As I sit here in our office at 1 Little London, looking back to 2025 and how busy our team of solicitors and support staff at Mayo Wynne Baxter have been in Chichester, it’s no wonder the year flew by so quickly!
We welcomed new people, including Emma Caldwell who manages our reception and is ready to give you a warm welcome should you choose to visit us in person. You may have spotted Emma as she scoured our local retailers for goodies to put into the hamper that we donated for the Chichester BID Christmas networking event (more on that later). I know Emma was delighted to support the shops and businesses by selecting wine from local vineyards (a welcome suggestion made by James O’Connell head of our Vineyards and Wineries team), choosing honeys, jams and spreads from West Dean Estate and the obligatory seasonal goodies from Turner’s Pies.
I have enjoyed meeting many of you, and you may also have met Sam Stowell from our Private Client team, who specialises in wills and probate, as well as Marie Stock from our Family team. From taking part in the Chichester Legal Walk to supporting local charity cocktail evenings, and from backstage events at Chichester Festival Theatre to Christmas lights switch ons (let’s not mention the rain), we’ve loved being part of so many moments in Chichester in 2025.
Talking of Christmas, this was our first year supporting Chichester BID’s Christmas initiatives. Thanks to the BID team, I was whisked off to help judge the Christmas window of business and shops across the city. It was a brilliant chance to meet new faces and reconnect with familiar ones. Of course, a huge well done to The Inksmiths for taking the gold in the window competition in a fiercely competitive field!
The rain certainly didn’t dampen spirits at the Christmas lights switch on, which was also a great opportunity to applaud our community heroes who did the honours. I also hope you enjoyed the interactive art on the lawns at the Cathedral. We ended the year on a high with the Chichester BID Christmas event. It was a wonderful evening held a Fernleigh and what a lovely opportunity for all of us BID members to get together. The support in the room for the business community was great and it was wonderful to be able to thank Helen Marshall for everything she has done for Chichester .
So, what does 2026 bring? Our teams continue to grow, as demand for our personal and business legal services increases (if you know of anyone who may be interested, check out our website for opportunities or ask them to get in touch with me via my email address below). We will be announcing our new sponsorship and partnerships later in Spring.
Our events team are planning various seminars in Chichester – with topics as diverse as What you need to know about Wills and Trusts, to Rural Estate and Land Planning, and from Employment Law Updates to the tried and tested Wine and Cheese Tasting with our Vineyards and Wineries team. Our marketing team can keep you up to date on anything I have mentioned above, or feel free to drop me an email.
Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing you soon!
Nicola Brown, Head of Chichester Office and Head of Employment, Mayo Wynne Baxter