Gill Steel LLB ATT TEP MBA
A sole practitioner of high standing in the legal community, Gill has earned considerable respect as a knowledgeable and compelling conference speaker with regular engagements throughout England and Wales.
Gill worked as a partner and trainer within a number of large and small legal firms and founded Gill Steel Law Practice in 1996 which continues to provide a valuable service to private client practitioners on issues concerning Wills, Probate, Trusts and Tax. She is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) UK Practice Committee and the Association of Taxation Technicians.
Society depends on the resolve of the legal profession to campaign and lobby for change to protect the vulnerable. I’m passionate about law. I can, and will, make a difference.”
Download Gill’s CV
After hours: Gill is a member of Soroptimist International of Winchester (an international women’s service organisation) has a love of fine wines, cooking (cupcakes rule OK), keeping fit on good days and going to the cinema and the theatre.
Gill also offers legal consultancy for practitioners. Click below for more information.
Sue Sheppard
Sue is Gill’s Personal Assistant and is the first point of contact for clients of both LawSkills and Gill Steel Law Practice.
As Gill’s right hand woman since 1997, Sue has become an indispensable member of the team with responsibilities ranging from bookkeeping, marketing, client liaison, preparing course materials to organising Gill’s busy diary and travel arrangements.
We all work very much as a team here and it’s a tremendously rewarding environment; it’s inspiring to know that I can help make a difference at LawSkills . As the business has gone from strength to strength my duties have become increasingly varied – which I love.”
After hours: An avid golfer, Sue is a keen Club member and competes for the Ladies team and also in mixed golf events in the region. When she isn’t golfing, Sue enjoys travelling in Europe, gardening and countryside walks with the odd pub lunch thrown in for good measure.
Helen Wood BA (Hons) MCILIP
Helen has recently joined the team as Librarian following Ken Woods’ retirement. Helen has worked in librarianship for many years both for central Government and various law firms.
Helen is responsible for maintaining up-to-the-minute awareness of the latest legal and tax developments. She provides a constant flow of information in both hard copy and electronic form, operating a specialised in-house knowledge database, keeping the hard copy library up-to-date & managing online data & journal subscriptions.
After hours: You’ll often find Helen huddled over a good book (the love of reading seems to be obligatory for Librarians!). She also enjoys eating out then working off the calories by going for long walks by the river.
Alastair Rhodes LLB MBA
Alastair is a solicitor who has been involved in law firm management for over 20 years, in private practice in a variety or roles including managing partner he now helps firms and individuals as a consultant, trainer and coach.
He assists firms with:
- business transformation in the face of new entrants to the market
- strategy formulation and implementation
- client facing issues, business development and marketing
- responses to tender invitations
- making the best use of their technology.
Alastair is also a trained executive coach and leadership mentor.
I have known and worked with Gill for many years, her encyclopaedic knowledge of all things Private Client has earned her a well deserved reputation as the ‘go to expert’ when firms need help. Her technical skills and knowledge are enhanced by her highly pragmatic approach.
After hours: With children still at school there aren’t many ‘hours after’ ; those that there are Alastair fills with rugby coaching, the occasional ski trip and acting as unpaid groom for his daughter and her horses.
Laura Banks LLB TEP
Laura has joined the team working as a freelance professional support lawyer. Laura was in private practice for nearly 18 years and specialised in the private client field. She undertook a wide range of work in strategic estate planning, Wills, trusts, administering estates and powers of attorney. For many years Laura has been an active member of STEP Birmingham’s branch committee and technical committee and has recently been appointed Vice Chairman of the Branch. Since leaving private practice Laura combines being a PSL with being a Visiting Lecturer for Birmingham College of Law. She is also an external examiner for STEP in the Taxation of Trusts & Estates and in Trusts & Estates Accounting Diplomas.
Laura carries out a variety of work for LawSkills including writing case summaries for use in course notes, reviewing and updating materials to check for accuracy in current law, policy and procedure, producing new materials and generally helping out with whatever is needed.
I really enjoy working with Gill and her team. It’s such a dynamic place to be with so much going on. I love the variety of work and the highly technical aspects of it. You never know what the next project will be, but I can be certain it will be topical, technical and useful to the practitioner. It’s fantastic to be part of making a real difference to the legal profession.”
After hours: Laura has a young family with after-school activities taking up most of her time ! She is also a keen gardener, runs to keep fit and loves a country walk with a pub lunch at the end. Stained glass is her latest craft activity and she has a keen interest in the arts.
Gail Frankland BA (Hons) TEP
For the majority of Gail’s career, she worked as an associate in the Tax, Trust and Private Client Team of a leading West Midlands firm specialising in Wills, Tax Planning, Trusts and Estate Administration. In between having three children, Gail has continued to work as a private client locum solicitor for various firms countrywide. She is a member of Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and has a great interest in the law.
Gail works as a freelance professional support lawyer to Gill and assists Gill in the preparation of lectures and case summaries.
After hours: Gail enjoys gardening, cycling and swimming as well as baking with her children.
Craig Killick
Craig works as part of the team, consulting on web marketing. Having worked in the design and web industry on agency-side for many years, he has the understanding of how to maximise the Internet for the purposes of marketing.
Craig’s passion is to make sure our content is maximised across the web using search engine optimisation, social media, e-mail marketing and the delivery of digital content.
One of the biggest challenges with any website is good content. Luckily, the LawSkills website is full of great content and it’s my job to make sure people find it.
After hours: Craig has a young and active family and is also a keen cyclist when he gets the time – that is, when you can prize him away from his laptop computer!
Jill Sainsbury
Jill is our video and audio podcast producer. She’s a broadcast journalist with many years experience at the BBC working in TV, radio and online media so she knows how to create multimedia content that is engaging, relevant and to the point.
Her portfolio covers business and training films, event filming, plays and productions and DVD production.
Gill Steel is such a strong speaker and good at explanation that it makes my job so much easier.’
After hours: Mum of two Jill plays the violin in an orchestra and tries to keep fit by taking part in running events like the Great South Run.
Tracey Bowler BA Jurisprudence
Tracey has recently joined the team working as a freelance professional support lawyer. Tracey was in private practice with one of the City law firms for 6 years specialising in corporate tax and then became a Director in the tax department of Swiss Bank UBS. For the past 7 years Tracey has been a Research Fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies and works as researcher for the Tax Law Review Committee considering tax and tax policy more generally.
Tracey carries out a variety of work for LawSkills including writing case summaries for use in course notes, reviewing and updating materials to check for accuracy in current law, policy and procedure, producing new materials and generally helping out with whatever is needed.
After hours: When not enjoying time with her two sons, Tracey enjoys gardening, cooking and long dog walks.
Reduced Rate of IHT 