, Surrey for over twenty years. She decided to start her own practice locally because she wanted to offer quality and care to the local community. She also wanted to be free from pressure to overcharge clients in order to meet the profit and billing targets set up by some of the bigger law firms. She is married to Matthew a barrister, and they have one son who has also qualified as a barrister. In addition to being wife and mother, running her practice in Surrey, and her role on the SPG Executive Committee, Sushila is also ‘Cllr Sushila Abraham’, having been elected as Lib-Dem local councillor in the Borough of Kingston in a by-election in February 2013 and then re-elected in May 2014. Sushila was also President of Surrey Law Society and was elected as Law Society Council Member for Surrey. She is also a Board member of the Membership Board at the Law Society and a Trustee of ICLR representing the Law Society. Sushila is a very community minded person and had run cookery classes for local school children, which she called “Suzie’s Kitchen”, believing in the importance of teaching life skills.
Tel: 020 8390 0044
Email: office@sabrahamsolicitors.co.uk
S Abraham Solicitors
290a Ewell Road,
Surbiton
Surrey KT6 7AQ
Sukhjit Ahluwalia
Head of Marketing Sub-Committee
Having worked in some of the most prestigious banking and consultancy organisations, Sukhjit opted to provide a more personal one to one service and believed that this could be best done through his own practice. He has been based in Goodmayes in Ilford since 2003. In his private life, Sukhjit likes to get involved in a number of charitable activities, working with organisation to assist people from all backgrounds and ages in reaching moral excellence either in their private life or in their professional capacity. Whilst he is quite a shy person, Sukhjit has been part of two documentaries exploring the changes that have taken place in the traditional arranged marriage process. His children are still young and take up a great deal of his time but when he does have time for himself, Sukhjit likes to sit, read a good book and watch the world go by.
Tel: 020 8215 0884
Email: sukhjit_ahluwalia@ae-law.co.uk
Avery Emerson, Gloucester House, 335 Green Lane, Ilford Essex IG3 9TH
Moses Ajayi
Solicitor
Moses was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1987. He has also been admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. Moses is a Sole practitioner and specialises in Human Rights and Immigration. He is also engaged in general civil and criminal matters on a private fee basis. In his spare time he enjoys sailing and has participated in many sailing events around the world. He also enjoys discovering new places and spending time with his family.
Tel: 020 7733 6506
Slade & Fletcher Solicitors
1st and 2nd Floors
348a Camberwell New Road
London SE5 0RW
David Barton
Editor of Solo
David qualified as a solicitor in 1982. For 20 years he was a partner in a medium-sized mid Kent firm from which he retired in 2003 to start his own practice as a sole practitioner. Since then he has specialised in solicitors’ professional misconduct and criminal road traffic work. In April 2002 David was awarded the Higher Court’s (All Proceedings) Qualification.
From 1996 until 2016 David was one of the SRA’s external prosecutors. He also advised and represented solicitors and their firms in regulatory difficulty, and now does that exclusively.
David is married with 3 grown up children. He is a keen cyclist, golfer, walker, traveller and reader.
Tel: 01580 292409
Email: davidbarton@dblaw.co.uk
David Barton Solicitor Advocate Limited
Flagstones, Biddenden, Kent TN27 8JG
Rahil Chaudhuri
Solicitor
Rahil Chaudhari is a Senior Solicitor at Arlingsworth Solicitors. Rahil secured an LLM at University College London and then went on to train and work at some of the most prestigious law firms in the City before joining Arlingsworth in 2005. Rahil is a highly experienced and versatile solicitor and has practiced in the fields of immigration, family, commercial, employment and litigation for the past 20 years. He now specialises predominantly in immigration, human rights and company law. Rahil has become a leading authority in these areas. Rahil’s client base spans a wide range of sectors from multinational companies to private individuals. Rahil always works tirelessly to achieve successful results for his clients and he is driven by providing exceptionally high standards of client care.
Tel: 01273 696 962
Email: rahil.chaudhuri@arlingsworthlaw.co.uk
Arlingsworth Solicitors Ltd, 145 Islingword Road
Brighton, East Sussex BN2 9SH
Dorcas Falode
Solicitor
Dorcas is a Sole practitioner, at home and abroad. She recently celebrated 10 years of being a SP with offices in London and Lagos. She flies in and out of the UK on a regular basis dealing with a variety of cases. She specialises in Immigration Law dealing with entry clearance cases, family reunion, visitors’ and students’ visa applications. The practice also deals with family and education cases, giving a voice to the weak and defenceless. Dorcas is married with four children. When she is not busy attending to clients, she works as a counsellor, nurse, cook, taxi driver, tutor of her four young adults. She loves to travel and finds shopping very therapeutic.
Tel: 020 3223 1061
Email: df.solicitors@yahoo.co.uk
DF Solicitors, 791 Sidcup Road
London SE9 3SB
David Hinde
Solicitor
David is a dispute resolution specialist with over 20 years’ experience dealing with civil and employment law matters. After reading law at the University of London he trained and qualified in the City of London working at leading law firms before starting his own niche practice as a sole practitioner based in Covent Garden. Acting for individuals and SME companies he has dealt with a wide-range of cases ranging from judicial review in the European Court of Justice to contract and property disputes in the High Court and County Court. He is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association and speaks French. Married with a son who keeps him very busy when not in the office, he is also a school Governor of his local Primary School and enjoys reading, cycling and the cinema.
Tel: 020 7112 5209
Hinde Law Ltd, 71 – 75 Shelton Street
London WC2H 9JQ
Hamish McNair
SRA Liaison Lead
Hamish is based in Fulham, London. Having initially specialised in copyright and trade mark work, both in the City and New York City, his practice now includes conveyancing, wills trusts and probate, as well as litigation. Married with three children, when Hamish is not in the office or involved in SPG matters he enjoys open-air swimming, sailing, overnight bike rides, and also has a passion for the theatre.
Tel: 020 7371 7896
Email: hamish.mcnair@mcnairlaw.co.uk
McNair & Co, EBC House, Ranelagh Gardens
London SW6 3PA
Oluwakemi Mosaku
Solicitor
Kemi was called to the Nigerian Bar as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1989 and admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 2004. She has a varied work experience which includes working in the immigration department of the Home Office, private practice both in legal aid and privately funded matters in the UK. Her last role was head of immigration department in a firm before setting up as a sole practitioner. She specialises in Immigration and Human Rights Law. She also undertakes family law work and landlord and tenants. Outside of work Kemi is a trustee in a thriving charity and enjoys spending time with her three sons. She also enjoys keeping fit, music, networking, reading biographies and current affairs.
Tel: 01634 780 230
Email: info@emeraldsolicitors.co.uk
Emerald Solicitors, The Old Courthouse, 1 The Paddock, Chatham, Kent ME4 4RE
Tahira Shaffi
Past-Chairwoman
Tahira has been a practicing solicitor for 20 years. She set up as a sole practitioner after being made redundant in 2010. She has found the SPG to be an extremely helpful point of contact on so many issues which are affecting the whole profession whilst paying particular attention to the needs of Sole Practitioners. Tahira understands that being a sole practitioner can be a lonely experience but networking with like-minded individuals makes all the difference. She is glad that there is an independent body outside of the Law Society that is working hard to look after its members interests. Tahira is based in Bury, Greater Manchester where she lives with her family. She has lots of interests outside of the law including politics. Tahira was previously an LEA school governor and has stood as a candidate in the local elections and is passionate about civic duty and putting something back into the community. It is a lot to juggle with but Tahira is proud of the work of the SPG because she believes in better representation for Sole Practitioners!
Tel: 0161 222 6092
Mikhael Law, 197 Rochdale Road
Bury, Lancs BL9 7BB
Lubna Shuja
Council Member
Lubna qualified as a solicitor in 1992. She was a partner in a high street firm in West Yorkshire for many years and then started her own practice in Birmingham in 2007 undertaking mediation, family and civil litigation. Lubna became a CEDR accredited Mediator in 2005, and is dual qualified to conduct both Civil and Family mediations. Lubna is also involved with various regulators and she Chairs a number of Disciplinary/Professional Conduct Committees. She is a Law Society Council member where she represents the interests of sole practitioners, Chair of the Law Society’s Membership and Communications Committee, and she also sits on the Law Society Board.
Tel: 0121 551 7866
Legal Swan Solicitors,
1st Floor, 168 Hamstead Road, Handsworth,
Birmingham B20 2QR
Nicholas Woolf
International Arm
Nick was admitted as a solicitor in 1979 and was a junior partner in two firms in London before starting his own practice in the West End in 1987. In 2011 he moved on to create a niche international commercial and family practice in Chancery Lane. He is a Member of the Solicitors Family Law Association and has trained other professionals on family law matters and anti- money laundering. Nick is married with four children and he has a range of hobbies which include travel, music, tennis, reading and photography.
Tel: 020 7242 6018
Nicholas Woolf & Co Solicitors
87 Chancery Lane,
London WC2A 1ET