The sixth annual British Wills and Probate Awards took place in Manchester on Wednesday 11 October 2023, celebrating excellence in the Wills and probate sector. We are thrilled that Janice Connolly, Legal Secretary in the firm’s Private Client department, was highly commended in the ‘Paralegal/Support Team Member of the Year’ category.
The awards are recognised as a badge of honour for practitioners who must demonstrate adherence to carefully selected category criteria. Each submission is scrutinised by a panel of expert judges drawn from across the legal services spectrum who independently score the entry. The top scoring firms in each category are recognised as winners and highly commended.
Janice, who has worked for Grant Saw since 1990, goes above and beyond to support the firm’s Private Client lawyers, showing compassion to clients to make them feel comfortable. Janice actively assists clients and has a genuine understanding of the challenges they face. Janice proactively anticipates lawyers’ needs and prepares files accordingly, excelling at drafting legal documentation. Janice ensures open lines of communication between the lawyers and clients.
Janice supports the department through thorough administrative support and communication, exceptional organisation and coordination, showing initiative, providing emotional support and demonstrating initiative in challenging situations. Janice builds rapport with her peers and goes above and beyond to ensure clients are treated with respect and have a truly positive experience with the firm from their first interaction with us. Janice has excellent client relations skills and builds good rapport with clients which is so important when dealing with this practice area.
Kalpa Prajapati, Partner and Head of Private Client, said “I am delighted for Janice. She has exceptional organisational skills and shows true competence every day. Janice has great expertise and is super-efficient when it comes to administration and consistently provides invaluable support to ensure the smooth running of our team. Janice has great attention to detail and is a fountain of knowledge. She has the ability to remember things from over 20 years ago and can recall certain clients instantly. She has a great work ethic and always goes above and beyond to ensure clients and our lawyers are happy and comfortable. Janice has a great level of professionalism and recognises the sensitivity in specific situations. She is a great communicator and epitomises excellence both professionally and personally. Janice is a great Legal Secretary and I am thrilled her efforts have been recognised by the judges. Well done, Janice”.
Further details about The British Wills and Probate Awards 2023, and a full recording of the evening’s celebration, are available here.