Clarion has promoted two of its home-grown talents, Stephanie Parish and Sarah Harrison, to the position of partner – taking the number of partners in the firm to 31.
Stephanie is one of the many successful lawyers who have progressed their careers within the firm having joined in 2008 as a trainee and now having over 13 years’ experience as a private wealth lawyer. She was promoted to senior associate in 2016 and became a legal director in 2020.
Stephanie now heads Clarion’s growing Private Wealth team, which is well renowned in the marketplace and continues to be ranked band 1 in Chambers High Net Worth Guide. She provides expert technical advice on all private wealth matters regionally and nationally, such as lifetime estate/succession planning through the use of wills, powers of attorney and trusts for high-net- worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, with an emphasis on protecting family wealth and maximising tax efficiency. It also includes advising on the administration of high value or complex probate matters post-death.
Stephanie’s specialism is assisting business owners and entrepreneurs in particular about protecting their wealth and their business succession plans. She works closely with external tax advisers, accountants and financial advisers on pre-sale planning and family investment companies.
Sarah also began her legal career with Clarion, having secured a training contract with the firm and joining a year earlier to work as a paralegal nearly 12 years ago. On qualification in 2014, she joined Clarion’s corporate team, rising to senior associate in 2019 and legal director two years later. She provides the full range of corporate advice from delivering large transactions including acquisitions, sales, management buy-outs, private equity investments and employee ownership trusts, to assisting companies with their ongoing development including group re-organisations and Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) schemes.
Sarah has significant experience working with clients in the digital marketing and tech sectors. She is renowned for her technical ability and pragmatic approach, being able to adapt her approach to each client’s needs. Sarah also works closely with Clarion’s private wealth team to deliver estate planning solutions for business owners and high-net-worth individuals, including implementing family investment companies.
“It is always a genuine pleasure to see loyal and talented lawyers forging their careers with Clarion and we are very proud to welcome Stephanie and Sarah to the ranks of our 30-plus partnership,” comments Richard Moran, senior partner of Clarion. “Stephanie has built a strong reputation as a specialist in her field and demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the firm and our values. In addition to being technically adept, she has proved able to bridge the gap between private and corporate clients and will be an intrinsic part of the continued success of our private wealth practice which she now leads.
“Over the last ten years, Sarah has become an indispensable member of the corporate team, establishing herself as a dealmaker in her own right and repeatedly being approached by name for new mandates.”
Moran continues: “Stephanie and Sarah are real Clarion success stories, having trained and developed their skills and careers within the firm. Both are also graduates of our recent Management Development Programme and play a key role in developing, motivating and supporting colleagues as well as being inspiring role models.”
Stephanie is STEP (Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners) qualified and a fully accredited member of Solicitors for the Elderly.
Recently recognised at the third fastest growing law firm in Europe, Clarion last year had a turnover of almost £27m and works both nationally and internationally. It has a 300-strong team, including 31 partners.
