Our People
Matthew is one of the founders of Bradley and Jefferies Commercial Solicitors and has worked in the Derby area for over 25 years, having originally trained with a leading London commercial firm of solicitors. Matthew qualified as a solicitor in 1990 and specialises in all aspects of company commercial advice to businesses and their owners. Some of the complementary terms to describe Matthew's approach to his practice include - approachable, astute, commercial, a people person, calm, entrepreneurial, likeable and all delivered with a caustic sense of humour!
Matthew's interests outside of Bradley and Jefferies include running a junior football team, acting as a first reserve taxi driver for his children and following the “fortunes” of Aston Villa
Amanda is one of the two co-founders of Bradley and Jefferies Commercial Solicitors and has worked in Derby for over 25 years. She was recently cited* in the press as one of the “inspirational 250” people and one of 44 “incredible women” in the city. She qualified as a solicitor in 1992 and has always worked and lived in the East Midlands having trained and worked post qualification with a major regional heavy weight firm of solicitors in Nottingham. Amanda is one of the few genuine employment law experts in the East Midlands and has a breadth of experience of handling all sorts of employment law cases and enjoys offering no nonsense employment advice to commercial clients and senior employees.
Some of the complimentary adjectives used to describe Amanda's approach include - direct, commercial, creative, sociable, but above all you want her on your side, not against you!
Amanda is also a part-time lecturer at Nottingham Trent Law School for both postgraduate and undergraduate law courses. Please feel free to contact both Amanda and Harry Farmer in respect of any employment matters you may have.
Amanda's interests include fitting in as many skiing holidays in one year as humanly possible and spending time with her dog and her horse.
*Derby Evening Telegraph September 2016
Harry first came to the firm on a 1-week work experience placement at the age of 16, following which he returned to join us on a part-time basis one day a week throughout the remaining year and a half of his A-levels.
Harry then left us to attend University where he completed his law degree with a First-Class Award, before completing an LLM in Legal Practice alongside his Barristers Training Course, furthering his desire to ultimately become a practicing Barrister in England and Wales.
During his qualifications, Harry has had the opportunity to work with clients on a range of matters, including experience with a variety of commercial and land law topics.
Harry currently works as a Lawyer assisting Chimdinma in our Commercial Property Department, Amanda Jefferies in our Employment Department and Matthew Hewitt in our Dispute Resolution Department.
Outside of law, Harry’s interests include clay-pigeon shooting, playing the violin, skiing and scuba diving whenever possible.
Matthew joined the firm in October 2020 heading up the Dispute Resolution Department.
With nearly a decade of experience, Matthew started his career clerking for the Crown Prosecution Service, before working for Nottinghamshire Police and subsequently qualifying as a solicitor with specialist experience in Tribunal and commercial cases.
Matthew has a unique approach to litigation focused on identifying both an end goal and all possible routes to that goal through use of highly methodical thought processes.
He particularly enjoys cases involving complex situations where negotiation or mediation may be pursued as possible alternatives to straightforward litigation, having a particular skill for cases involving post-termination restrictions. One of Matthew’s crowning achievements to date is successfully obtaining indemnity costs awards at the Hight Court when defending an application for injunctive relief in a claim regarding an alleged breach of post-termination restrictions.
Outside of work, Matthew has a keen interest in chess and card games, having competed internationally, reaching placings at multiple world championships. Matthew has since retired from playing professionally, but still enjoys playing chess and card games in his free time.
Chimdinma joined the Firm in July 2021 and currently heads the Commercial Property Department.
Chimdi (as she likes to be called) is a dual qualified solicitor who started her legal career in 2016 as a Barrister & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria where she garnered practical knowledge and experience in commercial and property law. She moved to the UK in 2019 and has worked in various advisory roles with major organizations. Upon her admission as a Solicitor of England & Wales in 2020, she worked as a commercial property solicitor with a Law Firm in Liverpool before joining Bradley & Jefferies.
Chimdi is a client focused professional with in-depth knowledge and experience in complex commercial property transactions who leverages on same to deliver bespoke legal and practical solution to clients. She is also passionate about women and children’s rights and has volunteered with local and international organizations in various capacities to ensure that these rights are preserved and protected.
Outside of work, Chimdi enjoys playing video games especially mortal kombat, cooking, and spending time with her family.
Joanna joined Bradley and Jefferies in August 2020 and currently assists Matthew in our Company/Company Department.
Julie joined Bradley and Jefferies Commercial Solicitors as a Legal Secretary. She is now Senior Legal Secretary responsible for supervising the Secretarial and Administrative function at the firm.
Julie worked in the financial services sector for over 20 years in a Legal/Compliance role, during which time she completed her ILEX qualifications.
Some of the complementary terms to describe Julie's approach include being fast and efficient when it comes to completing tasks, has a keen eye for detail and excellent time management skills, which allows her to effectively manage the workload within the admin support team.
Julie's interests outside of work include spending time with family and friends and taking as many holidays to Fuerteventura as she can manage.