Gardner Leader bolsters litigation arsenal with an in-house barrister

Newbury-based solicitors, Gardner Leader LLP, have taken an innovative step forward by recruiting their own in-house barrister, Clare Osborne. Traditionally, law firms have employed the services of barristers from external sources, but Gardner Leader is now able to draw upon Clare’s court room expertise and advice, even on smaller cases where the services of a barrister would not usually be warranted.

Clare was called to the bar in 1994 and undertook her pupillage at a barrister’s chambers in Manchester, where she initially practiced. She gained experience in all areas of common and commercial law, before moving on to an in-house role with Zurich Financial Services, where she practiced for six years. At Zurich, Clare worked closely with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Financial Ombudsman and gained a wealth of experience in financial services and employment matters. Following Zurich, she then took a career break to look after her three young children and operated in a consultancy capacity during this time. Clare commented: “I have always enjoyed my role as a litigator in Court and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to bring my commercial and legal experience to a law firm with such a good reputation as Gardner Leader’s. I am looking forward to supporting the Litigation Team on a wide variety of cases, inputting ideas and suggesting next steps for taking a case forward.” Chris Felton, Dispute Resolution Partner at Gardner Leader, added: “We’re delighted to have Clare on board. Her experience as an accomplished advocate in commercial matters, together with her financial services background, brings a unique skill set to the Litigation Team to benefit our clients.” In what little spare time she has away from the office, Clare enjoys the theatre, reading, walking and spending time with her family. -Ends-

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