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Named by one client as "The Rockstar of Compliance", Michelle is head of Weightmans' award-winning Compli service which advises the legal sector on all aspects of regulation, compliance, risk management, discipline and claims and complaints handling.

Michelle qualified as a solicitor in 1992, specialising in professional negligence litigation, and joined Weightmans as a Partner in February 2008. She is also the firm's MLRO.

Over the years, she has advised and represented many hundreds of lawyers and legal businesses on their regulatory obligations and is known for her pragmatic, commercial and supportive approach.

Michelle is the author of The COLP's Toolkit, a Law Society best-seller, and co-author of The Good Risk Law Firm, published by the Solicitors Journal. She is a well-known speaker and commentator on the legal circuit and sits on the editorial committee of the Law Society’s Legal Compliance Bulletin.

Michelle was extremely proud to be elected as the President of Manchester Law Society for 2019, having been a council member of Manchester Law Society for six years and chair of its regulatory affairs committee and COLP and COFA Forum. During her Presidency, she launched the Manchester Law Society Access to the Profession Hub to help improve Diversity and Inclusion in the legal sector and she appears in the Manchester Power 100 list 2019 of most influential people in Manchester.

Andrea joined Weightmans in March 2018 and is a Legal Director in the Compli team, Weightmans' bespoke regulatory consultancy service for the legal sector, advising on all aspects of regulation, compliance, risk management, disciplinary matters, including defence work for solicitors before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, claims and complaints handling. Andrea also delivers training on a wide range of areas, most recently on AML obligations, professional ethics and SRA Standards and Regulations.

Andrea qualified as a solicitor in 1988 and specialised in commercial litigation, with a particular focus on bringing professional negligence claims against professionals, including solicitors, accountants, surveyors, etc. She is a founding member and Chief Executive of the Professional Negligence Lawyers Association (PNLA). In 2006, Andrea moved into the management team of a Top 100 law firm, developing a niche expertise in risk and compliance. Following five years in her own risk and compliance business, and Head of Risk and Compliance and Training Principal at a law firm, she moved to Weightmans, where she continues to advise clients on a range of issues from setting up new law firms, retainers, policies and procedures, AML obligations and concerns and carrying out independent AML audits, to disciplinary investigations. Andrea acts for solicitors, including partners, employees, and entities, from sole practitioners to ABSs.

One client wrote to our Managing Partner to say: “Andrea has a professional, engaging manner and she provided high quality advice and documents backed up by an understanding of what the regulator would require… she has been an outstanding support to my business, and I shall not hesitate to work with her again.”

In addition to her position in the PNLA, Andrea is a member of The Law Society Regulatory Processes Committee, the Manchester Law Society Regulatory Affairs Committee and COLP and COFA Forum, and the Editorial Board of the Journal of Professional Negligence. She has a monthly column in a number of Law Society publications and is a contributor to Practical Law.