“We are very much a client-centric law firm”
From building a strong reputation for its Court of Protection cases to guiding families through some of life’s most sensitive decisions, JE Bennett Law boasts a stellar reputation for empathy, expertise and putting its clients at the heart of everything it does. As the firm opens a second office in Tunbridge Wells, we chat to key team members about its ongoing growth and success and why people come before profit…
JE Bennett Law was co-founded in 2012 by Jane Bennett and her husband Tom Beaufoy. Having worked for two prestigious London practices for several years, Jane says the reason she decided to establish her own firm was so she could focus on making a real difference for those who couldn’t represent themselves within the legal system.
“Having been a Private Client solicitor for several years, I felt the need not only to specialise but to help people those without capacity or where it has been compromised,” she reveals.
Examples of this could be those who have suffered brain injuries, been involved in a life-limiting accident, are mentally or physically disabled or suffering from conditions such as dementia.
The independent business, which is now an industry leader in Court of Protection law (COP), was launched from a small office in Sevenoaks 14 years ago and eventually moved to a smart three-storey building here in Tunbridge Wells in 2022.
Jane has built her practice by empowering and protecting clients in vulnerable circumstances and as a result she has now has a team of like-minded individuals to ensure the firm maintains a professional, client-centred and empathetic approach at all times.
JE Bennett Law specialises in Deputyships. Its specialist team can assist lay deputies – those without capacity to make decisions for themselves – and act as a professional deputy on their behalf. This makes up the majority of the firm’s workload and Jane and her colleagues are nationally recognised and renowned for this work.
Jane has been ranked by the prestigious The Legal 500 for many years and is currently one of just six lawyers to make their 2026 Hall of Fame for Court of Protection. She is also ranked individually in the renowned Chambers ratings. The firm itself is ranked by the same organisations and is also Lexcel accredited – the Law Society’s legal practice quality mark.
The firm, which now boasts around 50 employees and is continuing to recruit further, recently opened a second office in the town as a result of its ongoing success and growth.
The new premises is located at 27 The Pantiles and has been open for just over a month. It is where I meet Richard Shearing, a Senior Partner at JE Bennett Law who also heads up the fast-expanding Private Client team, which was formed in June 2024, for our shoot and interview.
Richard, who joined JE Bennett Law seven and a half years ago after retraining as a lawyer following a long professional career in the care sector, tells me that now having a customer-facing presence in Tunbridge Wells is proving to be very beneficial.
“Because of where our main office is situated in Linden Close it’s not exactly a main thoroughfare so having a high street presence makes sense.”
It is mainly Private Client work that’s carried out there. This includes Estate Administration and Probate, Wills, Estate Planning and Trusts and also Powers of Attorney (LPAs).
Richard heads up a team of five in the Private Client division – all of whom are present for our shoot today. They are Senior Associate Rob Sullivan, Associate Anasthasia Andrews, Senior Paralegal Team Leader Isobelle Robins, Paralegal Adam Hsuan and Talia Higgins who is also a Paralegal.
“They are all exceptionally talented,” smiles Richard. “We are very fortunate to have such a great team.”
And they certainly feel the same about working with Richard. There is great camaraderie on the shoot and the overall atmosphere in the new office is relaxed yet professional.
Having interviewed JE Bennett and her senior team before, I know how much they pride themselves on not being a hierarchical focused set-up. It’s more familial than formal and worth noting that the firm has an exceptionally high staff retention rate. Everyone’s strengths are acknowledged and celebrated and an open-door policy is very much encouraged.
On talking to some of the Private Client team after the shoot takes place it is clear that they are all driven by a strong passion and commitment for what they do.
“Our history definitely gives us a client-centric approach,” explains Rob, who specialises in Trusts and Tax. “Working with disabled and vulnerable clients and beneficiaries requires looking at things with specialist, in-depth knowledge. Our clients come first and foremost. We are here to empower and support them.”
Richard agrees, adding: “Most of our clients have already suffered a distressing experience so you have to try and make life easier for them. I think that skillset we have from the COP work we do feeds really well into the Private Client work.”
Given the number of highly sensitive, emotive and complex cases the firm deals with courtesy of its COP work, this highly personalised approach is also reflected in the more regular areas of the law the team deals with such as Will writing and Lasting Powers of Attorney.
“Our role is so much more than just our expertise and knowledge of the law,” adds Anasthasia who has been with the firm for three years and notes that a lot more young people are now thinking about writing Wills as they progress up their respective property and career ladders.
At the moment the team are taking it in turns to man the new Pantiles office.
“There will always be one of us here so if someone comes into the office we can have a chat and supply them with the necessary literature before making an official appointment to discuss their needs,” states Rob.
Currently the firm is running a free 30-minute Will review where the team can advise on someone’s existing plans and assess any changes that need to be made. It’s proving to be popular so it will be running until March 31st.
Ever since the firm was first established 14 years ago, the JE Bennett Law team has been determined to make a difference with clients, with people always coming before profitability, and providing an incentive such as the complimentary Will checks demonstrates this.
The team’s reputation for its complex vocational COP work is ‘stellar’, says new recruit and Partner Poki Wratten, who joined the firm at the start of this year. And this, she says, is the reason she wanted to work at JE Bennett Law.
Poki is now working across two of the firm’s departments, the Court of Protection Brain Injury and Expert Witness unit, headed up by Jane Bennett and the Local Authority and Panel team, overseen by senior partner Ian Macara, which creates a varied and interesting challenge, as well as dealing with private client COP cases, involving cross border estates and complex matters.
“Panel deputies support people who lack mental capacity by helping them to make decisions about their property and finances,” explains Poki.
“The Court of Protection appoints professional Panel deputies as a last resort when no one else is willing or able to act as a deputy for someone who lacks mental capacity. Think of us as guardian angels, we’re given a contentious case where people need help and it’s our job to unravel the pieces, investigate and make things better for the client. There might be financial or physical abuse, contentious family issues and it is our job to help the client achieve the best outcome.
“I have always wanted to help others. Early in my legal career, I worked at a Local Authority, within adult social care, transitioning to the legal department and so I have been at the other side of our clients’ needs.”
Poki boasts a wealth of COP legal experience since she transitioned to private practice after qualifying in 2018. She has worked for small high street firms, through to Top 25 ones.
So what brought her to JE Bennett Law?
“I was familiar with Jane’s stellar reputation in brain injury work and I really wanted to join her team. I have seen first-hand, how much she cares for her clients and I’m delighted to be part of her team”.
Poki tells me that she loves this particular area of legal work as it is just so varied and that you have to genuinely care to get the best results.
“No case is ever the same and so there is never a dull day,” explains Poki, who has a slew of professional accreditations and memberships, as well as being a recipient of a Worldwide Excellence Award from STEP (Society for Trust and Estate Practitioners) with a distinction grade achieved for the Advising Vulnerable Clients course. She has also delivered a Webinar on Contentious COP work.
“Word of mouth powers the majority of our work which takes place all over the country,” she continues. “Not just with clients but through our great work with social workers, other local authority bodies and various experts in their field. It is a very rewarding area of law and our core values of being professional and friendly emanates throughout the firm.’’
The team works alongside a number of different professionals including employment specialists, criminal lawyers, independent financial advisers and solicitors as they have to understand every aspect of a person’s life if they have lost capacity to make decisions for themselves.
All the COP work the firm carries out has created more demand for JE Bennett Law’s Private Client team – hence the acquisition of a second office so the team have a designated space for chatting through issues that will help secure people’s futures.
“The Private Client side of the business is something that has evolved naturally,” says Richard. “This could be as a result of dealing with clients who have passed on, or their family members might come to us for their own advice and guidance. But with the new office now open we are seeing a lot of drop-in clients too.
“People see us as a pair of helping hands. There are a lot of parallels between COP work and the Private Client side of things. We are still supporting people and with something like a Will it can be a very emotionally challenging thing to do as it forces you to think about your own mortality. We ensure we always go above and beyond in order to support clients – whether that’s with personal affairs or their finances. We can guide people through various processes because as specialist lawyers we have to deal with all kinds of things on a daily basis. And that’s where we bring value.”
JE Bennett Law is also very progressive as an employer, ensuring that diversity and equal opportunities are always available. The firm also operates a hybrid working scheme.
“That is something I never got when I was working in London, so I am passionate about employees having that flexibility,” explains Jane.
Jane and her team are equally passionate about affording opportunities to those who merit them – even if they haven’t come via the traditional law degree route.
“Over the past couple of years we have grown our team of paralegals. We do take on graduates – but not all of them have done law degrees. A lot of them are doing conversion degrees or are training on the job like Talia,” adds Richard.
Poki tells me that she too is very keen to support staff. “I will always congratulate someone if they have done a good job and my door is always open if people want to talk. It is so important to praise someone if they deserve it. I have already built a lovely rapport with the team.”
Before I leave, Richard tells me that what has been so wonderful is that JE Bennett Law’s original ethos of protecting and supporting the vulnerable has always remained the same, despite its impressive growth.
“And everyone that’s coming on board at JE Bennett Law has the same respect for that ethos which is wonderful. They are hardworking and ambitious but are absolutely driven to make a real difference to our clients’ lives.”
JE Bennett Law contact info:
HQ: Eridge House, 1 Linden Close,
Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 8HH
Pantiles office: 27 The Pantiles
Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 5TD
Email: info@jebennettlaw.co.uk
Phone: 01892 487746
Website: www.jebennettlaw.co.uk
