Colchester and Clacton–based solicitors, Thompson Smith and Puxon (TSP), are pleased to announce the appointment of Judith Winward to the Commercial and Civil Dispute Resolution team. Judith will be based at the firm’s Colchester office but will advise clients in TSP’s Clacton office too.
Judith, who was raised in Norfolk, attended the Blyth-Jex School in Norwich before going on to work as a journalist in Colchester. During this time Judith worked as a news reporter and local government correspondent on the Colchester Gazette and Essex County Standard and was a sub editor of local weekly newspapers in the Newsquest Essex Group.
In 1995 Judith decided to take her career in another direction, studying for a law degree at the University of Essex. Following graduation in 1998 she also worked as a seminar tutor of contract law while studying part time on the Legal Practice course at the London Guildhall University, passing with a commendation. In 2000, she did her training contract with a local Colchester law firm and was admitted as a solicitor in 2002.
A Legal 500 Recommended Lawyer, she has extensive experience in all aspects of dispute resolution and has worked in County Court, High Court and The Court of Appeal (Civil). She has worked on a number of high profile public interest cases, including a claim for damages for false imprisonment and assault by a boss who said he had been making a citizen’s arrest. The case was discussed and argued extensively in the press and on radio and television. Judith brings additional experience to the team in defamation, leasehold enfranchisement and extension and a wide range of commercial disputes and debt recovery.
In 2005 Judith was admitted by the Master of the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury as a Notary Public, having taken her Diploma in Notarial practice at the University of Cambridge. Her work as a Notary includes preparing and executing legal documents and attesting the authenticity of deeds and documents for use anywhere in the world.
In her spare time Judith enjoys walking especially Nordic walking. She has plans to refresh her dinghy sailing skills in the Colne estuary and is an active supporter of Autism Anglia, of which charity she is a parent trustee. Judith said “I am delighted to join the team at TSP. I know the firm well from my years of practising law in Colchester and am looking forward to working with their clients to resolve disputes in the most cost-effective way possible.”
Sharon Auton who leads the Commercial and Civil Dispute Resolution team at TSP said “On behalf of the directors of TSP I would very much like to welcome Judith to the firm. Judith is an experienced addition to TSP’s team of dispute resolution lawyers and we are looking forward to her transferring her first-rate skills to TSP’s client base.”
The team at TSP advise on all aspects of dispute resolution and Judith has particular experience in taking leaseholders through the statutory process of extending their residential leases and in private and commercial defamation.
