Our People

Amanda joined Russell & Russell in 1990 as a trainee Solicitor, qualifying in 1992. She is now an equity partner working from the firm's Bolton head office.

She found her niche early on within family law and developed a reputation for providing excellent client care and a solution based ethos. Committed to providing sound legal advice, Amanda became an accredited Resolution member in 2001 for private law children work and advocacy showing a specialism in these areas.

In 2004 she was made a member of the Law Society Children Panel showing her experience and experience in representing children within care proceedings.

This commitment to excellence saw Amanda become a junior partner in 1997 and then take over as head of the department in 2000. Since then, the family department has grown considerably.

Amanda promotes a caring, solution based approach which can also be a firm one when required to protect a client’s interests.

When not in work, she enjoys riding her horse, walking her dog and cooking. She also enjoys spending time with family and friends.

Ceri studied law at the University of Liverpool, graduating in 2013. She went on to complete her LPC and LLM at the University of Law, Chester in July 2014. It was here she received the SAS Daniels award for the student achieving the highest mark in family law. She qualified as a Solicitor in 2016.

Originating from Anglesey, Ceri is a fluent Welsh speaker and works in the family department at the firm's Chester office. She specialises in Children Act matters and assisting victims of domestic abuse.

In her spare time Ceri enjoys running and has recently completed the Virgin Money London Marathon in support of Phab Kids UK. Her other hobbies include spending time with her family and friends, shopping and of course the occasional glass of Prosecco!

Donna graduated from Nottingham University with a degree in law in 1997. After working as a Law Costs Draftsman, she went on to gain her LPC from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2004. She qualified as a Solicitor in 2006 and became a salaried partner at Russell & Russell in 2019.

An accredited specialist with, and member of, Resolution, an organisation committed to the constructive resolution of family disputes, Donna works at Russell & Russell’s head office in Bolton.

Her specialist areas are divorce and matrimonial finances, including high net worth cases and private law children matters. She also deals with judicial separations, dissolution of Civil Partnerships, cohabitation issues and domestic abuse.

In her spare time she enjoys running, reading and cooking. She also likes to spend time with friends and family, along with taking her dog, Wilf on long walks.

Memberships:

• Resolution, specialising in children law - private and financial remedies 1

Hannah graduated from Liverpool John Moores University with a Law degree in 2016 and completed her LPC in 2018. 

She works as a paralegal in the family department of the firm’s Chester office. Her remit involves dealing with all aspects of private family law matters, in particular divorce and finances. 

In her spare time, Hannah regularly attends yoga classes and the gym. She also likes to travel and spend time with family and friends.

After obtaining an LLB (Hons) degree from Liverpool John Moores University, Jean went on to study for her LPC at Manchester Metropolitan University, qualifying as a Solicitor in 2002. She joined Russell & Russell in 2005 and is an equity partner in the firm's family law department.

Working from firm's head office in Bolton, Jean's case load is predominantly public and private children law cases. Her specialist area of law is care proceedings, complex children cases, acting for children via their guardian and Advocacy.

Outside work, Jean enjoys her faith as a practicing Catholic, the odd spot of gardening and above all, time spent with her family.

Memberships:

• Law Society Children Panel

Jennifer graduated from the University of Central Lancashire with a First in LLB Law with Criminology. As a result of achieving the highest overall grade on the ‘law with’ study programmes, she achieved the Oxford University Press Law Prize for meritorious performance. She’s now studying the LLM in Legal Practice (Masters and LPC) at BPP University Manchester on part time which she is due to complete in June 2020. 

Jennifer joined Russell & Russell’s family department in September 2019, working from the firm’s Bolton office as a paralegal. Her role involves assisting in all areas of family law.

Outside of work, Jennifer enjoys going to the gym, running and walking her dog, Dave. She also likes to spend time with family and friends as well as her partner, Stephen.

Jilal graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2018 with a first class degree in LLB Law. He’s currently studying the LLM and LPC part time in Manchester. Whilst working his way through university, he worked as a supervisor in hospitality at Manchester United Football Club.

Based at Russell & Russell’s Bolton head office, Jilal works as a paralegal in the family department. He specialises in social services involvement, representing clients at Public Law Outline (PLO) meetings on a daily basis. He also works closely with Jean Flanagan on cases that go to care proceedings.

In his spare time, Jilal likes to keep fit by going to the gym. He’s an enthusiastic sports fan and loves music festivals.

Memberships

• Resolution

Karima graduated with a degree in Spanish and English literature from Chester University in 2015. After travelling the world for over a year, she returned home to start a Graduate Diploma in Law at BPP University Manchester, which she finished in 2017. She’s currently studying her Legal Practice Course on a part-time basis at BPP University in Manchester.

Karima began working at Russell & Russell in 2018, working from the firm’s family law department at its Bolton head office. She deals predominantly with divorce, children and change of name matters. She also runs the legal advice clinics at Russell & Russell's Atherton and Newport Street branches as well as Leigh Citizens Advice Bureau.

In her spare time, Karima volunteers at Bolton Hospice six times a month. There, she has two roles: she works on the wards with the patients and as a bereavement support worker for family members of patients who have passed away at the Hospice. She also loves to travel, cook and exercise.

Michelle began her career at Russell & Russell in 2006, before qualifying as a Solicitor in 2008 when she became a permanent member of the family law team. 

She is an equity partner based at Russell & Russell's Chester office where she has been developing the family law department since 2015.

Although Michelle's experience is in all areas of family law, she focuses on representing parties in care proceedings and children law matters. She's an accredited member of the Law Society’s Children Panel and a member of Resolution.

In her spare time, she likes to keep active and where possible combines this with charity events. When she is trying to save her energy, Michelle enjoys socialising, reading and cooking.

Memberships:

• Law Society Children Panel
• Resolution

Pippa obtained a law degree from the University of Liverpool in 2006 before completing her Legal Practice Course at Chester College of Law. She began her career working as a paralegal in busy family department of a Liverpool based law firm before qualifying as a Solicitor in 2011.

As a salaried partner working in the family law department of Russell & Russell's Chester office, Pippa specialises in divorce and complex financial disputes from both marital breakdown and cohabitee separation. She has experience of Schedule 1 applications, pre and post nuptial agreements, Legal Services Orders and applications for Maintenance. She deals with complex financial matters involving assets outside of the jurisdiction, freezing orders, pensions, third party interests and committal proceedings.

She also undertakes private law children matters and protection from domestic violence and harassment - something she is passionate about; there is no excuse for domestic abuse - and has established links with a number of domestic violence organisations. She is a member of a local domestic abuse charity, Chester Women’s Aid and is a member of family organisation, Resolution where she is accredited as a family lawyer with particular specialism in complex financial remedies and domestic abuse. Being from North Wales, Pippa's second language is Welsh. 

In her spare time, Pippa enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Memberships:

• Resolution

Salim is an equity partner in Russell & Russell's family department and is based at the firm's Bury office.

He studied law and marketing at De-Montfort University in Leicester, having also completed his Legal Practice Course, achieving a commendation.

 Following his qualification in 2004, Salim joined Russell & Russell in 2005 and became a salaried partner in the family department in 2008.

He has extensive expertise and experience of dealing with all aspects of family and matrimonial work. He is particularly strong on child related matters and divorce, together with social services involvement and care proceedings, often acting for parents and children via their respective guardians in proceedings covering many areas in the North West.



His passion for his chosen area of law, and for making a real difference to the people he represents, meant that Salim was made an equity partner in 2010.

 

Away from work, he has a busy family life with his wife and four children. He also enjoys playing football and is a keen follower of most sports.

Memberships:

• Resolution(formerly known as the Solicitors Family Law Association)
• Associated Lawyers for Children
• Law Society Accredited Children's Panel

Sonya has a law LLB degree  which she obtained at the University of Leeds. She is currently in the process of completing her LLM Legal Practice certificate on a part time basis, at Leeds BPP University. 

Working as a trainee Solicitor within the family department at the firm’s Bury office, Sonya deals with all areas of family law, in particular with children involved in care proceedings and local authority care work. 

Outside work Sonya enjoys interior designing, event planning and socialising with friends and family.