Meet The Team
A dedicated team of legal experts
Our Partners

Richard Jones
Senior Partner & Head of Commercial/Residential
Kingsbridge: 01548 857000

Richard Jones
After studying law at the University of Liverpool and completing his post-graduate year at the College of Law Chester, Richard qualified as a solicitor in 1996. He joined Beers LLP in 2005 and became Head of Property in 2007.
Richard deals with a wide range of high-value residential and commercial transactions, including sales and purchases, the grant and surrender of leases, agricultural land transactions, the grant of easements and complex development and leasehold enfranchisement matters.
Away from the office, Richard enjoys spending time with his wife, their 3 young children and their Dalmatian dog. He is a former professional sailor, an indifferent guitar player and an ever slower long distance runner.
Richard is a Fellow of the Agricultural Law Association and has previously been recommended in Chambers guide to the legal profession and the Legal500 for commercial property work.

James Canning
Managing Partner & Head of Civil Litigation
Plymouth: 01752 246000

James Canning
James is Managing Partner and Head of Litigation. James qualified as a solicitor in London in 1999 before relocating to South Devon in 2002.
James specialisies in civil litigation advising clients on contract disputes, residential landlord & tenant claims, property disputes, contested wills & inheritance actions and personal injury & clinical negligence claims.

Zoë Le Fort
Partner & Head of Private Client
Kingsbridge: 01548 857000

Zoë Le Fort
Zoë is Head of our Private Client Department and joined Beers initially as a locum solicitor in August 2021, having relocated from a firm in Hampshire where she was an equity Partner.
Zoë specialises in advising clients on Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Administration of Estates, creation and administration of Trusts, Court of Protection and general tax advice. As a fully qualified member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and accredited member of the Association of Lifetime Lawyers (formerly Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE)), she is able to advise clients on all aspects of their personal lifetime planning and tax queries, including protection for the more vulnerable and elderly clients.
Zoë has over thirteen years’ experience dealing with administration of estates and has advised on hundreds of probate and estate matters since qualifying. She is happy to see clients either in the office or in their homes, to ensure the process is as comfortable as possible for them.
Away from work Zoë can be found with her husband working on their 17th Century North Cornish cottage renovation project.

Michael Le Fort
Partner and Higher Rights Solicitor

Michael Le Fort
Michael started his career outside law when he worked for his family business manufacturing and supplying cosmetics and fragrances to the likes of Superdrug, Tesco and New Look. However, nail polish colours were not for him, and he left the business and qualified as a Barrister. He worked as a Barrister for several years specialising in family law in particular financial remedies and public law matters, civil litigation, contract matters, personal insolvency and crime. He remains a member of Middle Temple and is a fully accredited member of the Association of Lifetime Lawyers (formerly Solicitors for the Elderly).
He later cross qualified as a Solicitor and was awarded higher rights of audience by the Law Society. He has spent most of his career acting in divorce, children law and private client work and has been head of three private client departments and so is well versed in all aspects of private client work.
Michael specialises in advising clients in the preparation of new Wills and in reviewing existing Wills both for individuals and couples. He also deals with the question of succession planning which includes advising on Inheritance Tax, Agricultural Property Relief, Business reliefs and Capital Gains Tax issues with a view to helping you think about ways in which tax after death can be mitigated as far as possible. He advises on and prepares Lasting Powers of Attorney and deals with the registration of Enduring Powers of Attorney, this also includes Court of Protection matters including deputy applications. He advises clients in estate administration, deeds of variation and Trust matters. Michael also deals with cases with a more contentious element when necessary. His wide experience of different areas of law and of the Court process allows Michael to bring a different and pragmatic approach to any issue that may arise.

Slade De Lacey
Partner & Head of Employment Law
Plymouth: 01752 246000

Slade De Lacey
Slade qualified as a Solicitor in 2004 and is a Partner and Head of our Employment Law & Human Resources Support Department managing a highly proficient team. Slade is also a member of the Employment Lawyers Association. Slade has a practice spanning both our Kingsbridge and Plymouth offices, the South West region and beyond with clients in London, Birmingham and around the UK.
Slade has advised on Employment Issues across most sectors including Agriculture, Aviation, Banking, Building, Cinematography & CGI, Charities, Education Engineering, Fisheries, Health Care, Housing, Legal, Marine, Nuclear Energy, Retail, Television, Radio and Professional Football.
Relevant Experience
- Appointed to deal with employment issues of the closure of the only state faith school in Cornwall in 2015, which was the subject of political discord in Parliament at the time.
- Successfully acted for Radio and TV presenters in Age Discrimination claims.
- Slade has acted successfully for many Judges in High Value, Part Time Pension Litigation most recently those whose claims were out of time.
- Successfully acted for employees ranging in age from 14 to 90 plus.
- Recently acted for a leading British literary agent and successfully defended all claims pertaining to employment status, holiday entitlements, National Minimum Wage, and others.
- Slade has nearly two decades of experience in advising both employers and employees on settling disputes. In 2022, Slade dealt with settlements for individuals at sums ranging between £25,000 to in excess of £250,000.
Slade’s philosophy is that “prevention is better than cure” and he gets involved with his commercial clients from the starting-up stage including recruitment and key appointments, writing policies and contracts that reflect the employment relationship, and is often instructed to deal with contentious situations before they become litigated in the Employment Tribunal, advising on all aspects of hard HR and internal dispute resolution.
Slade brings a multifaceted approach to disputes and is creative in finding synergistic resolutions in even the most contentious situations such as partnership disputes.
Slade’s background of competitive amateur sport including football, boxing and long distance running reflect his competitive nature and winning ethos. Outside of Law, Slade enjoys time with his family, writing, hill and mountain walking mainly in Devon and North Wales, and property renovation and development. Slade is a licenced FA football coach and enjoys coaching at grass roots level and helping his players to excel and win trophies.

Ian Huxham
Partner & Head of Personal Injury
Plymouth: 01752 246000

Ian Huxham
Ian was admitted as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives in 1990, and has over 30 years experience dealing with litigation disputes in the Torbay, Totnes, Exeter, and Newton Abbot areas.
Ian joined Beers LLP in 2013 and specialises in personal injury claims, particularly those relating to industrial disease.
Away from the office Ian enjoys playing music, walking and spending time with his family.

Donna Butler
Partner & Solicitor
Plymouth: 01752 246000

Donna Butler
Donna studied law at Plymouth University and has worked locally for many years and has built a strong local network of connections. She continues her strong affiliation with the University by being part of their Mentoring Programme and is a Case Study for the Law School blog.
Donna has previous experience in Private Client work including Contentious Probate and is an Accredited GDPR Practitioner, but now specialises in Residential Conveyancing. As a result of Donna’s previous experience in other areas of law she is able to deal with all complex and non-complex matters including acting on behalf of Trustees of Trusts and Attorneys or Deputies in a proactive, swift manner but with a dash of sense of humour!
Donna is kept busy out of the office with her family and dogs (a third member of the team with Dachshunds !)
Our Legal Team

Kim Hall
Legal Executive
Kingsbridge: 01548 857000

Kim Hall
Kim moved to Devon in 1979 from North Yorkshire and worked for a local firm of Solicitors since 1985. Having had her own residential caseload since 1987. Kim qualified as a Chartered Legal Executive in 2002 and became a Fellow in 2004.
Kim has been a Head of Residential Conveyancing in Totnes a Branch Manager in Bovey Tracey as well as working for local Solicitors in South Hams and Teignbridge for many years and is very experienced in dealing with buying, selling, remortgaging, transfer of equity, new builds, Freehold and Leasehold transactions.
Kim lives in Totnes with her family and assortment of pets including sausage dogs and has become an active member of the dachshund community in South Devon.

Paul Housego
Consultant
Plymouth: 01752 246000

Paul Housego
Paul graduated from the University of Cambridge before training at the future Clifford Chance. After a short spell there as a solicitor dealing with commercial leases he made the lifestyle choice of moving to general practice in Devon.
Paul was a partner at Beers LLP from 1982 to 2019, and senior partner for about 10 years. He is now a consultant to the firm specialising in employment law.
He has sat as an Employment Judge since 1992, and as a Judge of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal since 2014. He also has an interest in professional regulation, sitting on the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, and being responsible for the regulation of the members of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. He is a legal assessor (adviser) for the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s fitness to practice committee.

Andy Lugger
Property Consultant
Plymouth: 01752 246000

Andy Lugger
After studying law at Exeter University and completing his post-graduate training there, Andy completed a Masters Degree and a higher Research Degree in Law (Restrictive Covenants).
He has over 20 years’ experience in private practice and a former partner in a law firm. Andy deals with a wide range of high-value residential and commercial transactions, including sales and purchases, the grant and surrender of leases, agricultural land transactions, the grant of easements and licenced trade sales and purchases together with liquor licensing matters.
Away from the office, Andy is keen legal historian and writes on a number of topics. He published his first book in 2006 on Restrictive Covenants and is about to complete his latest one on Victorian Legal History.

Helen Saunders
Chartered Legal Executive
Kingsbridge: 01548 857000

Helen Saunders
Helen Saunders is a family lawyer and an accredited Specialist of “Resolution” (formerly known as Solicitors Family Law Association). She joined Beers in 1988 and has been practicing solely in family law since about 1995. She is approachable, straight talking and will aim to achieve the best possible outcome taking account of all the circumstances. As a mother of two children, Helen fully appreciates the pressures placed upon a marriage by modern family life.
Helen has a special interest in dealing with cases involving children with special needs. Areas in which she is regularly giving advice include:
- Divorce, Judicial Separation, Dissolution of Civil Partnerships, breakdown of unmarried relationships and resolving all the associated financial matters
- Children Act cases
- Domestic violence
- Cohabitation Agreements, Separation Agreements, Pre-Nuptial Agreements
Helen was brought up in Kingsbridge and continues to live locally. She enjoys working for clients in the South Hams and Plymouth areas but also for those based further afield.

Kate Shute
Associate Member of CILEx
Kingsbridge: 01548 857000

Kate Shute
Kate joined Beers in July 2000 as an office assistant following her graduation from Agricultural College. Since joining Beers, she has progressed through the ranks and has been part of the Private Client team since 2002. She is a valued and trusted member of the team. Kate continued her education with the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) and became an Associate Member of CILEX in 2012. Kate is also a member of the Association of Lifetime Lawyers (formerly Solicitors for the Elderly).
Kate currently deals with all aspects of private client work to include Administration of Estates and Trusts, preparation of Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney, registration of Enduring Powers of Attorneys, applications for Deputy Orders and management of clients’ financial affairs. This includes dealing with clients’ day to day finances, arranging payment of their bills and household expenses, settling their tax position and ensuring that their investments are properly managed.

Carolyn Thomas
Legal Executive
Plymouth: 01752 246000

Carolyn Thomas
Carolyn has been a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives since 2012 and has specialised in residential conveyancing since 2016. She deals with a wide range of conveyancing matters including: New Build purchases; Equity loans; Transfers of Equity; Declarations of Trust as well as freehold and leasehold sales and purchases. Her career in law spans over 11 years and she has experience in a wide range of areas, including family law and litigation. Prior to that she held managerial roles in Administration. Her wide-ranging experience allows her to take a more holistic view to property transactions and advise clients accordingly.
Carolyn has a busy home life with her husband and four adult children which she has combined with her studies and work. Her experiences have enabled Carolyn to empathise with clients in stressful situations and assist them in a calm, measured way.

Helen Tuck
Licensed Conveyancer
Plymouth: 01752 246000

Helen Tuck
Helen has grown up in the Plymouth area and joined at Beers in 2015, with a background previously in the equine industry. Since then Helen has qualified as a Licensed Conveyancer and is experienced in dealing with residential sales and purchases of freehold and leasehold land, unregistered land and remortgages. Helen particularly specialises in dealing with shared ownership properties from purchases of the new build plots through to final staircasing. Away from work Helen enjoys being outdoors, spending time with her horse, and has a keen interest in historical buildings.

Stuart Edwards
Solicitor
Plymouth: 01752 246000

Stuart Edwards
After studying Philosophy at Kings College London, Stuart completed his post-graduate studies at the College of Law in London. Initially called to the bar at Middle Temple in 2003, he then changed direction and qualified as a solicitor in 2010.
He has experience both in London and in the South West of all aspects of general dispute resolution. Experienced as an advocate, he has appeared in 100’s of hearings in tribunals and courts, dealing with disputes in contract law, personal injury, debt and enforcement, commercial and private landlord and tenant, contentious probate, and occasionally some much more obscure areas. As a student, he won awards for his support to access to justice and work with law clinics. He’s sometimes been a chair of school governors and has sat on educational appeals tribunals. He joined Beers in 2024 after a period working in the civil service.
Where he has time, Stuart runs slowly and goes reluctantly to a gym. He collects vinyl records – a habit that sadly leaves him with no money for other interests.

Elliot Brooking
Trainee Solicitor
Kingsbridge: 01548 857000

Elliot Brooking
Elliot graduated from Swansea University in 2023 and achieved an Upper Second-Class Honours degree in LLB Law. During his degree, Elliot volunteered for the Miscarriage of Justice project which aims to correct clear miscarriages of justice for individuals who cannot afford legal advice and achieved a Silver HEAR award for his contributions. He is passionate about making sure that clients feel supported throughout the legal process and ensuring that client’s concerns are dealt with compassionately.
Elliot started his role as a Trainee Solicitor in September 2023, working within the Property team and now in the Private Client team. Elliot is currently enrolled with Exeter University undertaking the LPC and is on route to qualify as a Solicitor in September 2025.
In his free time, Elliot enjoys playing football on the weekends for his local team, as well as playing golf and watching the GT World Challenge.

Martyn Coad
Licenced Conveyancer
Plymouth: 01752 246000

Martyn Coad
Martyn is a specialist property lawyer with over 20 years’ experience dealing with a wide variety of transactions including buying or selling a home, business, or land.
In his spare time, Martyn enjoys cycling, the cinema and going for long walks.
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