A firm of lawyer-linguists.
Jonathan Coutts MA, MCILScrivener Notary, Senior Partner
holds a B.A. in French from the University of Southampton and an M.A. in Translating from the University of Salford. He qualified as a Scrivener Notary in 2000 and was admitted as a member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists at the same time. He became a partner of the firm in 2004 and continues to work in all of the foreign languages offered by the firm, with particular emphasis on French and Polish and an additional caseload of probate matters.
He has served as the Honorary Secretary of the Society of Scrivener Notaries since 2009. As such he has represented the profession in the regulatory sphere on many occasions. He provided detailed written evidence to the Competition & Markets Authority as part of the CMA’s study of the legal services market.
He was actively involved in the Society’s response to an application made by a third party in 2016 for designation as a regulator of notaries. Written evidence was given for the link between the independence of the profession and the recognition of notarial acts in other jurisdictions. The Lord Chancellor’s decision took particular note of this evidence and its significance for businesses and consumers. The decision was upheld on judicial review in 2019 when the Administrative Court ruled that the notarial profession had “clearly raised a matter of public interest”.
He has appeared in the Court of Faculties on several occasions, leading the successful investigation and prosecution of notaries for misconduct such as the forgery of signatures, acting in a conflict of interest and negligent involvement in a fraudulent investment scheme.
He attends on clients in Buckinghamshire by prior arrangement.
Charles Henshaw LL.B. (Hons)Scrivener Notary, Partner
obtained the Postgraduate Diploma in Notarial Practice from UCL (University College London) in 2012 and was admitted as a Notary Public the same year. He holds an LL.B (Hons) in Law with German from the University of Hull, and those studies included a year spent at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf. Following qualification, he was seconded to notaries in both Bavaria and Paris.
He was admitted as a Scrivener Notary in 2015 and became a partner of the firm in 2017. He deals with all areas of notarial practice in the firm and specialises in German and French matters. He also represents the profession as an active member of the European Affairs Commission (CAE) of the International Union of Notaries (UINL). In this capacity he regularly presents updates and provides guidance to overseas notaries in relation to changes to domestic laws and national legislation.
He attends on clients in Kent by prior arrangement.
Miguel Ortiz DipTrans, MCIL, MITIHead of Translation
has been working as a legal translator and translation manager since 2004. He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Translation and Interpreting by the University of Castellon in 2003. He also holds a Diploma in Translation from the Institute of Linguists (awarded 2005) and a Graduate Diploma in Law from the University of Westminster (awarded 2009). He has been a full member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists since 2006 and a qualified member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting since 2019. He regularly participates at industry events to keep abreast with the latest trends in translation and translation technology.
William KennairScrivener Notary, Consultant
has an LL.B (Hons.) from University College London and qualified as a Scrivener Notary in 1983. He retired from full-time practice on 31 March 2019, but continues to act for the firm as a Consultant. He speaks fluent German, French and Spanish.
He is a former Chairman of the Society of Scrivener Notaries (2003-2009)
He has served as a member of the General Council of the International Union of Notaries (UINL) and has acted as Treasurer of the UINL Advisory Commission. He has also been a delegate to the UINL European Affairs commissions CAUE/CAEM, Secretary to the CAE, President of the former Informatics Commission, and Secretary of the International Civil Law/Common Law Task force.
He has also acted as Chargé d’Affaires for the UINL to the United Nations Commission for International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), and has chaired the Task Force on Security and Authentication of the Commission on E-Business, IT and Telecoms of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris.
He twice served as Master of the Scriveners’ Company (July 2008-July 2009, January-June 2012) and continues to sit on the Company’s Privileges Committee. He has previously also sat on the Company’s Notarial Committee, and chaired the Charity Sub-Committee.
Laura Delacroix-HumphreysNotary Public, Consultant
was awarded a 2:1 LLB degree in Law from The University of Sheffield, a Distinction in the Legal Practice Course from Wolverhampton University and in 2007, a Postgraduate Diploma in Notarial Practice by Cambridge University.
She trained and qualified as a Solicitor with Enoch Evans Solicitors, Walsall, later becoming a Partner in the Corporate and Commercial Department.
Laura has practiced as a Notary Public for over 10 years, with the benefit of more than 20 years of expertise in commercial & corporate and property law.
She has also acted as Co-Moderator for the Notary Talk email forum for some years. The forum is a resource for Notaries to discuss and share experience on issues of professional practice.
Laura attends on clients in the West Midlands by prior arrangement.
Marco BoldiniNotary Public, Consultant
Marco Boldini is an Italian Avvocato, an English and Welsh Notary, a fully-qualified Barrister (Middle Temple Inn) and Solicitor.
Marco completed his bachelor’s degree and master’s in Law at Universita’ degli Studi di Brescia in Italy.
He started his career in Italy at a pre-eminent law firm in Milan before moving to the UK to become a senior lawyer for a City-based issuer of financial instruments.
In 2017 he was appointed as permanent member of the Centre for Banking and Research at Cass Business School in London and shortly after he became Honorary Senior Visiting Fellow at the same institution. In 2018 he became Head of Financial Services Legal (Regulatory) at one of the Big Four accountancy firms. In March 2019 Marco became a partner at a US law firm and he is based between London and Milan.
Jessica Pay LLB MANotary Public, Consultant
Jessica read Law and French Law at University College London and Université Panthéon-Assas in Paris and holds the Postgraduate Diploma in Notarial Practice from University of Cambridge. She trained with John Venn & Sons and has practised as a notary for more than 15 years, re-joining the firm as a consultant in 2021.
She has a wealth of corporate and private client experience and deals with all areas of notarial practice, specialising in multilingual and corporate matters in a variety of languages. She has acted as a director of the Notaries’ Guarantee Limited, regulating fidelity cover for the notarial profession.
Jessica attends on clients in North and Central London by prior arrangement.