Leathes Prior announces retirement of two longstanding colleagues

This month, Leathes Prior sees two of our longest-standing colleagues retire, after an incredible combined service of over 85 years at LP! Penny Johnson and Lynsey Payne will both retire later in July, having each played huge roles in providing excellent legal support and beyond to many teams across the firm over the years, most notably in the Wills, Trusts& Probate Team, and the Commercial Property Team. They have survived countless Partner retirements, endless transformational eras, and their loyalty and commitment to the firm is of a level that we will rarely see.

Joining us as legal secretaries, Penny started with LP in 1979, and Lynsey started in 1986, the beginning of their journey at the firm, which was also the beginning of a wonderful friendship which has lasted the duration of their careers, and which we are certain will continue into their retirements too.

Penny worked very closely with former Senior Partner William Riley for the duration of his career until his retirement, continuing on beyond his exit to support the wider Wills, Trusts, and Probate Team. William fondly recalled, “Penny was a fantastic, almost manic worker and liked to be busy, which meant I spent a lot of my time doing more than I wanted by way of work. I always had a fear of my innate laziness: Penny’s work ethic made that a somewhat redundant phobia.”

Lynsey worked mostly with former Partner, Rob Sibley (who retired in 2021), for a large part of her career, but also supported multiple teams across the firm.

Their time at Leathes Prior has been full of weird and wonderful memories, with Penny being involved in the firm’s exorcism in 74 The Close back in 1997, following a series of paranormal activities happening in the firm’s “phantom room”. At the time, she was photographed by the Eastern Daily Press and quoted, “I didn’t believe in ghosts before this happened, but I definitely do now. Everyone in the office thinks we’re a bunch of loonies.”

Their professional journeys at LP may be concluding, but their friendship is far from over. Starting as colleagues and growing into lifelong friends, it feels only fitting that they now step into retirement together, side by side.

Senior Partner, Mike Barlow, added, “Thank you, Penny and Lynsey, for your incredible service and dedication to LP, from all at Leathes Prior. I can’t believe that when I joined the firm, 30 years ago, you had already chalked up 25 years between you! You have set the length of service bar high, and I doubt that I will see your achievement matched before my time for retirement comes. We are grateful that you chose to spend the large part of your working lives with the firm - you will be missed by all your colleagues.”