Peter Allen, Solicitor at Essex legal firm, Birkett Long, has recently completed his qualification and has been appointed a Notary Public by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Peter’s appointment means that the firm now has four Notaries amongst their legal staff, one based at their Chelmsford office, one in Colchester and two at Halstead, offering clients access to these services right across the county.
Notaries can be traced back to Roman times. The sophisticated Roman society was familiar with similar legal documents to those we use today, such as contracts or wills, and these were prepared by Notaries who were held in high regard by the general population.
“It’s not always easy to find a Notary today”, says Peter, “because there aren’t a great many of us around! People need our services when witnessing certain types of legal documents or completing transactions like buying property abroad. Notarial services are also extremely important to the larger business. Perhaps one reason why more solicitors don’t train as Notaries is that the course is quite intense and involves a lot of study which has to be done alongside our regular work. It’s a service much in demand by our clients though, and my qualification will help ensure they always have access to a Notary whenever they need one.”
Editors Update – 15th January 2018
Peter is still with the commercial and franchising lawyers Birkett Long in Chelmsford Essex and is now a Partner and Head of the Commercial Department