New Head of Family Law Appointed at TMJ Legal Services

Leading North East law firm TMJ Legal Services has strengthened its family team by appointing a new Head of Family at its head office in Hartlepool.

As the new Head of Family, Francesca will lead the department and join a team of specialists with extensive experience assisting clients with family-related matters.

Bringing a wealth of experience, Francesca is also a Resolution-accredited specialist. Resolution members are committed to a Code of Practice that promotes a constructive approach to family issues that considers the whole family's needs.

In addition to supporting family legal matters, Francesca assists Harbour, a local domestic abuse support charity, and is vice-chair of the board of trustees.

Commenting on her appointment, Francesca said: “I am looking forward to contributing to the ongoing expansion of the family team and the firm as a whole, as well as offering my support to the next generation of talented lawyers.”

The family team at TMJ advise on a wide range of family law and childcare law matters, including divorce and separation, financial agreements, domestic violence protection, care proceedings, special guardianship and child arrangement orders.

Newly appointed Director, Catherine Donworth, Private Client and Conveyancing Solicitor said: "We are excited to continue growing our family law team, and Francesca has already made a strong start. We are thrilled to have her on board and confident she will provide the highest standards of legal care to everyone we work with and support."

Chris Parker, Director and head of the firm’s Property department, added:

“We hope Francesca joining us is just the start of the development and growth of our family department. For almost 40 years we have provided family law advice to clients in and around Hartlepool and strive to provide quality service at competitive rates. We are also proud to be one of just a handful of local firms left who are able to offer legal aid on certain family and child law matters. In addition to Francesca joining, Erin Dobing has also recently completed her training contract with us and qualified as one our family solicitors. We are, however, still seeking more family solicitors due to sheer demand for our services in the community.

“At TMJ we are proud to still be independent from all other organisations. We aim to provide excellent client care and grow our reputation organically through repeat custom from clients rather than buying in work from local agents/contacts and brokers. We truly feel that this focus on client care sets us apart from the rest. Going forward, we plan to redevelop and modernise our office premises in Raby Road to provide a better experience for our clients and to also improve our staff’s working environment. We plan to do this whilst continuing to invest in local talented individuals through training contracts and the solicitor apprenticeship scheme.”