Department Heads
Head of Conveyancing – Jim Stanley
Head of Conveyancing Department and Senior Partner of the firm. Educated at KGV, Southport he obtained his Law Degree at Leicester University. He then joined Brighouses as a trainee solicitor and has been with the firm ever since. He is formerly an enthusiastic member of the Southport and Waterloo Harriers and played for Southport Rugby Club. He now confines his Saturday afternoons to watching rugby from the touchline. Jim lives with his wife, Liz in nearby Formby.
Head of Company and Commercial - David Barr
David is head of the Commercial Department and has practised in Southport for over 30 years, 15 of which he has spent with Brighouses. Prior to that David worked for a large Liverpool City Practice in their Commercial Department.
He specialises in commercial property transactions as well as domestic conveyancing and probate. When not hard at work looking after his clients he can be found playing golf at Formby or cheering on Liverpool at Anfield with his son, Christopher.
Head of Civil Litigation – Mike Ratcliffe
Head of Civil Litigation Department. Mike trained at Brighouses after attending KGV, Southport, and studying Modern History at Oxford University. He is a Director of Southport Flower Show, Secretary of Southport and Ormskirk Law Society and a member of Southport Film Guild. His thorough and painstaking approach to everything he does makes him the ideal person to be the Managing Partner of the Practice.
Married with three children he enjoys “pottering” in his garden, visiting archaeological sites and striding across the beautiful North West countryside.
Head of Crime – Mike Braham
Head of the Criminal Department. He also specialises in matrimonial areas including divorce, matrimonial finance as well as licensing law. He joined Brighouses in 1987. He shows irrepressible enthusiasm in everything he does. A Deputy Lieutenant of Merseyside and a former President of the Southport and Ormskirk Law Society, he is also a supporter of lost causes being a Vice-president of Southport Football Club! A member of the local branch of CAMRA he enjoys a pint of real ale. He is also a trustee of Southport Pier.
Head of Family– Gill Cheetham
Gill is a graduate of the Metropolitan University of Leeds and was admitted a solicitor in 1989. She heads the Family Law Department including child care and domestic violence. She is also a trained mediator and collaborative lawyer. A member of Resolution, her sympathetic and caring manner makes her ideally suited to look after an expanding Client base. Married with two young sons Gill is keenly interested in sport and can frequently be found pounding the pavements near her home. She enjoys a game of golf and is a keen supporter of Manchester United.
Head of Wills and Probate – Margaret Collins
Margaret heads the Probate Department, dealing with Probate and Contentious Probate. She also handles the preparation of Wills and Lasting Power of Attorney, Inheritance Tax Planning and issues affecting the elderly. Margaret began her legal career as an office junior gradually working her way up to secretary and then a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives before qualifying as a Solicitor in 1997. Her extensive experience of life and kindly approach makes her ideally suited in the field in which she works.