Gepp & Sons Solicitors

Gepp & Sons is a large high street solicitors practice based in Chelmsford, Essex with a branch office in Colchester. Currently numbered among the fee earners are 12 partners, 3 associates and approximately twenty assistant solicitors and legal executives. It is believed to be the oldest continuous solicitors' practice in the town and has played a substantial role in civic affairs for much of the last 240 years of its existence.

History

The firm was founded in 1768 by Edward Gepp, Attorney, at an office in Chelmsford High Street. In the 1780s it moved to Mayntrees on New Street which is now the Judges' Lodgings for Chelmsford Crown Court. 66 Duke Street became the firm's home in 1911, whereas it now practices from a pleasant purpose-built block overlooking the Bell Meadow, to the side of the iron bridge on New London Road. Apart from a short period after the Second World War, a member of the Gepp family is thought to have been on the firm’s notepaper continuously since the firm’s foundation.

Senior Partner

Senior Partner Jonathan Douglas-Hughes DL OBE was articled to the firm, qualifying in 1969 and becoming a partner in 1971. He is the head of the agricultural department, the workload of which continues to include many longstanding farming family clients of Gepp & Sons and also of Hilliard & Ward, another Chelmsford firm which was for so long the next door neighbour of Gepp & Sons in Duke Street but which was taken over by them in 1989.

Mr Douglas-Hughes was awarded the OBE in 2008 in recognition of his services to young people, as Chairman of the Essex Association of Boys and Girls Clubs. He also continues the traditional appointment of a partner of Gepp & Sons as Under Sheriff of Essex and succeeded Mr T Gepp TD DL in this regard, whose father had held the post since the first years of the 20th Century.

Mr Douglas-Hughes was until recently Clerk to the Commissioners for Income Tax for Essex although this post has recently been taken in-house by HMRC, thus ending many decades of involvement by the Gepp & Sons in this work.

Practice

The firm’s current strengths include residential, commercial and agricultural property transactions, with a specialist residential conveyancing section having been set up some years ago in order to provide speedy and cost effective residential conveyancing. The arrival in 2005 of commercial property specialist Edward Worthy from another established regional firm complemented the agricultural knowhow of Jonathan Douglas-Hughes and the commercial skills of partner Neil Ashford, who also deals with mergers, acquisitions and sales of local businesses, large and small. Consultant Jonathan Nutt merged his practice with Gepp & Sons in 2007 and has recently received his commission from the Archbishop of Canterbury as a qualified notary public.

Another strength is litigation, with an expanding department headed by partner Peter Littlefield, a solicitor and qualified mediator who has the benefit of almost 40 years of experience in the field, both in Essex and London. Particular areas of specialisation include land and commercial disputes along with personal injury and employment issues.

Steven Payne is the head of the family law department and also managing partner of the firm. The department deals with divorce and child related matters, and sees a great deal of work generated from personal recommendations.

Danny Carter, founder member and former treasurer of Solicitors for the Elderly, has in the space of twenty years, brought the private client department of the firm from one to the seven fee earners which are employed today, in the space of twenty years. The department includes solicitors, legal executives and tax and probate accountants and deals with will writing, probate administration, tax planning and trust work as well as powers of attorney. The department lays claim to having pioneered the ‘Wills Week’, an idea more recently taken up by many firms nationwide.

The criminal department of the firm is one of the largest in the county and has held a contract for the provision of criminal defence work with the Legal Services Commission for many years, as well as the recent addition of the Very High Costs Cases contract. The practice has been developed over thirty years by Roger Brice, partner and head of the Colchester office, and includes several higher courts advocates. The Colchester office deals with many defence cases for courts martial, both in Britain and abroad. The criminal department has gained recognition for acting for various high profile defendants in the recent past.

Environmental and Community Involvement

Gepp & Sons have a long history of community involvement, most particularly with local countryside matters. The firm has recently adopted an environmental policy and are interested in finding innovative ways of being environmentally sustainable, particularly in supporting local produce. Staff are often to be seen taking part in local charitable events and the last year has seen partners and staff members raise money for The J's Hospice in Chelmsford