Farming expert joins Hine Downing legal team
A Cornish farming childhood has helped shape the career of solicitor Sue Reynolds who is ploughing her expertise in the legal side of rural affairs into strengthening and diversifying the Commercial Department of Falmouth-based law firm Hine Downing.
Sue had the “privilege” of growing up on a dairy farm near Helston and that background has given her a deep understanding of the particular needs and challenges among the farming community.
“My childhood shaped my love of the countryside and agriculture which is why I chose to specialise in rural property work when I qualified as a solicitor,” she says. “Farming is not a job but a way of life for our clients who face challenges both day to day in the running of their businesses but also with the uncertainty of what the rural sector might look like in the future if the UK is no longer a part of the EU.”
Sue steps into the boots of recently retired Hine Downing Partner Anne Upfold, herself a farmer and horsewoman. Like Anne, Sue brings the dimension of a truly passionate countrywoman to the Hine Downing legal team.
“I believe my background also helps me to assist clients in a pragmatic way,” she says, “whether they are looking to enter into a grazing licence, diversifying or indeed buying or selling a farm. It’s so much easier to understand what a client’s issues might be when you’ve got an ingrained knowledge of the way in which they work.”
Sue’s specialism in agricultural property work involves everything from sales and purchases of agricultural land and farms to farm business tenancies and grazing licences and deeds of easement. She also deals with general commercial property work including commercial leases, licences and the sale or purchase of all commercial property.
“Sue is a fantastic addition to our team and we’re delighted to welcome her in,” says Hine Downing Partner Roger Stephens. “She’s an agricultural expert with farming in her blood and as such is a tremendous asset for ourselves and our clients in the rural sector.”
The former “Young Farmer” is a committee member of the Gwinear Agricultural Show and will no doubt be helping the Hine Downing team in their staunch support each July for the Stithians Show – one of the largest one day agricultural shows in the country.
For further information on how Sue Reynolds can help Hine Downing’s farming clients, or on the firm’s other areas of law practice, please visit www.hinedowning.com or call the team on 01326 316655.
