Spotlight on… Claire Howard-Amos

Where do you live and how long have you been a lawyer?

I live in Sherington – a small Buckinghamshire village just outside of the market town of Olney.

I followed the traditional route to qualification going straight from school to the University of Liverpool to study law. I loved the north west and so decided to study for my LPC at the College of Law in Chester. I qualified in 2002 and joined Hewitson Becke & Shaw (as was) in April 2003 and have been here ever since – 20 years this year!

What type of legal advice do you provide and to what sort of clients?

We offer a start to finish service for developers, landowners and land promoters of all sizes, covering all aspects of residential development from strategic land assembly, joint ventures and consortium developments through to development finance and the sale of completed units. We work closely with our planning, construction and property litigation teams ensuring that all aspects of a transaction are dealt with by experts in the relevant fields (pardon the pun).

We deal with all elements of infrastructure including statutory highways, drainage and other utility agreements and obligations under planning agreements such as transfers of public open space.

In the strategic land sphere, we act for landowners, developers and specialist promoters in relation to Promotion, Option and Collaboration Agreements and conditional contracts.

What’s your most memorable outcome for a client and why?

It is difficult to single out any one particular matter but the most memorable moments tend to come from time pressured transactions where we are asked to turn something around quickly. We have had a few occasions where we have been asked to deal with all aspects of an acquisition and onward sub sale with 24 hours. Those matters are painful at the time but generate a huge amount of job satisfaction when they get across the line. We are lucky to have a large team to be able to pull in specialised help when needed.

What is your number one tip for clients?

Take advice early. If we are involved as terms or the structure of a deal are being agreed, it can save time (and therefore money) in the longer term.

How do you like spending your spare time?

What is spare time…? Outside  work, I’m usually running around after my three daughters and/or out walking with our Australian Labradoodle, Oakley . Most weekends are spent catching up with friends, family and life admin!