Prior to working at Mayo Wynne Baxter, Verity worked in the finance industry for 13 years where she qualified as a mortgage and finance adviser, identifying and fulfilling clients’ needs and requirements.

Verity relocated to the South Coast from Surrey in 2012 and began her career with Mayo Wynne Baxter as a Receptionist in our Brighton office and has also been based in our Eastbourne and Seaford offices.

After a decade of service with the firm, Verity transferred to the Private Client team as a Paralegal and specialises in Tax and Trusts and HM Revenue & Customs Trust Registration Service.

Verity enjoys the variety of challenges that are presented in her daily work life and says it’s a lovely feeling going home at the end of the day knowing that she has helped people.

When not at work Verity is a mum to her two children, enjoys kickboxing, paddle boarding, cooking, baking, or curling up with a good book and her 3 rescue cats!

What attracted you and keeps you in this area of law?
I have worked for MWB since 2008 having qualified as a solicitor in 1994 and I spent the years in between working in the personal tax department of various accountancy firms.

I moved into private client work to have more regular client contact and to be able to engage with a wider area of practice which includes drafting Wills and creating Lasting Powers of Attorney, to the administration of estates including the final tax and estate accounts.

As well as being a solicitor I am a Fellow of the Association of Taxation Technicians and I am a Full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I like helping others whether clients or colleagues and I take satisfaction from a job well done whether small or large. I also enjoy talking to people about why they might need a Will or LPA and I have done some local talks on these important matters.

What are your particular strengths and skills?

I am naturally organised, and I also enjoy puzzle solving and untying problems. I am good at maths and organising figures and one of my roles is to assist colleagues with the trickier estate accounts. My background in personal tax compliance also gives me a good basis to assist my clients and colleagues with aspects of income tax up to the date of death and during the administration of an estate.

Tell me about a memorable time when you have helped a client?

It is a privilege to talk in depth with our clients about their affairs or those of someone they have lost. When at the end of a client meeting a client says that it was OK and nowhere near as stressful or difficult as they though it would be, I feel a good sense of having helped someone.

What would your colleagues say about you?

That I am kind and gentle and a nice person to have around the office. That I am a good listener both to them and to my clients. And that I am good at accounts and tax and enjoy helping them out with these.

Outside work….

I love being with family and friends, my garden and running by the sea. I am also a self-supporting Church of England priest licenced to the Lewes and Seaford Deanery which means I could pop up in a church near you on a Sunday morning.

I am the Chichester Diocese Bishops Advisor on Self Supporting Ministry and I am also a member of the PCC of St Leonards and St Lukes Seaford, the Deanery Synod of Lewes and Seaford and Chichester Diocesan Synod.

Jessica qualified in 2007 and specialises in private client law, more specifically trust creation and structuring, succession planning and capital taxation.

She is a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners which is the most comprehensive qualification in the trusts and estates field and enhances her ability to give holistic advice to clients as a trusted advisor.

Before joining the firm Jessica was head of the private client department of a West Sussex law firm, having worked previously in the City and training with a regional firm known for dealing with landed estates and Sunday Times Rich List clients.

She regularly advises a variety of high net worth clients on trusts and complex tax planning solutions, whilst putting clients at ease by making the meetings congenial and friendly.

Outside of work Jessica loves spending time with her family and, when she has the opportunity, having a good gallop over the downs on her horse.