Written 19th January 2023 by Olliers Solicitors
Olliers Solicitors are delighted to announce that former partner Alex Preston has been appointed by The King to be a District Judge (Magistrates’ Court). The Lord Chief Justice has appointed Alex to the Northern Circuit sitting at Blackburn Magistrates’ Court commencing on the 1st February 2023
Alex Preston
Alex was a Partner at Olliers Solicitors until December 2022 when she left to enjoy a short break and some well-earned relaxation before commencing her work as a District Judge. Everyone at Olliers is delighted for Alex and we wish her well in her judicial career.
Whilst at Olliers, Alex specialised in representing neurodiverse individuals particularly representing clients during the pre-charge stage of criminal investigations.
Alex provided training to all Olliers lawyers in the particular needs of neurodiverse clients and she was also known for her proactive approach during the investigative stages of a case.
In 2018 Alex was appointed as an Assistant Coroner for North Manchester siting part-time at North Manchester Coroners Court which she combined with her role at Olliers.
What do District Judges do?
District Judges (Magistrates’ courts) hear criminal cases, youth cases and also some civil proceedings in Magistrates’ courts. They can also be authorised to hear cases in the Family Court. Some are authorised to deal with extradition proceedings and terrorist cases. They are also authorised to sit as prison adjudicators. They often tend to deal with more complex matters in the Magistrates’ Court and District Judges (Magistrates’ courts) usually hear cases alone.
Ruth Peters, Olliers Business Development Director commented:
“On behalf of everyone at Olliers, I would like to offer our congratulations to Alex. This is a fantastic, well-deserved achievement and we are all extremely proud of Alex. Alex was a fantastic and well liked solicitor at Olliers as well as a friend to many of us. Whilst we will all miss workings alongside Alex we are delighted for her and wish her well in the next stage of her career.”
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Olliers is one of the UK’s leading criminal defence and regulatory law firms, specialising in the defence of individuals, businesses, and other organisations across a broad range of corporate and financial fraud crime, regulatory offences, serious crime and sexual offences. We act in professional discipline matters. We use the same skillset to represent individuals and organisations facing criticism before inquests and public inquires.
