Ian Thomas, a senior associate and specialist in property litigation at Stephens Scown LLP, has been awarded Fellowship status of the Agricultural Law Association. He is one of only sixteen lawyers across the UK to gain Fellowship status this year.

The ALA promotes the understanding of agricultural law and gaining Fellowship status is its highest qualification.

The course covered all of the key legal issues that affect farmers and rural businesses including topics such as property issues, tax, legal issues around animal welfare, farming subsidies and Brexit.

Ian, who is based in St Austell, comments:

“Many of my clients are farmers or have significant interests in the Rural sector, so it is great to deepen my understanding of the issues they face.”

Ian is the fourth lawyer at Stephens Scown to gain ALA Fellowship status, joining Susie Murray, Jennifer Burden and Kate Theophilus, the latter of whom is also a member of the ALA Council.

Stephens Scown’s managing partner Robert Camp adds:

“Ian is one of the few litigation lawyers in the area to have this qualification. Adding to the expertise of our rural team with further specialist qualifications like this shows how dedicated and passionate the team are about the rural sector in the South West.”

Stephens Scown has over 290 staff, including more than 50 partners, across its offices in Exeter, Truro and St Austell. The firm is listed in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For 2018, for the fourth consecutive year. For more information visit www.stephens-scown.co.uk