Services
The Team
Kevin Lowther B.A. (Hons)
Partner
Kevin Lowther is the Partner in charge of the firm’s Appleby office which services the Upper Eden Valley and beyond.
Kevin obtained a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in law from Newcastle Polytechnic where he also went on to complete the Law Society final examinations before commencing the practical stage of his training. Upon qualification as a solicitor in 1986, Kevin practised initially in Gateshead and the surrounding area, specialising in medical negligence, before establishing his own practice in the Upper Tyne Valley.
Douglas Mellor B.A. (Hons)
Senior Partner
Douglas Mellor is the Senior Partner of the firm and has been such since 1st January 2001.
Douglas originates from Yorkshire, where after obtaining a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Business Law from City of London College he completed his training and qualified as a solicitor in 1976.
Kathryn Metcalfe B.A. (Hons)
Partner
Kathryn Metcalfe was born and raised in the Eden Valley. Having finished her secondary education at Penrith’s Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Kathryn then left the area to pursue an honours degree in Law and Spanish at Staffordshire University. Upon completion of her academic stage of training at the University of Northumbria, where Kathryn undertook the postgraduate Legal Practice Course, she returned to her native Cumbria to commence her training contract.
Mark Graham
Partner
Mark Graham was born and raised in Carlisle. Upon leaving Secondary School he joined the Carlisle Branch Office of the Crown Prosecution Service where he worked as an Administrative Officer/Case Worker. It was during this employment that Mark developed his interest in the law and he began studying the Institute of Legal Executive Examinations.
Julia King B.Sc
Consultant Solicitor
Julia King was born in Cumbria and has lived in the area throughout her career. She attended Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith leaving there to attend University at the London School of Economics followed by her qualifying examinations to become enrolled as a Solicitor. Julia served her articles with the current firm’s predecessors, then known as Harrison Grainger & Reed, when they developed their town centre premises in King Street, Penrith.
Alan Brunskill F.Inst.L.Ex.
Legal Executive
Alan originates from Penrith having lived in and around the town all his life. He started his legal career in property law in 1985 before undertaking vocational studies at Newcastle upon Tyne and being enrolled as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives in 1994.
He joined Gaynham Smith & Mellor in 1996 working initially at Appleby before moving to the Penrith office further to the amalgamation in 1998 of Gaynham Smith & Mellor with Grainger King & Hynes to form the present day firm.