Anna Dunn joined our Residential Property team as a Partner in November 2024. She relocated from Brighton, where she has lived and worked for 11 years and brings with her particular experience working with housing associations and developers. Over the years, Anna has worked across a range of property matters and, as well as acting for developers, she still enjoys the more typical residential property work.
Ayla Clissold joined our busy Residential Property team in January 2022 and enjoys getting involved with the ‘really high-quality’ work which we deal with. She has always worked in residential property and thrives on the regular contact with our clients and finding solutions to any challenges.
Katie Hancock joined our Private Client team nearly seven years ago. As part of that team, she deals with all aspects of Private Client work, including the preparation of Wills, probate, Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) and deputyship applications to the Court of Protection, where a relative has lost the capacity to manage their own affairs.
In many ways, you are currently all celebrating. Anna, you joined TeamCB fairly recently as a Partner, while Ayla and Katie, you were both promoted to Senior Associate at the beginning of the year. How are you all feeling?
Anna: “Everyone at CooperBurnett has been lovely and welcoming, so I’m already feeling very settled. While I’m still fairly new, I feel like I’ve been here a long time and it’s exciting to be part of CooperBurnett. I already feel like I’m getting a good amount of work in and everyone is being really supportive.”
Ayla: “I’m just really happy. It’s great to have my hard work recognised and rewarded. I had a break in my career before I joined CooperBurnett, so it feels very special to have been at TeamCB just three years and to have already been promoted.”
Katie: “Like Ayla, I am just really happy. It seemed like everyone here was rooting for me and wanted my career to progress; as keen for it to happen as I was. I felt encouraged to be passionate about my career and want to progress. It felt like that throughout the whole process. Victoria is so passionate about our careers and, even now, there’s encouragement to think about the next step.”
Anna: “This enthusiasm absolutely shone through when I was having initial conversations about joining as a Partner. Some firms don’t routinely take on partners – they want you to prove yourself first and then expect you to reapply to go back to partner level. It was refreshing to discover that Victoria [Sampson], Joe [Joseph Oates] and Jenni [Jennifer Irving] all acknowledged the point I had already reached in my career and let me join at that level.”
Ayla: “They are supportive and they guide you and explain the steps you’ll need to take to get there. They made the whole process straightforward.”
Anna: “The process sounds less daunting than previous places I’ve worked, where you’d be sent a list of things the firm was looking for and you then decided if you wanted to apply. Here, you are the one being approached and the process seems to be tailored to each person.”
Katie: “In many ways it feels like you are doing what’s expected of you anyway and this is the logical next step. I didn’t feel as if there were loads of hoops to jump through and it didn’t feel insurmountable, more like a natural progression. I had a meeting maybe every two or three months and I never felt apprehensive ahead of those or worried that something would be said to throw me off course. In any case, everyone here is approachable. I liaise a lot with Joe about Probate issues and Jenni regularly pops in for a chat.”
Does it feel good to be somewhere where there’s a clear career progression and your hard work is being recognised?
Katie: “While we are part of a team, it feels as if we are also recognised as individuals. In Private Client, for example, although Sarah [Strong] and Katie [Gillam] are already partners, I don’t feel that’s necessarily going to be a barrier to me becoming a partner in the future. At firms I’ve worked before, it felt like there was a ceiling; if there were too many people of a certain level that meant you couldn’t step up to that level. It doesn’t feel like that here; CooperBurnett sees the bigger picture.”
Anna: “As somebody new to CooperBurnett, it feels like that to me as well. Having other good people on your team shouldn’t hold anyone else back.”
Anna – you had already achieved partner level at another firm. Was it a difficult decision to move to CooperBurnett?
Anna: “Making the move to Tunbridge Wells felt like a natural progression in life and what was lovely was being able to think about work as part of that. We were relocating anyway to be closer to family and, personally, we are already seeing the benefits of that. Moving to CooperBurnett was easier than it could have been, as everyone has been so welcoming – from the initial conversation I had with Jenni to meeting Joe and Victoria, who were just so enthusiastic and positive. Having been a partner somewhere for several years, is felt good to have conversations with people who seemed genuinely excited about me. I had a long notice period and the team at CooperBurnett kept in touch during that time. I was shown round a few times and felt I’d met most people before I joined. Everyone seemed enthusiastic and super excited about me joining and that made me feel positive too. I appreciated being recognised for what I’d achieved previously and the different experience and expertise I was bringing to the firm.”
Many team members at CooperBurnett have been here a while – such as Joe and Victoria – and there are benefits to that. Yet, new people seem to be welcomed too?
Anna: “I’ve worked places where there’s a very set way of doing things and people are resistant to change. But, that isn’t the case here and all of the senior team are very approachable. Jonathan Rowe has been particularly open and there’s an obvious overlap in the work we do; while Tom Lumsden has already agreed to do some training for the board at Trinity Theatre, a charity where I’m a trustee.”
During your careers, you’ve all worked in different firms. What makes CooperBurnett stand out?
Anna: “It just seems more personal at CooperBurnett and everyone is very obviously happy to be here. That was actually quite refreshing and particularly striking when I first got here. Everyone I speak to tells me how great it is – and not just because I’m new - they genuinely mean it.”
Katie: “CooperBurnett is the smallest firm I’ve worked for. Everyone knows each other here and there’s real personal camaraderie. Also, you don’t feel people are breathing down your neck about billing. In previous workplaces I have felt a lot of pressure in terms of time recording and targets. At CooperBurnett, we are not put under that pressure, which actually motivates us more.”
Ayla: “At CooperBurnett, they put their trust in you and I never feel micro-managed. It feels comfortable to pick up the phone to one of my colleagues, if I’ve got a question or I need to run something past somebody. You are given the trust to get on with your job but with support if you need it.”
Anna: “CooperBurnett doesn’t promote competition in a negative way and pit you up against each other. It feels more like a team here.”
Katie: “Because of the positive environment here, you naturally get more cross referrals between teams and it’s very much a collaborative effort, with lots of knowledge sharing across the firm and a feeling of wanting to help each other.”
We often talk about the TeamCB culture and it seems that it’s something that isn’t just felt in the building, but by clients and peers.
Anna: “People also notice it within you. Since I’ve joined CooperBurnett, my family and friends have remarked on how much lighter my general demeaner is; they’ve certainly seen a positive change in me.”
As your careers progress here at CooperBurnett, do you feel a responsibility to be a good role model and to mentor and support others?
Ayla: “Honestly, simply being kind goes a long way. I remember back to when I was a trainee, I felt like I was made to tiptoe around… I can’t imagine making someone feel that way.”
Katie: “We’ve had quite a few trainees lately in our team. It’s made me think back to my training contract and the good and bad experiences I had. I worked in some fantastic and supportive teams. But, at other times, I felt a bit abandoned. That experience made me swear to myself that if I was ever showing a trainee how to do something, I would take the time to pass my knowledge on to help nurture them, because that’s what the point of it is.”
Anna: “Training the next generation of lawyers is so important. Do it properly and they want to stay and you’ve got more good lawyers on your team. Everyone here at CooperBurnett wants to help people progress.”
You are all involved in some way with charity/community both at CooperBurnett and in the local area. Do you feel CooperBurnett supports you in this?
Ayla: “Yes, I am a member of the charity committee at CooperBurnett and we are currently planning our next big charity challenge this summer – raising funds for Jigsaw South East.”
Ayla – you ran an incredible 100km as part of the last big challenge – Race to the King. How was that?
Ayla: “It was amazing – although I basically broke myself! The training involved so much self-discipline; sometimes I’d take myself off for a 60km run on a Saturday! I remember finishing in the middle of the night and I was so euphoric! There’s a video of those last moments and Victoria is shouting ‘come on Ayla, come on Ayla’ and crying. It was an incredible experience and I was so grateful to have Victoria there to meet me at the end. I tore my calf muscle at 80km but kept remembering what the fundraiser from Demelza had told us about how the money we raised would equate to hours of care. It stuck in my head and I knew I had to finish, even if I had to drag my leg behind me – and I basically did! I know it’ll be the same for Jigsaw South East.”
Katie: “The fact that our Partners pound match what’s raised is amazing.”
Katie – you’ve got involved with the Tonbridge & Tunbridge Wells Dementia Friendly Community?
Katie: “In the Private Client team, we deal with many elderly people, sometimes they are vulnerable and sometimes they have issues with capacity and we have to navigate this very sensitively. Being involved with the Tonbridge & Tunbridge Wells Dementia Friendly Community helps me to help my clients and highlights CooperBurnett as a firm that is dementia friendly. Here, we have the knowledge and expertise to support people who have issues which dementia or have family members who do and can help them set up Lasting Powers of Attorney or Deputyships. There isn’t enough support for people living with dementia and those who care for them. Carers are put under obscene amounts of pressure and not helped enough, so it’s great there are facilities like memory cafes provides by our local Dementia Friendly Community. Carers can safely leave their loved ones and get an hour or two respite themselves. I enjoy volunteering at the annual St George’s Day concert and I help out whenever I can. In the past, I have also offered dementia training and hope to get involved with that again as well in due course.”
Anna – you are a Trustee at Trinity Theatre.
Anna: “CooperBurnett has been really supportive and enthusiastic about my new role at Trinity and, as I mentioned earlier, Tom [Lumsden] has offered our board some training. It’s also good to see my colleagues booking up to see shows at Trinity. In fact, a few of us have taken annual leave to enjoy a ‘singalong’ version of Wicked one afternoon soon.”
Katie – how is it in Private Client currently?
Katie: “We all seem fairly busy, with lots of work in the pipeline. Having been here a few years myself now, I am getting clients coming back, which is good. Some clients are evaluating what they have in place for example. Also, when dealing with Probate, that’s a time when beneficiaries will ask about their own Wills and LPAs etc. I’m really feeling established now.”
Anna and Ayla – are you also busy in Residential Property?
Ayla: “Yes, it is busy, which quite a lot of new enquiries coming in. Like Katie, I’m also seeing more repeat clients or referrals from other clients.”
Anna: “Although I’ve only been here a short while, I’m certainly I’m getting busier.”
While CooperBurnett is a supportive place to work, law can still be pressured. How do you take a break?
Ayla: “We are always encouraged to make time for ourselves and my ‘me time’ is going to the gym. Often a walk during the day also works wonders too. I worked from home the other Friday dealing with a tricky house transaction – and worked through my lunch break. At 4.30pm, I decided to take myself off for some fresh air which really helped… Everyone recognises here that you do need to look after yourself.”
Anna: “When I’m working from home and I need a break, I dance. In fact, I have a dance playlist, which I try to vary. I’ve just created a 2025 playlist of songs that I want to listen to this year. My dancing is very varied – there’s street dance with some hip hop contrasted with slower dances that include stretching, mixed up with some Latin moves, as I used to do salsa dancing quite regularly (although many years ago)… If I don’t have any energy for dancing, then I sing. When I dance or sing, the endorphins kick in and I feel energised. The power of music is incredible.”
