Our People

Richard was articled at Field & Sons and continued in the practice of Field Overell LLP when Field & Sons merged with Overell Swain. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1978.

Richard has extensive experience in the areas of residential and commercial property, advising clients on the acquisition and disposal of businesses and landlord and tenant matters.For 16 years Richard was Assistant and then Deputy Coroner for Warwickshire.

Simon qualified in 1981 and specialises in Wills, Probate and Care for the Elderly. Simon Homer is a member of the Probate section of the Law Society and the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (known as STEP). STEP is the worldwide professional association for practitioners dealing with family inheritance and succession planning. STEP helps to improve public understanding of the issues which families face in this area and promote education and high professional standards among its members. For further information visit www.step.org

In acting for clients in the preparation of Wills and in Probate matters Simon gives advice on complex issues such as Inheritance Tax Planning. He also deals with Lasting Powers of Attorney and Court of Protection cases where clients need expert guidance on the management of their financial affairs.

Simon is also a Notary Public, advising clients on the preparation of and signing for documents to be used overseas.

Andrew qualified in 1992; he specialises in the areas of Civil Litigation and Personal Injury and heads the firm’s Coventry office.

He is a grade A Litigator; a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and is also a member of the Law Society’s Expert Personal injury Panel. He has particular expertise in dealing with brain injury cases of the utmost severity. Andrew regularly acts in Multi Track cases in several areas of Civil Litigation for Claimants and Defendants. He has wide expertise in the High and County Courts.

In Personal Injury he deals with and supervises cases extending from minor injuries to injuries of great significance and Schedules of Damages in excess of £1 million.

Andrew’s areas of expertise are Commercial & Chancery, Contract, Health and Safety, Personal Injury, Professional Negligence, Property Disputes and Debt Recovery. He has been building a reputation for dealing with large contested Probates with a particular interest in Indian Will disputes, having recently acted successfully for the Claimants in a disputed Will executed in the Punjab, requiring an 8 day Trial dealing with allegations of forgery, lack of due execution, want of knowledge and approval and undue influence.

Severine specialises in high net worth financial cases and associated cases on divorce and family breakdown with assets both in the UK and abroad. She has considerable experience in all areas of law such as financial proceedings, which include cases of significant legal or financial complexity or matters of more modest means, which can prove equally challenging.  Severine also deals with nullity and judicial separation proceedings, which can be quite a rarity these days.  Severine also deals with pre-nuptial agreements, private law children cases, cohabitation disputes and injunctions.

Severine is known for her meticulous preparation and ability to put clients at ease, showing empathy for the issues of importance to them, no matter how small.  Severine’s no nonsense approach makes her a robust solicitor when it comes to negotiating the right divorce settlement.

The net result has been that a significant part of Severine’s work comes from personal recommendations from clients she previously acted for.

Severine is the head of our Family Department in Leamington Spa but will also see clients in our Coventry office.

Background

Severine read law at Thames Valley University in London and was admitted as a solicitor in 2005.

Severine has over 20 years of experience of working in the legal field. Severine worked at Stephenson Harwood, a large international City firm in London, having offices all over the world. Severine subsequently went to work to Tite and Lewis, a UK law firm established in London in association with PwC and subsequently Ernst & Young (Tite & Lewis merged with Lawrence Graham in 2004).

Severine happily relocated to Warwickshire and joined Field Overell in 2006 as an assistant solicitor.  Through sheer determination and commitment to the Firm, Severine worked her way up and became an Associate solicitor in 2008, a salaried partner in 2011 and an equity partner in 2014.

Professional Memberships:

• Law Society
• Severine is a panel member of the Family Law Accreditation Scheme which is regulated by the Law Society. Members of this Scheme specialise in family law issues, such as divorce, separation, division of family assets, cohabitation, maintenance and family disputes.
• Severine is also a member of Resolution which promotes a non-confrontational approach to family problems which requires Members to follow a Code of Practice.
• Severine is the partner responsible for the firm’s ongoing accreditation with Lexcel, which is the Law Society’s legal practice quality mark for excellence in legal practice management and excellence in client care.

Languages:

Severine is fluent in French, being a native Speaker. She has not lost her French accent just yet, despite being in the UK for way over 20 years.

Severine can read and understand Spanish.

Reported and notable cases

Re C [2009] EWHC 2933

After taking a law degree at Birmingham University, Terry began his legal life in his home town of Rugby. He practised in Stratford on Avon for many years before taking up specialist commercial property positions in Solihull and the centre of Birmingham.

Terry acts for landowners, businesses, lenders and property developers in relation to freehold and leasehold property transactions. He also has significant experience in other disciplines, particularly liquor and public entertainments licensing and the sale and acquisition of pubs and restaurants.

Kerri joined Field Overell LLP as a Paralegal in the Family Department on 27th January 2014.

Kerri has previously worked as a paralegal specialising in family law and childcare matters and more recently with a top 5 ranked law firm in Birmingham specialising in divorce, children matters and high net worth financial matters.

Kerri has approximately 20 years of experience of working in the legal field.

Kerri is an Affiliate Member of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and is currently studying for her Professional Diploma in Law and Practice.

Cathy joined the firm as a conveyancer on 4th January 2016 and specialises in all areas of residential conveyancing.

After recently practising in Coventry Cathy has now moved back to her home town of Leamington Spa.

Cathy has over 25 years of experience in the legal profession and her knowledge and experience means that she is able to provide her clients with the highest standard of support with the minimum amount of stress.

Cathy has extensive experience in dealing with Help To Buy Mortgages, Sales & Purchases, re-mortgages and Transfer of Equity.

Louise recently joined the Firm on 7th April 2014 and specialises in all aspects of Residential Conveyancing.

Louise grew up in Warwickshire area and has worked in various different areas of Property for the last 20 years. She began her career working for a Lender in their Legal Department moving into private practise in 2000.

In her last role Louise worked as a paralegal in a specialist Agricultural team working alongside the Partners and dealing with rural matters of which the work included voluntary registrations of large areas of unregistered farmland, adverse possession applications, agricultural tenancies and sales and purchases of farms and equestrian property.

Louise has extensive experience in many areas of Residential Conveyancing and specialises in sales, purchases and remortgages plus Right to Buy and Shared Ownership Leases.

Gemma graduated from the University of Brighton in 2009 with a 2.1 LLB Hons in Law with Business. She then studied her Legal Practice Course at Birmingham BPP which she passed with a Commendation before working in the Personal Injury department of a large national solicitors firm who specialise in insurance litigation. Gemma has 3 and a half years’ experience in defending personal injury claims.

Gemma joined Field Overell in July 2016 working with the Senior Partner in a range of Civil Litigation matters. Gemma sees clients at both the firms Coventry and Leamington offices.