Cheltenham lawyers win law firm of the year among four awards

Cheltenham lawyers at Harrison Clark Rickerbys celebrated winning four out of seven awards at the Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Law Society Awards recently – Law Firm of the Year, Service to the Community, Support Team Member of the Year and President’s Outstanding Achievement Award.

The awards were made at a dinner at Bowood Hotel near Calne, Wiltshire, and marked only the second time that the firm had entered.

Rich Wilkey, head of the Cheltenham office, said: “Each of these awards is very special in its own way, but winning law firm of the year for the second time in a row is particularly heart-warming as it reflects the hard work of everyone in the Cheltenham office.

“We do get very involved in the community, through charities such as the Pied Piper Appeal and the Cobalt Appeal, but also because our staff take part in careers fairs, school and college events and all sorts of fund-raising activities.”

Mark Fabian, who has been with the firm and its predecessors for 39 years, was delighted to have won the President’s award – he said: “I am very proud to have been a winner at what was a great and quite emotional evening alongside my colleagues at HCR who also had great success.

“I am sure there are others who deserved this award more than me, as I think my only real skill is delegation! So I want to share my award with all those wonderful people I have worked with during my career and to say a special thank you to my wife Wendy, who has supported me over the years and who was with me to enjoy the evening.”

Daniel Freeth, who won the support team member award, was not able to pick up his award in person because he was on honeymoon, but Adam Finch, partner in the dispute resolution team, who nominated him, did so on his behalf.