A wave of new promotions at law firm Steele Raymond

We are thrilled to recognise and reward the hard work and dedication of the following individuals who step up into new roles:

• Holly Wheaton to Paralegal
• Laura Offer to Associate
• Michelle Bettell, Victoria Jarmolkiewicz, Kayleigh Medland and Rosanna Parker to Senior Associate
• Shaun Guppy and Amelia Williams to Partner

All these individuals are fantastic at what they do and we’re very proud to promote and celebrate their achievements.

Holly Wheaton started with us as a Legal Secretary in our commercial property team, and while studying hard for her Chartered Institute of Legal Executives qualification, is now a crucial member of the firm’s highly regarded residential property team, helping families move into their dream homes as seamlessly as possible.

Laura Offer, who has been qualified four years, has been with the firm since 2020. She is integral in our property disputes and litigation team, working on a wide range of commercial and private complex property dispute matters.

Our four Senior Associate promotions consist of Michelle Bettell, Victoria Jarmolkiewicz, Kayleigh Medland and Rosanna Parker.

Kayleigh and Rosanna are both part of our commercial property team. Kayleigh specialises in landlord and tenant, secured lending, investment and land development work and continues to be involved in some of the firm’s most complex commercial property transactions. Rosanna joined the firm as a secretary, quickly becoming a paralegal before embarking on a training contract with the firm in 2016. Her specialism is industrial and office estate acquisitions, development and subsequent sales and lettings.

Family lawyer Michelle, who, like Kayleigh, started her Steele Raymond journey in 2017, has considerable experience dealing with all family matters and is an accredited specialist in both private child law and financial disputes concerning unmarried couples achieved through the Resolution Lawyers Accreditation Scheme. Michelle is also a very experienced accredited Mediator and is qualified to consult with children within the mediation process.

Victoria’s promotion follows the addition of several new hires to our Residential Development team – and now – unmatched residential development offering. She provides expert legal advice to developers, social housing providers, and national housebuilders on development projects across the South Coast and the broader national region. Victoria has also recently been elected to the Bournemouth Property Association committee.

Corporate and commercial solicitor, Shaun Guppy is the latest individual to make the journey from placement student within Steele Raymond to partner. Post his studies, Shaun started his training contract with the firm in 2014.

Reflecting on his promotion, in Shaun’s words:

“Steele Raymond LLP is truly made by its people. From inspirational individuals to supportive and inclusive teams who are specialists in their respective fields, the mentorship and support I have received during my time at the firm has contributed greatly to my development and success as a lawyer.

The firm has almost doubled in size since I first joined, and I am proud to say that I have been part of that fantastic journey and look forward to seeing and contributing to that continued progress for years to come.”

Amelia’s promotion to Partner now strengthens our already top-tier ranked Dispute Resolution team. As a commercial litigation solicitor, Amelia works on a wide range of business and commercial issues, from significant, complex commercial disputes to professional negligence matters.

Amelia is the niece of John Raymond, one of the original founders of Steele Raymond in 1981 and the great grand-daughter of Montague Raymond who entered into a partnership in 1898 which was subsequently taken over by Steele Raymond in the 1980s. Amelia is actually the fourth generation of Raymond’s to become a partner within the firm (or a predecessor to it) over the last 125 years.

Amelia said:

“It’s been an exciting period of growth for the firm over the last two years in particular. I was delighted to be asked to join the Partnership. The calibre of legal and professional talent we have at the firm is unrivalled. I look forward to help further grow the business and continue to delight our clients .”

Steele Raymond Managing Partner Jennifer Rogerson comments:

“I’m extremely proud of all these individuals, as I am of the entire Steele Raymond team. These individuals have all worked exceptionally hard and all deserve their promotions. Within the partnership, we’re incredibly passionate about enabling our people to progress their careers. Our people are our business. Last year we launched our lawyer progression framework which outlines our expectations and also, the opportunities individuals can take to further progress. It’s fantastic to be able to promote so many of the team and see people achieving their ambition and succeeding. Well done to all.”

For further details on developing a career at Steele Raymond, please visit our Careers with Us page or contact Liz Phipps, HR & Recruitment Manager, on 01202 294 566.