eric-whitehead
01538 755 761
History
Eric W B Whitehead started the firm in the 1950’s as a sole practitioner in Newcastle under Lyme, trading under the style Eric Whitehead & Co. In the 1960s branch offices were opened in Stone and Cheadle.
The practice of “The Eric Whitehead Partnership” was formed by the partners at the Cheadle office pursuant to the de-merger of Eric Whitehead & Co in April 2000. In July 2005 the firm was re-constituted as a limited company.
The practice converted to ABS status, effective 7 October 2019.This was done to attract non-lawyers to the board of Directors bringing additional skills to the management of the business.
The directors of the firm currently are Timothy Halliday, Elizabeth Collins, and Nicola Robinson.
The directors will keep under periodic review the question of whether the current legal status of the firm remains the optimum legal structure for its operation.
Policy and Objectives
The firm’s policy is to provide a range of high-quality legal services to individual and business clients in the Staffordshire Moorlands and surrounding area, to produce a reasonable return for the time and effort expended and to be friendly and approachable. The firm complies with the Solicitors Regulation Authority requirements for the provision of independent advice.
Structure of the Firm
The firm practices from its office in Cheadle, Staffordshire. Set out below are details of the office and a list of personnel.
Address : 14 Chapel Street, Cheadle, Staffordshire, ST10 1DY
DX Number : 27981, Cheadle, Staffs
Telephone Number : 01538 755761
Fax Number : 01538 757361
E-mail address : reception@ericwhitehead.co.uk
Personnel: (including to whom they report)
Timothy Halliday – Director
Elizabeth Collins – Director
Nicola Robinson – Finance Director
Lisa Cogger – Solicitor (EC)
Ellen Brian – Solicitor (EC)
Pavan Sandher – Trainee Solicitor (TH)
Sarah Cann – Paralegal (TH)
Philip Salt – Paralegal (TH)
Bethan Martin – Paralegal (EC)
Josie Gilman – Paralegal (non-fee earning) (EC)
Claire Gregory – Finance Assistant (NR)
Katie Brattley – Legal Assistant (TH)
Judith Leese – Legal Assistant (EC)
Emma Mellor – Legal Assistant (EC)
Carol Hall – Receptionist (TH)
Tonia Marshall – Administration Assistant (TH)
Katie Hawthorne – Administration Assistant (TH)
The Finance Director keeps an organisational chart showing how all personnel fit into the firm’s structure showing the names, job titles, current jobs, and lines of responsibility. This document is updated within three months of any change.
Management Responsibilities
The following personnel have the following key management roles and decision-making responsibilities: –
Timothy Halliday – Head of residential and commercial conveyancing, and employment law work
Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP)
Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO)
Money Laundering Compliance Officer (MLCO)
Data Protection Manager (GDPR)
Conveyancing Quality Scheme Senior Responsible Officer (CQS SRO)
Risk manager (including professional indemnity insurance). Responsible for mortgage fraud avoidance and client care/complaints.
Elizabeth Collins – Head of probate/private client and family work.
Deputy Money Laundering Reporting Officer
Wills & Inheritance Quality Scheme Senior Responsible Officer (WIQS SRO).
Nicola Robinson – Head of finance. Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA)
Lexcel Senior Responsible Officer (Lexcel SRO)
Insurance Distribution Officer (IDO)
Conflict of interest, practicing certificates, file reviews and training.
Supervisor of all aspect of accounts (including global bank reconciliations, purchase ledger, bills/credit control),
Office equipment, outsourcing, IT, premises, personnel, and health and safety.
Any changes to management responsibilities are recorded in the office manual or in a separate document within three months of the change.
Provision of Legal Services at a Discount (or at no charge)
All work carried out by the firm must be charged at the firms’ usual rates unless a director gives authorisation to the contrary.
Communication
Conveyancing department meetings are held weekly.
Directors’ meetings are held twice per month.
The following meetings are held monthly:
- fee earners’ meeting
- compliance officer meetings
- support staff meeting
- private client meeting
- Anti-Money laundering
Decisions made at such meetings are notified to the relevant personnel orally or by memorandum.
Any member of staff who wishes to raise any point should do so with the fee earner to whom they report or to any Director.
Quality Policy/Review
Nicola Robinson is the quality representative for the firm. She will make herself available during all Lexcel assessments.
Where any quality system has failed, this must be reported to the quality representative to take appropriate action.
The firm is committed to the concept that all aspects of its operations should be of the highest quality. As part of this commitment, it has the Lexcel standard (confirmation of compliance with the Law Society’s Practice Management Standards); Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) accreditation and also the Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme accreditation (WIQS).
The directors invite suggestions as to ways on which the quality system may be improved. Such suggestions may be made directly to Nicola Robinson.
Supervisors/Supervision
The fee earners listed below are supervisors for the following categories of work.
Residential/Commercial Property & Employment Timothy Halliday
Probate/Private Client Work Elizabeth Collins
Family Lisa Cogger
Please refer to the firms Supervisors Procedures document for more information.
Anti-Money Laundering
The firm has an in-depth Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Compliance Policy.
The firm’s Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) is Timothy Halliday, who is also the firms Money Laundering Compliance Officer (MLCO). You should consult him if you have an enquiry or if you encounter a problem. In his absence, consult the firm’s Deputy Money Laundering Reporting Officer, who is Elizabeth Collins.
The firm’s MLRO/MLCO and deputy are Directors of the firm. We have also established an independent audit function to evaluate, monitor compliance with, and improve the effectiveness of the practice’s AML policies, controls, and procedures. This audit is undertaken by Nicola Robinson who is the firms’ COFA.
Referrals
The firm has the capability to deliver the following legal services: Conveyancing, Wills/Probate, Family, Employment and Lasting Powers of Attorney/Court of Protection matters.
When an enquiry is made of the firm, it will be decided whether the case is within the scope of the work undertaken by the firm (i.e., the categories of law) and within the competence and capacity of the available fee earners.
Individual supervisors are responsible for ensuring that fee earners only conduct work which is within their competence and capacity.
The firm is a member of the Law Share scheme, whereby it refers matters which are beyond its range of services to Law Share. Where a current client requires services which the firm is not capable of providing, the client can be referred to Law Share.
Where someone who is not a current client seeks services which the firm cannot provide, then we will not act.
Non-Court Dispute Resolution (‘NCDR’)
We recognise the benefits of alternative forms of dispute resolution, including mediation and collaborative law for resolving family disputes outside of court. NCDR is also known as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and generally refers to more amicable approaches to family issues or disputes. Those can include:
- Mediation
- Collaborative Law
- Solicitor Neutral
- Arbitration
- Early-neutral evaluation
- Negotiation and Roundtable Meetings
- Private FDRs
The term Non-Court Dispute Resolution (NCDR) was introduced by changes to the Family Procedure Rules in April 2024. Those changes gave the courts greater powers to adjourn or delay the court process in order to ensure that individuals in court proceedings are in court as a last resort, having exhausted other more amicable approaches to resolving disputes.
The Eric Whitehead Partnership are committed to offering the right service and approach to give their clients the best opportunity of finding a solution to family issues or disputes. We are committed to helping clients amicably resolve issues wherever possible and our team is highly trained and experienced in a range of different approaches to NCDR to understand these requirements.
Lisa Cogger is a Resolution trained Collaborative Lawyer which means she is specifically trained in the collaborative approach and is capable of promoting solution focused negotiation. Under the collaborative law process the parties each appoint their own collaborative trained lawyer, and issues are discussed in four-way meetings. It is a process that enables separating or divorcing couples to resolve issues in a non-confrontational way through open discussion, whilst being supported by their lawyers.
We recognise that every case is different and every client has different needs and aims. We will work with clients to identify and use the right process for them and their family to resolve issues arising from a separation. The details of the service provided, and any referral will be recorded on the case file.
Data Protection
The firm is required to comply in a number of ways with the Data Protection Act 2018 (‘the Act’) and also the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
The Firm’s Data Protection Manager is Timothy Halliday, and the firm has an in depth Data Protection Policy.
Business Continuity
The firm has a business continuity plan, covering the following aspects:
- Severe damage to the premises by fire, including arrangements for temporary location.
- Substantial loss of computer data (although such damage should be modest because of the firm’s back up system).
- Death or long-term sick leave of directors; and
- Insurance arrangements to consider any event which threatens business continuity.
The plan evaluates each potential threat as regards impact and likelihood; it indicates any steps (to be) taken to minimise, avoid or transfer the risk. The plan is tested annually (e.g., by checking that back-up tapes do contain the data that they are believed to contain).
The business continuity plan is reviewed annually.
Outsourcing
The firm outsources IT support to CB IT Support (Colin Bailey), file storage to Box-It and confidential destruction to Shred-Pro.
Please see the firm’s outsourcing policy for more details.
Social Media
The firm now has an active presence on Facebook and LinkedIn for marketing purposes. Nicola Robinson (Finance Director) holds overall responsibility for social media activities, including content approval. Lisa Cogger is responsible for preparing and uploading approved content, as well as managing communications, with assistance from Katie Hawthorne. All activities are governed by the firm’s Social Media Policy.
Staff are not permitted to use social media during working hours.
Online Reviews
Nicola Robinson will be responsible for the monitoring of online reviews left on sites such as Google and Review Solicitors. It is the policy of the firm not to actively engage with 3rd parties leaving a review other than to leave a comment, either thanking the 3rd party for the kind, complimentary review, or inviting the reviewer to contact the Complaints Partner if there is any expression of dissatisfaction.
January 2026
