Agriculture and Landed Estates Team

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding agriculture and landed estates - a member of our team would be happy to discuss any queries with you.

Vernon Clarke is a partner and head of the agriculture and landed estates team. His main responsibilities within the team cover buying and selling agricultural land, sporting rights and rural businesses (including diversification into agritourism and viticulture) as well as advising on farm succession planning and land management issues. His recent projects have included acquisition and disposal of farms, country estates, sales of fishing  rights, and fishing lakes. Vernon belongs to the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, the Country Land & Business Association and the Agricultural Law Association. He is active in the conservation  sector, currently serving as a trustee of  and solicitor to Devon Wildlife Trust (which manages over 1,200 hectares of Devon’s countryside), is a  past chairman of an Historic Buildings Trust and a serving founder trustee of and solicitor to a charity providing therapeutic learning and sheltered employment for disabled beneficiaries in a horticultural setting. Vernon is also a keen fisherman and follower of country pursuits and has been a hobby farmer for a number of years.

Ted Foulkes is a partner in the firm and has almost 40 years’ experience in wills probate, trusts and tax. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and Solicitors for the Elderly. Ted advises farmers, country businesses and estate owners on tax and succession planning and deals with the administration of trusts and estates which include business or agricultural property.

Jill Headford is a partner and  deals with disputes relating to land ownership, partnerships and employment, often for farmers who have diversified into the mobile homes or leisure sectors. A member of the Equine and Animal Lawyers Association, she is experienced in disputes relating to horses such as sale and purchase, vetting negligence and accident claims.

Paul Kelly is a partner who specialises in a broad range of contentious and non-contentious employment work.  Paul advises the firm's registered social housing provider clients as well as a wide variety of national, regional and local business and farming clients and charities. Paul’s work includes advising employers about senior employees and directors, complex claims involving equal opportunities and discrimination, including disability, sex, race and equal pay issues, compromise agreements and related taxation issues, business restructuring, TUPE, unfair dismissal, national minimum wage and the working time regulations/directive.

Tony Beard was formerly a partner at Tozers and is now a consultant, having been with the firm for over 30 years has been instrumental in developing the Parks and Leisure team and uses the experience gained from that area to assist in land and estate ownership matters especially for landowners seeking to diversify .

Kirsty McLennan is an associate solicitor and a member of the Property Litigation Association. As a Property litigation lawyer she is able to draw on the skills she uses within this area to advise on agricultural tenancies and landlord and tenant disputes relating to these tenancies.

Rachel Rowles Davis is a solicitor assisting the team on all aspects of planning and agricultural ties, including negotiation of Section 106 planning obligations, variation of planning conditions, certificates of lawfulness and planning enforcement, as well as the law relating to highways and public rights of way.

Gráinne Staunton is a solicitor specialising in wills, probate, attorneyships, trusts and tax planning with particular experience of the issues concerning farmers and agricultural business owners in succession planning.

Anneli Jones Obtained a politics degree from Exeter University before a brief spell working in a local constituency office. She then spent nine years working for a national arts organisation, most notably looking after film investment projects, before deciding to qualify as a solicitor. After passing her Legal Practice Course at Cardiff University she joined Tozers LLP as a trainee in January 2009.

Since qualifying into the private client department in January 2011, Anneli has been working on various land transactions for private clients and charities. Anneli is also a member of the equine team.