Our People

Teresa works out of our Bromley and London offices. She was admitted as a solicitor in 2004 and started her career at a defendant insurance litigation firm in London where she was made a Partner, dealing predominantly with high value claimant commercial litigation work.

Teresa has acquired the appropriate expertise to handle complex, high value, domestic and multi-jurisdictional litigation. She has also acted for a number of conglomerates, construction companies, small businesses and entrepreneurs. If disputes cannot be resolved, she provides advice upon methods of dispute resolution to include, litigation, adjudication and mediation.

Her specialist areas include:-

• Contractual disputes
• Multi-party actions in the High Court
• Contentious Construction: Adjudications, Mediations
• Enforcement of Adjudicator’s Decision in the TCC
• Professional negligence
• Judicial Reviews
• Property Litigation, Landlord & Tenant
• Planning Enquiries
• Intellectual Property, Trade Mark/Copyright
• Partnership Disputes
• Debt Recovery/Insolvency
• Civil, fraud and asset recovery/tracing
• Injunctive proceedings
• Contentious Probate

Advocacy in County Courts, interim applications at the High Court, Queen’s Bench, Commercial Court, Technology & Construction Court, Administration Court and Chancery Division.

Memberships

• Society of Construction Law
• TeCSA
• Adjudication Society
• Professional Negligence Lawyers Association

 Notable Cases

 Contentious Construction Law

• Numerous Adjudications relating to breach of contract, termination of contract, professional negligence, interim payments, delay and disruption, extension of time for completion of the works, defects and final account.
• Acted for a US/UK security protection and fire conglomerate, in relation to a multi-party claim issued in the Technology and Construction Court following a fire at a retail distribution centre at Magna Park, Leicestershire. Three claims were consolidated claiming losses in excess of £140m. Teresa was the lead Partner with a team of five fee The claim successfully concluded prior to a four-week trial, following a second mediation at CEDR.
• Acted for the Claimant for breach of contract of a Software Development Agreement. The Claimant retained the Defendant to develop an E-commerce website. The Claimant sought damages in excess of £9m.
• Acted for three Claimants for misrepresentation and breach of contract in relation to a Sale Agreement entered into with the Defendant who was a housing association. The Claimants’ land was situated within proximity of the Olympic Village, Stratford. Following the Olympics, the land would be used as a residential The claim was issued in the High Court in the sum of £20m.
• Wakil (t/a Orya Textiles) v Hammersmith & Fulham LBC, 2013 WL 5336550 (2013), the Public Local Inquiry into the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (Shepherds Bush Market Area) Compulsory Purchase Order 2013 & Challenge against the Secretary of State’s Decision to proceed with the CPO despite the Inspector’s Decision

Two reported Judicial Reviews and a two-week Public Planning Inquiry relating to the Shepherd’s Bush Market Compulsory Purchase Order 2013, where several Objectors, the Goldhawk Road Traders. It was held by the Planning Inspector that the CPO Order should not be confirmed. The Inspector found that the guarantees and safeguards were not sufficiently robust to ensure that genuine opportunities existed for the current shopkeepers to continue trading in Goldhawk Road.

• Acting for a construction client regarding a Worldwide Freezing Injunction issued against him by his former business partner.

Commercial Litigation

•  Turner v Jacob, 2006 WL 1635020 (2006)

A contentious Probate claim heard over a period of two weeks in the High Court, Chancery Division, relating to an Order for Possession. The Defendant issued a counterclaim and claimed that she was either beneficially entitled to the property under a constructive trust or that the property should be conveyed to her under the doctrine of proprietary estoppel. Teresa acted for the Claimant whose claim was successful.  She was also instructed to enforce the Judgment, where assets were traced to the Republic of Panama.

• Bakhtiar v Keoshgerian, 2003 WL 23014946 (2003)

Acted for the Claimant in a claim against a firm of solicitors relating to the illegal transfer of Cartier jewels. The retail valuation of the three jewels taken together was said by Cartier’s expert to be worth £3m. After a five-day trial, Judgment was entered against the Second Defendant, a law firm that was vicariously liable for the acts of its employee solicitor.

• Jaffar v Governor of Brixton Prison, 2003 WL 22826882 (2003)

Acted for the Applicant in an Application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus. The Claimant challenged the Order of the Bow Street Magistrates’ Court that he be committed to await the decision of the Secretary of State for the Home Department, regarding his extradition on five charges of conspiracy to defraud alleged to have been committed between 1987 and 1992, when the Applicant was an officer of Grupo Torras SA owned by the Kuwait Investment Office.

• Beiersdorf AG v Ramlort Ltd, 2004 WL 229258 (2004)

This was an Application by the Claimants for Summary Judgment in respect of infringement of its trademark. The Claimant manufactured and sold a range of products under the trademark Nivea. The Defendant wished to relabel and sell in the UK. These items were out-of-date stock and sent for destruction by the Claimant. Teresa acted for the Second Defendant at the Summary Judgment hearing where the Claimant’s claim was unsuccessful, as there was an arguable defence.

• Union Bank (UK) Plc v Pathak, 2006 WL 2402837 (2006)

Teresa acted for the Appellant Bank who appealed against a decision of the Registrar in the Companies Court to set aside a Statutory Demand. The Respondent Debtor was the Director of a company, which had obtained a Letter of Credit from the Bank. The Respondent Debtor applied to set aside the demand under the Insolvency Rules 1986 r.6.5(4)(a) ,(b) and (d) which at first instance was successful. The Bank’s Appeal at the House of Lords was allowed.

• Teresa has acted on behalf of a number of Claimants in bringing professional negligence claims against solicitors, accountants, architects, engineers and designers.
• Acted for a leading worldwide manufacturer of electronic computer goods in relation to the seizure of counterfeit goods at UK airports. Preparing Letter of Claim, In the absence of an Undertaking, Injunctive proceedings were issued against the Defendant in the High
• Judicial Review proceedings against a Local Authority relating to a planning decision, which resulted in the removal of the client’s advertising hoarding. An Interlocutory Injunction was obtained as a protective measure, whilst the Judicial Review claim was heard in the Administration Court. The client would have been subject to a claim for breach of contract and significant
• Teresa has acted for both Claimants and Defendants in Civil Fraud relating to breaches of the Bribery Act and VAT Carousel Fraud where injunctive proceedings were issued to include Worldwide Freezing Injunctions.
• Teresa has acted for a number of clients in relation to a Partnership disputes. An example included Partners at a firm of solicitors where a dispute arose as to their respective financial entitlements arising out of the dissolution of the
• Teresa was formerly on the Solicitors Panel of the British Railways Board and under took all their property litigation matters.

Teresa also assisted with the working draft of a Jordans publication entitled: Local Authority Liability (1^st Edition).

Ingrid is Head of Wellers Wealth, a private client and tax advisory service at Wellers, bringing with her extensive experience and knowledge of taxation and trust law. Wellers Wealth provides an invaluable service to business owners/directors and high net worth individuals and their advisers.

After completing her LLB (Hons) in Business Law at Guildhall University where she studied company law, taxation and related subjects, Ingrid studied at the Inns of Court School of Law and was called to the Bar in 1995, specialising in European Competition Law and International Trade.

 Ingrid’s first position was at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Edinburgh where she worked as a corporate tax senior in the Corporate Tax and Life Insurance Tax Department of the Financial Services Division as a tax advisor for large banks and insurance companies. This involved working as part of a team of three looking at tax planning strategies for multi-national insurance companies, leading often to international corporate restructuring for tax purposes. Ingrid was initially recruited to prepare a report to be disclosed during a tax investigation by the Revenue involving the tax treatment under the pre anti avoidance legislation of a box option, which was the underlying investment for the insurance companies guaranteed income bond.  

Ingrid was then asked to join Arthur Andersen (the 4^th largest accountancy firm worldwide at the time) where she managed the tax compliance for a portfolio of clients which included a number of investment companies and a Japanese bank with branches in England.  

During her period at Arthur Andersen she co-wrote the Tax Guide to Europe, an internal publication that was sent to Andersen’s clients. This involved writing a chapter on each European country, summarising the corporate tax, income tax, indirect tax and capital taxes of each country. 

Ingrid then transferred to Treasury within Andersen’s (due to her prior experience of derivative instruments) where she worked as part of a team designing derivative products which banks and insurance companies used as the underlying investments for the products they sold their clients. 

Ingrid then moved to Numerica (the 15^th largest UK accountancy firm at the time) as a Tax Manager focusing on owner managed businesses. There she was Head of Corporate Tax Planning and Stamp Duty. She also continued working in International Tax drafting reports for overseas clients with business interest in the UK. This involved proactive tax planning on behalf of the individual and the company, often involving international relocation and restructuring.   

In 2004 Ingrid converted to become a solicitor and has worked predominantly in law firms after a short spell lecturing Law at Brighton University. During her career as a solicitor Ingrid has worked as a Senior Associate and Head of Tax and Private Client in a Legal 500 firm in Central London.

 Ingrid regularly lectures on Trust and Taxation and Business Succession courses for the Society of Will Writers and The Association of Accountants as well as to a number of group of financial advisers.

 Ingrid initially studied piano and composition at Trinity College of Music in London and then went on to teach piano and woodwind at Eastbourne College and until recently, whilst living in Edinburgh, Ingrid gave regular piano recitals at the Edinburgh Society for Musicians.

Levina is a Private Client solicitor working from our Butler House office

Levina qualified as a Solicitor in November 2018 and specialises in advising on Wills, Lasting Power of Attorneys and administering estates. Levina also has experience working in contested probate cases.

Levina is very friendly and approachable. She likes to partner up with charities to raise money for a good cause. She supports charities like Cancer Research UK and Amnesty International UK. For Cancer Research UK, she has helped raise £2.4 million through writing free Wills for individuals who left charitable legacies in their Wills.

Outside of work, Levina likes to travel and spends time with her family and her dog.

Please be aware that Craig's name has recently been used on a fax phishing exercise, primarily targeting firms in the USA. If you have received a fax purporting to be from Craig, please ignore it. It is not from Wellers Law Group.

Craig qualified as a solicitor in 2001 and was a partner at his previous firm. He joined the litigation department at Wellers Hedleys at their Butler House offices in Great Bookham in September 2018.

Craig largely specialises in property related disputes and property litigation, particularly commercial and residential landlord and tenant disputes, business tenancy renewals and oppositions under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, dilapidation claims, possession claims, the acquisition and protection of rights over land such as prescriptive easements, other disputes relating to easements, the enforcement and discharge of freehold covenants, adverse possession, disputes over boundaries, trespass and nuisance. Craig appears in the County Court for possession claims and other chambers advocacy.

Craig’s other practice areas include trusts of land and co-ownership disputes under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, contractual disputes, consumer law, licensing, debt recovery, judgment enforcement proceedings and some insolvency work.

Sunita is a Property solicitor working from our Bookham High Street office

Mariam is a solicitor and a key member of the Parish Council advice team, based in our Surrey offices.

With a broad base of legal experience, Mariam is also able to advise on property, charity law and private client matters, including Wills, Powers of Attorney and probate.

Alex qualified as a solicitor in 2001 and has worked in the property sector since qualification, gaining a wide experience of dealing with both commercial and residential property transactions. He specialises in landlord and tenant matters, with a particular expertise in lease extensions and collective freehold purchases.

Outside of the office Alex is keen guitarist, enjoys cooking and gardening, together with long walks with the dog, running and playing tennis.

Manveen is an experienced Family Law solicitor who works in our London City office. Since qualifying in 2004 Manveen has practiced solely in Family Law. She is an accredited specialist in finance and children issues, having conducted many cases of considerable wealth, cross jurisdictional issues and complex financial and children arrangements.

Manveen has dealt with cases involving all levels of wealth (high, medium and low) often achieving favourable outcomes for her clients. This has involved dealing with assets involving either one property or a large property portfolio, pensions, international assets, companies and business assets. Often these cases involve issues of non-disclosure, non-compliance and attempts to dissipate assets. Manveen will leave no stone unturned and as and when necessary she will advise on the appropriate remedies available to her clients to ensure the most positive outcome. Through her work in Family Law Manveen has filed applications for freezing orders concerning assets and accounts, obtained cost orders for chronic failures by the opponent and issued applications for enforcement remedies to implement orders.

Manveen also has experience of assisting clients with preparing pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements.

In Children matters Manveen has represented parents in Children Arrangement Disputes including contact and residence as well as abduction, relocation and also enforcement remedies for failing to adhere to the terms of court orders with penalties to the opponent to undertake unpaid work.

In addition to the above Manveen will deal with other wider areas of family Law such as cohabitation disputes, Separation and Appeals to a higher court. Manveen has a reported case from the Court of Appeal on cohabitation (Slater v Condappa [2012] EWCA Civ 1506).

Having run her own property development and rental business prior to joining the profession, Duaa has some insight into clients’ commercial and business needs. She is therefore particularly mindful of the need to ensure that she acts promptly and always keep clients, and agents, well informed at every stage of any transaction.

Duaa works across our Chislehurst and Sevenoaks offices. She is experienced in dealing with a broad range of commercial property transactions including commercial acquisitions, plot acquisitions and sales, commercial leases and option agreements. She also has extensive experience in dealing with the full range of residential conveyancing  matters including freehold, leasehold, shared ownership, new build and re-mortgages.  Duaa has particular expertise in dealing with Transfers of Equity and Equity Release.  She has over 10 years’ experience as a landlord herself and 15 years lecturing in law and went on to qualify as a property solicitor in 2015, bringing her hugely valuable experience to her role at Wellers Reece-Jones.

Duaa has acted for a wide range of clients, including private individuals, multinational corporations, managing and letting agents, property developers, landlords, tenants and even the occasional celebrity.

 Outside of work Duaa enjoys painting.

Helen has been a solicitor specialising in family law for over 18 years. She was a Partner at her previous firm for 11 years before joining Wellers solicitors in July 2019. Helen studied Law with German Law at King's College University of London and Passau University Germany, obtaining both an LLB (Hons) and a Diploma in German Law in 1997. She completed the Legal Practice Course at the College of Law London in 1998 and is a member of Resolution, the Law Society's Family Law Accreditation Scheme and Bromley and District Law Society's Committee.

Helen helps clients with all aspects of family law – divorce and separation, cohabitation, civil partnerships, pre- and post- nuptial agreements, financial matters (e.g. property, pensions, shares, business assets, inherited wealth), domestic violence and children issues.  With regard to children, she has covered both public and private children law cases including relocation, child abduction, child arrangement orders and prohibited steps orders.

Helen has a friendly and approachable manner.  Whilst sympathetic to a client’s needs, she is always honest and realistic about the likely outcome.  Helen will always try through negotiation and mediation to reach a fair settlement but if this fails, she aims to achieve very good results at Court.
Helen’s interests out of work include travel, theatre and cinema.

Testimonial

...You have been a breath of fresh air. Clear, accountable and pragmatic.
Thank you. I honestly feel if you hadn’t have stepped in, I would still be negotiating with my ex-wife.

Jeanette has over 10 years’ experience working as a solicitor in residential conveyancing and she deals with all aspects of residential conveyancing transactions for a wide range of client in relation to buying and selling of freehold and leasehold properties, re-mortgages, pre-auction advice, transfer of equity, equity release, right to buy and help to buy transactions.

Following completion of the LPC, Jeanette joined a firm of solicitors in Greenwich as a trainee solicitor and qualified in 2008. She was then employed by a larger firm in South East London, specialising in all aspects of residential conveyancing and working with various offices around the UK. Jeanette joined the conveyancing department at Wellers in July 2019.

Jeanette has acted on a wide range of matters and property types in Chislehurst and nearby areas. She believes in providing a high quality service, building relationships with clients and taking the time to understand their needs. She endeavours to make the process as stress-free as possible.

Jeanette oversees the firm’s Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation.

In her spare time, Jeanette enjoys swimming and spending time with family and friends.

Testimonial

“Many thanks for handling our conveyancing recently. You made what could have been an extremely stressful time bearable. From our first meeting to completion we felt confident and happy”

“We really appreciate all your hard work & support. You made the whole ordeal bearable. We are truly grateful for everything you have done us”