Angela joined Mortons in 1986 as a junior typist, her career in the firm is unique. 

She decided shortly after joining that she wanted to develop her career in law and studied part-time to obtain a law degree from Northumbria University.  Angela acquired wide experience in the legal world by working full-time within the firm as a legal clerk.  She was admitted as a solicitor in 1996, became Partner in 1999 and Managing Partner in 2011.  Angela having progressed through the ranks has a sound understanding of the firm making her an ideal Managing Partner and a shining example to all members of our support staff.

Although in her early days Angela helped develop and establish our busy Family department by advising on divorce and child care matters in more recent years she now heads the firm’s Conveyancing department supervising the Conveyancing team and dealing with domestic and commercial sales and purchases, re-mortgages and buy-to lets and is still very much hands on.

Christine qualified as a solicitor in 1999.  She joined Mortons in 2004 and specialises in all aspects of family law.  She is a member of The Law Society’s Children Law Accreditation Scheme and Resolution. 

Christine graduated from the University of Leeds in 1979 with a B.A. Honours Degree in English. She subsequently studied at Manchester Polytechnic graduating in 1981 with a Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management Subsequent to her graduation Christine undertook a number of roles within the management field until 1990.

In 1991 Christine decided upon a change of career path and began to study at the University of Northumbria at Newcastle with a view to entering the legal profession and in 1996 she successfully achieved her Legal Practice Diploma.

Christine joined a local firm of solicitors in 1997 where she had sole responsibility for the Family Law Department.

In 2004 Christine joined Mortons Law as an Associate Solicitor and was promoted to Partner in April 2008 and is now a director and Head of the Family department. Christine continues to specialise in all aspects of Family Law  with a particular interest in the area of Children Law.

David joined Mortons in 2009 as an Assistant Solicitor following completion of his training contract with a local firm.

During his training, David gained experience in a number of areas, including Crime, Conveyancing and Family Law.

Following his admission as a Solicitor, David has chosen to specialise exclusively in Family Law and enjoys the variety and challenges associated with all aspects of Family and Matrimonial Law.

Andrew joined the firm in March 2013 as an Associate Solicitor in our family department with particular emphasis on children’s matters both in Care proceedings and in Private law disputes between parents.

Andrew began his legal career in 1982 as a trainee Legal Executive and qualified as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives in 1988 before attending Northumbria University to complete the Law Society Solicitors Final examinations qualifying as a solicitor in 1990.

He has represented clients in complex family matters including divorce, cohabitation disputes and family finance throughout his career.  He joined the Law Society’s Children Law Accreditation Scheme in 2004 and is accredited to be appointed by the court to act on behalf of children in care proceedings.

Karen completed her law degree at Lancashire Polytechnic (now the University of Central Lancashire) and qualified as a Solicitor in 1991.

Karen has undertaken a wide range of legal work including wills and probate, trusts, family law, business law, civil claims, residential and commercial conveyancing.

2011 saw a complete change of focus for Karen who moved into the engineering sector where she helped to manage a small engineering firm specialising in aerospace work. Her focus was on the implementation of quality standards, and in dealing with every day legal issues faced by businesses including commercial contracts, Landlord and Tenant queries, and employment law problems.

Her return to private practice sees Karen concentrating on a wide variety of residential property transactions such as freehold and leasehold transactions,  right to buy, remortgage and transfers of equity.

Away from work Karen enjoys reading, supporting Sunderland Football Club, dog walking, spending time with friends and family.

Karen joined Mortons in February 2021 and is based in our Durham Office.

Martin studied at University of Lincolnshire & Humberside, graduating in 1997 and qualified as a solicitor in 2003.

Since qualifying as a solicitor, he has undertaken a variety of property work, including, commercial and residential property, commercial law, Landlord & Tenant matters, including commercial leases, drafting heads of terms, rent deposit deeds and Liquor Licence applications for pubs.

Martin regularly acts in commercial property sales and acquisitions for property investment clients and has also acted in numerous commercial asset sales and purchases, of public houses, petrol filling stations, post offices and other businesses. He also acts for banks both in taking security over commercial purchases and acting for the bank, providing separate representation, recent work includes: –

  • sale and purchase of multi-let investment properties;
  • advising on a commercial re-mortgage of a large industrial estate;
  • disposal and purchase of petrol filling stations;
  • providing property support on corporate share purchase and sales.

Outside of work, he can be found at the weekend driving his children to local football and rugby matches all over the North-East.

Karen studied Law and Chemistry in Leicester before completing her Law Society Finals in Newcastle and qualifying as a solicitor in 1991. Since then she has worked in local firms advising on family and property matters, before ultimately specialising in conveyancing at our Seaham office.

Amanda qualified as a Solicitor in 2007 and has since built up extensive experience in residential conveyancing.

Away from work Amanda enjoys training for sprint and Olympic distance triathlons and is a member and coach with Durham Triathlon Club.

Amanda also enjoys spending time with friends and family.

Angela obtained her law degree at Northumbria University and qualified as a solicitor in 2013.

Throughout her career Angela has specialised in estate planning such as Wills, Asset Preservation, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Court of Protection and Probate matters. Angela’s calm and friendly demeanour together with the way she explains complex issues in a simple manner puts clients instantly at ease.

Angela joined Mortons in March 2021 as an Assistant Solicitor within our Private Client Department and is based in our Sunderland office. 

Daniel works in the family department, undertaking work in all areas of family law and specialising in private family matters including divorce, financial relief, child arrangement, domestic violence and cohabitation matters.

Having received his initial degree at the University of Leeds he converted to Law and obtained a Graduate Diploma in Law followed by the Legal Practice Certificate at Northumbria University. He began his legal career at a firm in Gateshead where he qualified as a Solicitor in April 2016 working in a busy litigation department,specialising in family and criminal law. He then moved to a firm in Hartlepool where he began to specialise in Family Law before his move to Mortons in September 2018.

Rachel studied at the University of Sunderland where she completed her Law Degree, Masters Degree and Legal Practice Course. She then joined a Newcastle law firm initially as a paralegal but then progressing to complete her training contract and qualify as a Solicitor into a busy conveyancing department. 

Rachel joined Mortons in December 2020 as solicitor in our residential conveyancing team based at the Durham office. She is experienced in dealing with all kinds of property transactions including sales, purchases, re-mortgages and transfers of equity.

Katie joined the firm in 2022 as a Solicitor within the Family Team following completion of her Period of Recognised Training with a local firm. She was admitted as a solicitor in August 2021 having gained experience in several areas to include Crime, Conveyancing, Family and Private Client. 

Katie graduated from Northumbria University in 2019 with a First Class Honours MLaw (Exempting) Degree, which incorporated the Legal Practice Course and Masters qualification. She was selected for the Honour Roll for each year of her study for attaining the top 10% of grades within her year group. 

Katie was also awarded the Philip Plowden Price for best performance within the Student Law Office’s Criminal Appeals Clinic and the Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor Aware for excellent academic attainment in her final year of study.

Following admission as a Solicitor, Katie has chosen to specialise in Family Law and can offer assistance in a variety of cases to include, but not limited, to divorce, private children disputes, domestic violence and public law cases involving the Local Authority.

Janet is a key member of our Private Client department and has a particular interest in matters relating to probate, powers of attorney, deputyship and paying for care. 

Janet began her legal career with Durham County Council, and qualified as a Chartered Legal Executive in 2000.

She has successfully represented clients in contested probate matters, appeals in relation to funding for care both against the local authority and continuing healthcare cases.   

Janet deals day to day with Wills,  Probate,  Power of Attorney and Court of Protection matters.  

Janet is a member of  Solicitor for the Elderly and has received dementia training and has a caring and friendly approach.

Alex has worked within the legal profession since leaving school starting out as a secretary and working her way up by obtaining her degree from Cilex Law School to be qualified as a Chartered Legal Executive Lawyer. Alex currently awaits being admitted as a Fellow of the Chartered Legal Executives. 

Alex specialises in private client dealing with a variety of Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Probate and Estate Administration, Court of Protection Deputyship matters and Asset Protection Trusts.

Alex joined Mortons Law in August 2022.

Rob joined Mortons in 1997 from The Court Service in Sunderland County Court where he assisted the Judiciary and Court Users.

Rob formed an interest in Family Law as a result of his daily involvement with the cases coming before the Court, which ultimately prompted him to make a career change to private practice as a Legal Clerk.

Rob deals primarily with matters relating to children (both private law and public law) along with cases involving domestic violence, including applications for Non-Molestation (injunction) Orders.

Niamh Laws-Grant

Niamh started working in the legal sector in 2017 before qualifying as a CILEx Paralegal in 2022. Niamh joined our Durham office in 2023 as a conveyancing fee-earner. She has experience of dealing with freehold and leasehold sales and purchases, re-mortgages, transfers of equity and new-build transactions. 

Outside of work, Niamh enjoys spending time with her partner and family, walking their dog Gracie and attending Aerial Hoop classes each week.  

Katrina has worked in the legal profession since leaving school, starting her career in administration and secretarial duties. She now is a fee earner and has her own case load which she manages on a daily basis.

After joining Mortons in 2011 she has been based in the firms residential conveyancing department within the Seaham Office, which largely comprises of freehold and leasehold sales, freehold and leasehold purchases, re-mortgages, transfers of equity, and purchases under the right to buy legislation etc.

Katrina has built a good working relationship with local estate agents and mortgage brokers alike.

Catherine joined Mortons in June 2014 following a short break from working in Law.  After joining a Law Firm after leaving school Catherine progressed from administrative assistant to fee earner with her own case load and maintains excellent client relationships.

Catherine has a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of residential conveyancing and vast experience in developing relationships with introducers, agents and financial advisers alike. 

Victoria has worked in the legal profession since 2004.

Since joining Mortons in September 2011, Victoria has been based in the residential conveyancing department, initially as legal assistant to the head of the Conveyancing department and largely dealing with freehold and leasehold sale and purchase transactions, re-mortgages, transfers of equity and purchases under the right to buy legislation.

Victoria has built up a vast knowledge in all aspects of residential conveyancing and has built up an excellent working relationship with local mortgage brokers and estate agents. She is now a fee earner managing her own caseload at our Durham office.

Lizzie Gardner

Lizzie graduated from Sheffield Hallam University with a degree in Law in 2015 and joined Mortons in 2019 as a Conveyancing Assistant to one of the firm’s Directors.

Lizzie has built a vast knowledge in all aspects of conveyancing, building a good working relationship with local estate agents and mortgage brokers, and is now a fee earner managing her own caseload at our Durham office.

Mandy Dean

Mandy has worked within the legal sector for 6 years, joining our Durham office in 2020. Mandy is a conveyancer for the firm and manages her own caseload. She has experience dealing with sales, purchases, re-mortgages, right to buy, transfer of equity and other areas of residential conveyancing. Mandy prides herself in her customer service skills and client satisfaction and always puts her client’s needs first.

Michelle has worked within the legal sector since 2004 and joined our Durham office in 2022 as a Residential Conveyancer.

She has experience dealing with sales, purchases, re-mortgages, right to buy, transfer of equity and other areas of Residential Conveyancing including helping first time buyers purchase their new homes under the Help to Buy Government Scheme.

Outside of work Michelle enjoys hiking in the Lake District and the Scottish Highlands, camping and kayaking.

Morgan graduated from the University of Sunderland in 2019 with a Law Degree and then went on to graduate with a Masters in Law combined with the Legal Practice Course in 2020.

Shortly after her studies, Morgan joined Mortons as a secretary in our private client department. Since then, Morgan has gained experience within residential conveyancing and family.

In April 2023, Morgan commenced her training contract with the firm and is now a trainee solicitor within our family department.

Specialising in law firm management for almost 20 years, Julie supports the Directors with day to day operations including office and facilities management, compliance with quality standards and specialised accreditation schemes, reviewing, updating and implementing policies and procedures, maintaining relationships with employees and suppliers and providing an HR function to the practice.