ONE of the North East’s most highly regarded female lawyers, previously described by clients as “outstanding in her knowledge”, has retired from general practice.

Gillian Hall, whose career with leading law firm, Watson Burton LLP spans three decades, has also stepped down from her position as senior partner, although her close association with Watson Burton will continue.

As a highly regarded advisor, Ms Hall has previously been praised by clients in Chambers Legal Directory for her “willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty”, whilst receiving acclaim for being a “consummate professional” in The Legal 500.

Prior to being elected to the office of Senior Partner with Watson Burton in 2010, Ms Hall led the firm’s corporate team, advising on some of the highest profile national and international deals carried out in the region. Supporting this change in her role from practitioner to leader has been Duncan Reid who succeeded Ms Hall as head of the corporate team four years ago.

Ms Hall is well known and highly respected throughout the region and among other roles, remains a business board member of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, a board member of Arch, the Northumberland Development Company, and a Harbour Commissioner at the Port of Blyth.

In addition, Ms Hall will continue to act as an ambassador for and advisor to Watson Burton as the firm prepares to implement its next five-year strategic plan.

Patrick Harwood, chief executive of the firm, said: “We are all very grateful to Gillian for her service to the firm over the past 29 years. Whilst Gillian has been planning her retirement for some years, it is with a mix of admiration and sadness that we wish Gillian the very best for the next phase of her business career.

“At Watson Burton we remain focussed on the future development of the business. The firm continues to build on its status as a national firm of quality and has just completed another very successful financial year where profitability and financial stability have been significantly improved.”

Watson Burton has no plans to appoint a replacement to Ms Hall's former position, instead preferring to remain focussed on further developing a formal corporate structure. This model is based upon the defined roles of a Chief executive, professional management team and shareholders, which includes lead partners Duncan Reid, Richard Palmer and Christopher Graham

Mr Harwood added: “By structuring ourselves around a corporate model, we have genuinely aligned Watson Burton with its clients and this is providing an impressive foundation for future growth of the business.

"Over the next five years we will deliver significant year on year growth and with Richard, Duncan and Christopher at the helm - supported by ambassadors and advisors such as Gillian - there are exciting times ahead for Watson Burton and our clients.”