A LAWYER from the North-East has received a global award in recognition of receiving the highest grade anywhere in the world in recent exams.

Lauren Fraser has received an Excellence Award from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) for her performance in her administration of estates assessment.

Lauren, a specialist wills, trusts and estates solicitor at Sintons, finished top amongst hundreds of lawyers around the world who sat the exam earlier this year.

STEP is a highly-esteemed international body which endorses professionals working in the field of trusts and estates for their quality. Its assessment process is extremely stringent, to ensure only the highest quality of lawyers receive accreditation.

Sintons’ award winning wills, trusts and estates team already has a number of STEP-accredited specialists.

“The exams to gain accreditation from STEP are very taxing, which is only right so that STEP can be absolutely confident that its members have the necessary expertise in this very specialised areas of law.

“But to receive the highest grade in the world is a huge honour. It was very unexpected but I’m genuinely delighted,” said Lauren, who qualified as a solicitor in 2018.

“I’ve had great support from Sintons with my exams, both in terms of being given the time I need to study for them and the guidance I receive every day from my colleagues, many of whom are regularly acknowledged as being leaders in their field regionally and nationally.

“I look forward to continuing to work towards full membership of STEP and am grateful for this fantastic award for my administration of estates exam.”

Paul Nickalls, head of the wills, trusts and estates team at Sintons, said: “This is a phenomenal achievement by Lauren. She is a dedicated and diligent lawyer with huge potential, so the fact she has been given this Excellence Award is worthy recognition of her ability.

“Since she joined us, Lauren has played a key role in our team - she is a very capable legal advisor who delivers exceptional service to her clients, and she has already built a reputation for this even at this relatively early stage of her career. Our team and everyone at Sintons is very proud of Lauren’s achievement and we look forward to continuing to work with her as she develops even further.”