Expertise
Catherine qualified as a solicitor in 2007, and is admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in Northern Ireland and in England and Wales. Since qualification, she has specialised in all aspects of real estate and private client work.
She has extensive experience acting in a wide variety of residential conveyancing transactions, including the sale, purchase, transfer or re-mortgage of houses, apartments, new build properties and shared ownership properties, as well as agricultural land. She also advises on sales, transfers of equity and re-mortgages arising out of matrimonial separations or probate.
Catherine has acted on behalf of a number of private clients and companies in the acquisition and disposal of commercial properties, including advising both landlords and tenants in the negotiation of commercial leases.
Catherine can also assist clients by providing advice on a range of other private client matters, including drafting of Wills, Enduring Powers of Attorney and Administration of Estates.
Prior to joining Gateley, Catherine was a Director and Head of Property Law in a well-established regional law firm.
She is a member of the Council of the Law Society of Northern Ireland, and sits on several of its committees, including its Conveyancing and Property Committee.
How do you help clients?
I combine legal expertise with a friendly and pragmatic approach. I want my clients to know that they are in safe hands throughout the conveyancing process, and I do all that I can to make their experience as stress-free as possible, while still ensuring that any legal issues along the way are identified and resolved to a high standard. I am approachable and always happy to deal with any queries or concerns that my clients may have in navigating an experience that is unfamiliar to them.
Experience
- Acting in the sub-division of a family-owned site to create separate title deeds for each family member’s individual properties, to include incorporation of necessary easements and covenants relating to privately-owned and shared access and services to the various residential properties.
- Advising apartment owners to resolve the absence of a suitable management company for their apartment building, that was creating difficulty in the sale of their properties, to include incorporation of a suitable company and liaising with the Crown Solicitor to perfect title to the apartment building.
- Acting for a local developer in acquiring a site for development, and in the subsequent sale of new build properties within that development.
- Acting in the purchase of a prime luxury apartment in Northern Ireland, involving a comprehensive review of contract and title to the apartment development expeditiously to enable clients to secure it before other bidders.
- Acting in the negotiation and drafting of a conditional contract for the purchase of a high-value residential property where agreed completion was several years after exchange of contract, to ensure protection of the purchaser’s position between contract and completion.