Harold G Walker Solicitors is celebrating an extraordinary milestone as Senior Partner, Simon Nethercott, marks 50 years with the Dorset-based firm. Simon started his training at the firm in February 1976 in Bournemouth, qualified in 1980 and was made Partner in 1984, specialising in Commercial Property.
Simon is now Senior Partner and Head of Business and Commercial at the Firm. Simon, who is passionate about football, was simultaneously offered a training contract at another firm in 1976. His decision to join Harold G Walker was swayed by the fact that the firm’s founder, Mr Harold Walker, was then Chairman of AFC Bournemouth.
Reflecting on his early years, Simon said, “Having accepted Harold G Walker’s offer, I started my training in February 1976 and am the only one left at the Firm who met Mr Harold, as he was called in the Practice. When Mr Harold finally ‘hung up the quill’ in the early 1990s, he proposed me as his successor as honorary Solicitor for both the Bournemouth Football Association and the Hampshire Football Association, a role I still hold today.”
In his earlier days, alongside his Commercial Property work, Simon also acted as a duty solicitor attending the local magistrates’ courts and police cells on behalf of Clients.
Simon added, “I enjoyed criminal advocacy and was sad when the Government changed the Legal Aid regime,” he said. “By far the greatest satisfaction in the job has been maintaining long-term relationships with clients and other professionals. I am now acting for the grandchildren of clients I represented forty years ago. If you had told me in 1976 that this is going to be your career for the next 50 years, I would have been delighted!”
Over the decades, Simon has worked across several Harold G Walker offices, including Bournemouth, Parkstone, Wimborne and Broadstone, and is now based at the Verwood office.
Simon continued, “It has been a privilege being a Partner of an established firm with Nicola Lowe, with whom I have been a Partner for almost twenty years and who is the epitome of what a good lawyer should be.”
Fellow Partner at Harold G Walker, Nicola Lowe, added, “Congratulations to Simon for an extraordinary 50 years in the profession, marking a truly remarkable chapter in our firm’s history.
For 26 of those years, I have had the privilege of working alongside him in what I can only describe as a professional marriage made in heaven. From the very beginning, our partnership was built on mutual respect, shared values, and an unwavering commitment to doing the right thing for our clients and our team.
Like any long-standing enterprise, we have navigated both calm waters and challenging seas. Through economic cycles, industry changes, and moments of uncertainty, we steadied our ship together, always aligned, always in harmony. Even when we approached issues from different angles, our shared purpose ensured we moved forward as one.
His wisdom, integrity, and steady counsel have not only shaped our business but have also had a profound impact on me personally. The culture we have built, grounded in trust, collaboration, and long-term thinking, stands as a testament to the strength of our partnership.
Reaching 50 years in any profession, particularly with the same Firm, is an achievement in itself. Doing so with such consistency, professionalism, and quiet leadership is something few can claim.
On behalf of everyone past and present who has worked with us, I want to thank him for his dedication, friendship, and the legacy he helped to create. It has been an honour to share 26 of those years together.
Harold G Walker Solicitors provides trusted legal services for individuals and businesses across Wimborne, Broadstone, Verwood and Christchurch. The team specialises in commercial law, wills, trusts, probate, residential and commercial conveyancing, family law, employment advice and dispute resolution, delivering expert advice with professionalism and care.