I doubt if there have been many weeks in the 116 years that Gardner Leader has been in existence which have seen so much change. Tomorrow (30 June) marks the end of our financial year and with it the retirement of two of our longest serving partners.
John Jackson joined Gardner Leader in 1983 and since then has become one of the most familiar faces in the magistrates courts of Newbury and surrounding areas as a leading criminal defence lawyer. He has also acted as our client care partner handling any (thankfully rare) complaints about our service with tact and diplomacy. He will no doubt use his retirement to make more of the exotic trips he enjoys so much. We will miss him and we wish him well.
Even John’s 28 years are dwarfed by the 42 years that Derek Child has spent at Gardner Leader, most of them as senior partner. Quite simply, Derek has made Gardner Leader what it is today. We are delighted that even though he is stepping down as a partner, he will be staying with the firm as our Chairman and will be in the office three days a week so that we can continue to benefit from all that experience (and his detailed knowledge of the ups and downs – mainly downs – of Swindon Town FC).
As well as those retirements, we will also be changing our logo and website within the next few days to freshen up our look, so there is a lot going on!
DEREK RODGERS 